PwC Canada has announced the winners of its Vision to Reality Awards.
The Vision To Reality Awards received over 200 applications for the awards, which were then whittled down to 20 applications.
V2R applications were reviewed by an independent panel of judges – including BetaKit’s editor-in-chief Douglas Soltys – and divided into four categories.
“Judging is hard and makes me tired. But I was excited to see so many AI companies in the visionary category,” said Soltys. “It bodes well for the future of the ecosystem. I would expect to see some of those companies in later categories.”
The Visionary for startups with up to $50 million in revenue (including pre-revenue); The Builder for mid-market companies with $51 million to $1 billion in revenue; The Reinventor for large enterprises with up to $1 billion in revenue; and The Accelerator, a new category, for innovative public sector organizations.
“They make it clear that Canada is a global innovation centre that has the talent to compete on a world stage,” Tahir Ayub, managing partner of markets and industries at PwC Canada, said about the award winners. “The V2R awards is a catalyst for bringing together Canadian organizations to showcase their innovations and network among a group of leaders to create a dynamic ecosystem that will shape the future of Canada and the world.”
The award winners by category include:
The Visionary
FREDsense Technologies from Alberta has created a portable waterchemistry kit that helps operators and engineers test and understand water chemistry.
Its Field Ready Electrochemical Detector (FRED) uses data that can be obtained in less than an hour from a cartridge system. Driven by synthetic biology, FRED uses bacteria to sense chemicals in the environment.
The Builder
Ballard Power Systems from British Columbia developed a technology that accelerates the adoption of fuel cell technology for zero-emission power systems like portable power, forklifts, and heavy-duty vehicles (trucks, buses and trains).
The organization has developed an electrode design and fuel cell stack using a non-precious metal catalyst developed by its partner, Nisshinbo.
The Reinventor
PCL Construction from Alberta eliminated its data centre and migrated to a computing model that rests on their four technology pillars: cloud computing, field mobility, enterprise-wide integration, and data analytics.
It now delivers solutions designed to save time and enable data-driven decisions about a construction project’s schedule, quality, safety and financial performance.
The Accelerator
BC Civil Resolution Tribunal allows British Columbians to have 24/7 free online access to strata (condo) and small claims dispute resolution services, including self-help tools, triage services and legal information and guidance. Its platform also provides flexibility and collaboration to resolve disputes as early and inexpensively as possible.
For the full list of finalists and winners, see the website here.
Photo via Twitter.