Foresight Canada has highlighted the 50 cleantech ventures it dubs Canada’s “most investible” in the fourth rendition of its annual Foresight 50 list.
Foresight, a Port Coquitlam, BC-based cleantech accelerator, said that companies on the list are selected by a panel of cleantech investors who evaluate the investability, potential economic impact, leadership team, environmental impact, and probability of success. The recipients were announced at an event held in Vancouver last week, which featured one-minute pitches from each of the list recipients and one-on-ones with potential investors.
There were multiple alumni returning to this year’s Foresight 50, including Toronto-based Brickeye, which develops industrial internet of things (IoT) and data analytics for environmental risk mitigation in construction and infrastructure management. The startup raised a $5-million convertible debt financing round led by BDC Capital last year, just one week before it was named to the 2023 Foresight 50.
Salmon Arm, BC-based 4AG Robotics, which was previously known as Techbrew Robotics, made its first return to the list since 2022. 4AG develops what it describes as fully autonomous, vision-guided robots designed to squeeze into mushroom-growing racks and gently pick, trim, clean, and pack them all hours of the day. The company last raised $17.5 million CAD in Series A funding shortly after changing its name last year.
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Vancouver-based Daanaa was also recognized for a second straight year, making its way back onto the list shortly after being named Company of the Year in the Startup category at the BC Tech Association’s Technology Impact Awards (TIAs) last month. Founded by University of British Columbia alumni, the company developed a plug-and-play Power Transaction Unit that it says can perform multiple power management and data transmission functions.
Daanaa wasn’t the only recent award recipient on the Foresight 50. It was joined by Vancouver-based electric vehicle fleet management company 7Gen, who won the Gamechanger award in the Climate Leadership category at the TIAs last month.
Foresight said in a statement that Canada has recently fallen in the global ranks of the Climate Change Performance Index, adding that securing early-stage funding remains crucial for cleantech ventures to succeed. Still, investment in the cleantech sector seems strong as the sector had a momentous 2023, concluding last year with a record number of transactions that led to $1.1 billion in investments, according to a CVCA report from earlier this year.
All the companies named to the Foresight 50 list can be found on Foresight’s website.
Feature image courtesy Daanaa via LinkedIn.