Over the past couple of weeks, several Canadian tech startups have been acquired, including Amika Mobile, ComplyWorks, and Koantic. Here’s the latest on Canada’s movers and shakers.
Ottawa communications software company Amika Mobile acquired by Genasys
Ottawa SaaS company Amika Mobile has been acquired by San Diego, US-based Genasys, a global, NASDAQ-listed provider of critical communications systems.
Through the acquisition, Genasys is looking to leverage Amika’s existing products, customer base, and engineering teams. The deal is pending regulatory approval, and expected to close this fall. Its financial terms were not disclosed. Under the deal’s terms, Amika will become Genasys Communications Canada and rebrand its products.
Founded in 2007, Amika Mobile specializes in critical and emergency communications, providing scalable software that enables rapid two-way communications across devices, and control via integrations with government agency alerts and physical communications systems.
“Our software platform for on-premise, cloud or hybrid operations is designed to be fully scalable for small businesses, or large deployments with millions of users,” said Sue Abu-Hakima, Amika Mobile’s CEO. “We are very keen to quickly integrate our products and platforms to accelerate Genasys’s software and revenue growth.
Amika’s flagship product is its Amika Mobility Server (AMS), a two-way artificial intelligence-based IoT platform that “communicates securely over wire or mobile to any layer,” from WiFi to email, PA systems, message boards, and more. AMS can trigger lockdowns and alerts based on a variety of external data, from sensors to cameras and panic buttons.
Calgary compliance management software provider ComplyWorks acquired by US-based Veriforce
Alberta-based SaaS startup ComplyWorks has been acquired by Veriforce, a Houston software company that helps companies manage their third-party workforces. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to Veriforce, the two companies will “combine” as part of the acquisition and seek to ensure worker safety and optimize business performance by creating “the world’s premier supply chain risk performance network.”
ComplyWorks, which was founded in 2004, claims to serve clients across 80 countries with its web-based workforce, worksite, and payment management software.
“At a time when safety and risk management are top of mind for companies worldwide, we’re honored to join forces with Veriforce to provide the industry’s most comprehensive solution for managing risk,” said Cal Fairbanks, the former president and CEO of ComplyWorks. Fairbanks will serve as a strategic advisor to the combined company.
The acquisition of ComplyWorks enables Veriforce to broaden its industry base, and position itself “as a dominant player in the global supply chain risk management sector.”
Veriforce is a Texas-based company with offices in Calgary, Toronto, and Covington, Louisiana. According to Veriforce, the new, combined company serves over 800 clients that use it to manage contractors and suppliers from more than 50,000 companies that supply contract workers, comprising 9,000 trainers and 2.5 million workers.
Montreal e-learning startup Koantic acquired by Calgary’s Absorb Software
Quebec-based SaaS startup Koantic, an online course building platform has been acquired by Alberta learning tech company Absorb Software.
Absorb attributed its motivation for pursuing the deal to increasing demand for “engaging, interactive e-learning content.” Koantic was founded in 2016, and allows users to create interactive e-learning courses.
“The current course authoring market includes many complex legacy tools that are expensive and difficult to use,” said Romain Gagnon, Koantic’s CEO. “Our customers love that Koantic is a powerful, yet easy-to-use tool that ‘works like my brain does.’ In that sense, Absorb and Koantic complement each other perfectly. They’re both intuitive, best-in-class solutions on their own, and together, they offer the best end-to-end e-learning platform on the market.”
Absorb, which was founded in 2003, has offices across the world, but is headquartered in Calgary. The company provides its Absorb Learning Management System (LMS) and Absorb Infuse e-learning software products to businesses, higher education, government, and non-profit clients.
“We went through an extensive search to find not only the best course authoring tool to complement Absorb LMS, but the best authoring tool, period. Koantic is that product,” said Mike Owens, Absorb Software’s founder and CEO. “The Koantic acquisition keeps Absorb moving forward on a path of strong growth and market expansion. It also reinforces our position as a truly all-in-one learning platform at a time when intuitive, powerful tools are a differentiator for businesses.”
Absorb plans to integrate Koantic with its existing products, while also continuing to offer it as a standalone product, renamed as Absorb Create.
Koantic is the fourth e-learning company acquired by Absorb since 2019. Last year, Absorb also acquired Torch LMS, eLogic Learning, and ePath Learning.
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