Episode 31 of Bloom features an interview with two leaders from Zero Point Cryogenics, an Edmonton-based company that is the only Canadian manufacturer of dilution refrigerators, a key piece of equipment for quantum research.
Chief technology officer John P. Davis co-founded the company in 2017 at the University of Alberta, where he is a professor of physics. Zero Point spun off on its own in 2021. "That's when (Chris Cassin) came on and took it from an academic exercise in company-building to a real company doing real serious things," Davis said.
Cassin had just finished selling the assets of a transportation logistics company that succumbed to the pandemic, and he was looking to invest in tech companies. He got involved in Startup TNT, which brings investors and startups together every Thursday night as well as at regular pitch nights and summits.
Startup TNT's founder did a little matchmaking, Cassin recalled. "One night, Zack Storms was like, 'Chris, I met this guy in the playground. He builds fridges. You should talk to him.'"
Davis found his CEO in Cassin, and now the company is getting traction. In addition to securing a side deal at Startup TNT's Investment Summit V, Zero Point has been awarded a contract to build a dilution refrigerator for testing by the National Research Council, and it has two more purchase orders in hand.
Learn more about the Zero Point Cryogenics story on the Sept. 29 episode, which also shares what Startup TNT is up to next and takes a look at Edmonton Unlimited, the newly rebranded entity formerly known as Innovate Edmonton.