Halifax-based Innovacorp, an early stage venture capital accelerator, has named four winners of 2019 Sprint competition. Each winner was award $25,000, in addition to advisement and mentorship from business professionals to help the companies reach their next milestone.
The goal of Sprint is to find and support high potential, knowledge-based ventures, and encourage entrepreneurship in the province. The competition saw 77 submissions from software companies across Nova Scotia. According to Entrevestor, Innovacorp narrowed that list down to 10, and a panel of judges deliberated for two hours before announcing the winners.
“Sprint is designed to be an iterative program, rewarding start-ups based on milestone achievement,” Innovacorp stated on its website. “To provide ongoing support for entrepreneurs, Innovacorp will run multiple sprints throughout the year.”
The winners for Sprint 2019 are:
BlueNode (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
BlueNode has developed software for data cleansing, analysis, auditing and sharing for marine container ports. Its end-to-end solution aims to reduce data management costs and provide valuable insights for decision-support purposes. The company was accepted into Innovacorp’s Startup Yard program in Dartmouth, last year.
Invisible Agents (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Invisible Agents is developing technology to improve fundraising for non-profits and churches through machine learning, visual storytelling, and communication automation. It calls itself a “solutions-as-a-service” company and is planning an official launch in July.
ReelData (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
ReelData’s artificial intelligence software for aquaculture feed cameras helps fish farms to measure biomass and health in real-time. The company’s monitors technology allows fish farms to know the biomass, appetite, and welfare of finned fish in real-time, without manual intervention. The company also recently won $25,000 in equity investment at the Volta Cohort last week.
Symbi Medical (Antigonish, Nova Scotia)
Symbi’s platform allows health care teams to quickly and securely send digital instructions to patients before and after care. Its continuous care platform aims to prepare patients for surgery with instructions, checklists, and reminders, improve patient knowledge, and encourage shared decision making with condition education and procedure walkthroughs.
Image courtesy Berman Zebrafish Lab at Dalhousie University
