Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) is investing $6.7 million across four Edmonton startups to help them scale advanced manufacturing and expand into new markets.
Through its Business Scale-up and Productivity program, the federal regional economic development agency is supporting Levven Electronics, Care Group, Demir Engineering, and Grengine. The investments are meant to help the “high growth” companies scale up and create high-quality jobs for Canadians, Terry Duguid, the minister responsible for PrairiesCan, said in a statement.
Funding round was part of Min. Duguid’s first visit to Alberta since becoming the minister responsible for PrairiesCan.
Demir Engineering received the largest investment, gaining $2.5 million to expand its in-house production industrial products. PrairiesCan said the metal alloy product design and manufacturing company will use the funding to scale up its advanced manufacturing business, increase its workforce, and expand into new domestic and international markets.
Fellow advanced manufacturers, Grengine and Levven Electronics, received $1.5 million and $1.25 million from PrairiesCan for similar reasons; to scale up and expand manufacturing for their respective battery energy storage and internet-of-things home technologies.
Meanwhile, Care Group is the only software-focused company of the batch, receiving a $1.5-million investment to help scale its digital mental health platform to more than 50 rural and Indigenous communities across Canada. PrairiesCan said the contribution supports increasing access to mental health care for underserved populations.
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Founded in 2019, Care Group consists of three tech solutions focused on different parts of the healthcare system: EaseCare, InstaCare, and CorpCare. In May 2024, Care Group closed a $2-million CAD round with participation from Alberta’s Accelerate Fund III to help it expand into new markets across Canada and the United States.
“Our government is proud to support Alberta’s technology sector by providing the capital and resources needed to enhance competitiveness and bring Alberta-made solutions to the world,” Duguid said in a statement.
The round of funding was part of Duguid’s first visit to Alberta since becoming the Minister responsible for PrairiesCan. The Winnipeg South MP took over Dan Vandal’s post in a December cabinet shuffle intended to replace some ministers who had resigned or made it known they would not be seeking re-election.
Feature image courtesy Prairies Economic Development Canada via LinkedIn.