The Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan) commemorated the start of leading tech conference Web Summit Vancouver with a $1.8 million investment in Innovate BC’s Integrated Marketplace initiative this week.
The funding is earmarked for integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into projects in at Vancouver International Airport and the Provincial Health Services Authority. This marks the first investment since Gregor Robinson was assigned as the Minister responsible for the regional economic development agency in the Prime Minster Mark Carney’s new cabinet. It is also the first investment announced through PacifiCan’s Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII).
PacifiCan revealed in October that it will deliver $32.2 million in AI investments over the next five years through its portion of RAII, a $200 million federal program meant to help small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) adopt and bring new AI technologies to market.
PacifiCan claims Integrated Marketplace has powered more than 30 projects in BC over the past two years.
While RAII is a carryover of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s $2.4 billion AI package in the 2024 federal budget, Carney is keeping the technology a key focus of his own government.
Carney claimed that the government had to boost productivity by “deploying AI at scale” in his mandate letter to cabinet last week.
The new PacifiCan investment will support the next phase of a project at the Vancouver International Airport, which is testing self-driving robotic pods designed to help travelers with mobility challenges, the agency said in a statement. Innovate BC first announced support for the project, which uses A&K Robotics’ autonomous mobility pods, in July 2024.
The funding will also help the Provincial Health Services Authority advance a project that uses AI to analyze digital images of tissue to detect and identify diseases.
The Integrated Marketplace, launched in 2022, aims to help BC-based technology companies develop and operate new innovations inside real-world testbeds so they can de-risk and prove their technology in live environments.
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“By connecting B.C. companies with real-world adoption opportunities, we’re helping them prove and refine their technologies while also delivering transformative solutions for some of our most important industries,” Innovate BC president and CEO Peter Cowan said in a statement. “This model not only strengthens our provincial economy but also creates a launchpad for these companies to access new markets and scale globally.”
The investment follows PacifiCan’s initial $9.9 million commitment in October 2023 to grow the Integrated Marketplace. PacifiCan claims the initial investment, alongside support from BC’s government, has powered more than 30 projects across British Columbia over the past two years.
Last week, Innovate BC announced $3.38 million going to eight projects through the Integrated Marketplace. Two of the supported projects are operating in the Vancouver International Airport testbed, five in Vancouver Fraser Port Authority testbed, and one in the Provincial Health Services Authority testbed. The projects range from developing an electric water taxi to testing electric powered ground support equipment for airport operations.
Feature image courtesy Innovate BC.