Through the regional development agency Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan), the federal government is investing a collective $11.1 million in funding for four tech companies in British Columbia (BC).
The recipients involved in this financing are Kardium Inc., Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation (HTEC), Kobalt Security, and Symvivo Corporation.
Kardium is expected to receive $5 million through the Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program. Founded in 2007, Burnaby-headquartered Kardium offers medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder.
Backed by new federal funds, Kardium intends to increase the manufacturing capacity at its Burnaby facility to support the worldwide sales of its martial fibrillation medical device. The company also said that the investment will result in the creation of 350 new jobs, as well as increased sales and revenue.
Kardium previously raised $115 million USD last year from Fidelity Management and T. Rowe Price Associates.
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In April, Kardium announced that its Globe Mapping and Ablation system went through a successful first-in-BC investigational clinical procedure. The device is used to navigate inside the heart and to help with producing a diagnosis on where the rhythm disturbances occur.
“Partnerships between clinician-researchers and the technology sector can accelerate innovation and advancements in patient care,” said Kevin Chaplin, CEO of Kardium. “Since our successful commercial launch of the Globe System in Europe, our goal has been to make the technology available in North America.”
Also receiving $5 million in BSP funding is HTEC. Based in Vancouver, the company designs, builds, and operates hydrogen fuel supply solutions to support the deployment of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.
HTEC currently has 17 stations at various stages of operations, development, and planning spread across BC, Alberta, Québec, and California.
Armed with fresh capital, HTEC plans to build a green hydrogen production plant in Burnaby. HTEC expects this facility to be able to produce 1000kg of hydrogen per day, which will support its current fueling stations and add additional ones. HTEC said the government grant will also help in creating 10 direct and additional indirect jobs.
HTEC previously received $875,000 in 2019 through the federal government’s Western Economic Diversification Canada’s BSP initiative.
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Earlier this year, HTEC acquired Zen Clean Energy Solutions, a specialized consulting firm primarily focused on the hydrogen and fuel cell sector. HTEC said it expects to have Zen’s team to be fully integrated by the end of September this year.
Also anchored in Vancouver is Kobalt, which will receive $530,025 through the BSP program. Co-founded in 2018 by Michael Argast (CEO), Pankaj Agarwal (investor), and Boris Wertz (investor), Kobalt provides cybersecurity programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2019, Kobalt raised $1 million CAD from its founders and Wertz’s Version One Ventures.
With over $500,000, Kobalt said it is planning for an expansion of its services into the United States and other English-speaking countries. This expansion is expected to result in 60 new jobs.
Most recently, Kobalt entered into a partnership with RBC to offer risk-centric cybersecurity programs and operational services to Canadian SMEs.
Based in Burnaby, Symvivo Corporation will get $650,000 in BSP support. Symvivo is a clinical-stage biotech company that has developed a bacterial gene delivery platform that uses engineered live bacteria to deliver genetic material into disease sites.
Symvivo said that its latest investment will help the company to purchase and install new equipment, acquire laboratory materials, and create 20 new jobs to expand its in-house bio-manufacturing capacity at its current facility in Burnaby.