Four Canadian startups join Secure IoT Accelerator program

On July 22nd, L-SPARK, Telus, BlackBerry Limited and Solace revealed the four Canadian startups that will enter the Secure IoT Accelerator program to bolster Canada’s undertaking into the global Internet-of-Things(IoT) market — a segment expected to grow to $1.1 trillion USD by 2021.

“The explosive growth of the IoT market has prompted intensive interest in securing this proliferation of devices, applications, and systems,” said Leo Lax, executive managing director of L-SPARK.

The participants are Flosonics Medical, Canscan, Canadian Internet Registration Authority(CIRA) and Platoi industries INC.

For starters, Flosonics Medical develops non-invasive sensors to help critically-ill patients. Cansacan is an artificial intelligence(AI) software company. It made a system that uses AI and machine vision to inspect containers arriving at the port automatically.

Even though it sounds like a government department, CIRA is a non-profit organization that manages the .CA internet domain on behalf of all Canadians. It also represents the .CA registry internationally. Last but not least, Platoi industries INC is a company that specializes in predicting, identifying and monitoring potential natural hazards using data and insight.

For them, the four-month accelerator program will assist the development and demonstration of their experimental IoT applications through exclusive access to Telus Global Connectivity and IoT Cybersecurity services, BlackBerry’s secure operating system and Solace’s data movement capabilities. On top of that, L-SPARK will offer a connection to its software-as-a-service(SaaS), cloud, and IoT technology community.

As part of the deal, they will also receive extensive technical and business mentoring carried out by industry experts.

The Secure IoT Accelerator program was the brainchild of L-SPARK, Telus, Blackberry Limited and Solace. The initiative closed its application window back in April. The elimination process eventually narrowed all applicants down to 12, where a selection committee accepted only four.

Source: L-SPARK