Blackberry has announced the seven Canadian finalists that will join its L-Spark software-as-a-service accelerator program.
The program, which hopes to grow the next great global tech company, will help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) grow their businesses. Further, it will help companies bring products to market that utilize BlackBerry’s QNX technology.
L-Spark will see BlackBerry aid finalists in researching and developing product prototypes in several different areas. This includes spaces like robotics, device security, sensor fusion (such as lidar, radar, cameras and GPS), functional safety, analytics, medical devices and autonomous vehicles.
Additionally, finalists will get access to senior leaders at both BlackBerry and L-Spark. The program also includes six months of one-on-one training aimed at growing and scaling each company.
The finalists
- Martello (Ottawa, Ontario): Martello manages and optimizes the performance of real-time services on cloud and enterprise networks. Specifically designed for real-time communications services like voice and video, Martello’s solutions detect, identify and address network performance issues before problems impact service quality.
- KyberSecurity (Montreal, Quebec): KyberSecurity combats cybersecurity attacks with technology that doesn’t modify source code and is, from a user’s perspective, straightforward, automated and transparent.
- Evolved Vehicle Environments (Ottawa, Ontario): Evolved Vehicle Environments (EVE) offers an in-market connected car solution that is use customizable and continually evolving. It’s already available in Subaru and Tesla vehicles.
- Visionary Semiconductor Inc. (Waterloo, Ontario): This company hopes to move colour imaging, depth mapping and other 3D imaging technologies into one compact device.
- Bluink (Ottawa, Ontario): Bluink offers customers a digital wallet that lets them carry their ID in a secure app on their phone. Called eID-Me, the app can carry a driver’s license, health card and cryptographic keys to unlock doors, cars and access IoT devices.
- Acerta (Kitchener, Ontario): Acerta provides an AI-powered solution for automotive applications that help clients reduce waste, increase throughput and boost product quality.
- Soltare (Edmonton, Alberta): Soltare develops automotive sensors with applications for future autonomous vehicles. For example, its ‘iHear’ sensor can detect emergency vehicle sirens and notify drivers of the existence and direction of approaching emergency vehicles.
The L-Spark program will conclude with a pitch event where finalists can demonstrate their accomplishments and proof of concepts.
Source: BlackBerry
