Ottawa-based defence tech firm H2 Analytics is looking to improve its military training exercise development platform with new federal funding.Â
The news: Federal economic development agency FedDev Ontario announced $800,000 CAD in repayable funding for H2 Analytics on Thursday. The funding supports a more than $4.2-million project by H2 to upgrade its Exercise Architect Suite (EASE) platform with new AI features that it says will improve the quality and ârealismâ of its emergency simulation and planning capabilities.
In addition to supporting some of the cost of H2âs research, development, and AI integration, a small portion of the capital is also helping the company expand internationally. The company isnât disclosing clients but is at varying levels of market entry in Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand.
From the source: âAt the most fundamental level, capital is capital and capital is going to help us grow and expand both on the market side and on the R&D side,â CEO Hugo Hodgett explained to BetaKit in an interview. âItâs another data point that we can use to say the Government of Canada has validated us ⊠so when we go abroad it certainly brings down some of the barriers to engage with foreign governments.â
The context: H2 Analytics was featured in BetaKitâs 2026 Most Ambitious issue as a member of the âcockroach club,â a trio of defence companies that bootstrapped their way through the Canadian defence sectorâs tight capital environment years before the country began its push to re-arm and re-invest in its armed forces.
Final thought: H2 Analytics is still bootstrapped, Hodgett said, and it recently placed 52nd on The Globe and Mailâs Top Growing Companies list, with a three-year revenue growth rate of 552 percent. Hodgett added that the company has added 22 employees in the last six months and is projecting another year of doubling its undisclosed revenue.Â
Feature image courtesy H2 Analytics.