Updates: What happened next in business and tech

Looking back on 2025 on the business, tech, and innovation beats, we saw the acquisition of IronSight, the approval of a Nordic spa in the river valley, the launch of MIT REAP Edmonton, and the end of several accelerator programs, among other things. Here's what happened next and what to expect on some of the other business and tech stories Taproot brought you:

Startup TNT hires executive director to allow co-founders to iterate and build community (May 22, 2025)

The original story Startup TNT hired CK Dhaliwal as its first executive director in May. The country's most active pre-seed investor hired him to steward a transition into a new era where localized chapters are autonomous, and the founders can focus on the investment pool that makes up the backbone of TNT's value proposition.

Then what? Startup TNT celebrated raising more than $20 million for 120+ companies by the time it had its 50th investment summit, an agri-food event held in Toronto on Nov. 27 . On Nov. 5, Startup TNT held an Alberta summit instead of having separate ones in Edmonton and Calgary; Edmonton's Pulmvita won the day, taking home more than $200,000 in investment.

What's next? Startup TNT co-founder Zack Storms is now the built tech lead at Edmonton Unlimited, where he will oversee the Built World Tech venture pilot program. Applications for the program are open until Jan. 20. Meanwhile, the Thursday night tradition that gave TNT its name continues.

Upper Bound focuses on AI literacy to better prepare future workers (May 16, 2025)

The original story: AI literacy was one of the themes at the Upper Bound conference held by the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute in May. Amii's Jill Kowalchuk said preparing students for a future job market shaped by AI requires more than technical skills. "AI literacy is not just becoming accustomed to using a particular AI tool," she said. "(My work) speaks to ethics. It speaks to the societal impacts of artificial intelligence, and being able to not only use a tool, but collaborate with that tool in an effective and meaningful way to support skill development."

Then what? Amii launched its AI Literacy for Everyone platform in October, about a month after announcing its AI Pathways: Energizing Canada's Low-Carbon Workforce program. The two programs are among many updates from Amii in 2025.

What's next? The research institute will soon offer 750 scholarships for students in environmental sciences and meteorology, thanks to a grant from Environment and Climate Change Canada. The next Upper Bound conference takes place from May 19 to 22.

TransPod aimed for speed but points to province's rail plan for pause in building test track (April 8, 2025)

The original story: Toronto-based TransPod aims to construct a full-scale hyperloop test guideway in Edmonton by 2026, after pausing development due to the provincial government's work on the passenger rail master plan, which was due in the summer of 2025. CEO Sebastien Gendron said the project, which aims for 45-minute travel between Edmonton and Calgary, secured a 2020 memorandum of understanding with the province. The City of Edmonton and Edmonton International Airport have committed to working with TransPod on the test guideway, planned from the airport to the city's south side. Eventually, TransPod aims to build a rail line between Edmonton and Calgary that travels at more than 1,000 km/h.

Then what? TransPod signed an agreement with Canadian companies Algoma Steel and Supreme Steel to supply its proposed rail project. TransPod said it expects the project to induce demand for up to 2 million tonnes of Canadian steel, create 140,000 jobs, and add $19.2 billion in GDP.

What's next? The Government of Alberta missed its summer 2025 deadline for the passenger rail master plan, but will share the plan in 2026, the press secretary for the Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors told Taproot.

Upcycler helps Kuma give old tents new life (Feb. 12, 2025)

The original story: Katrina Hillyer, founder of Earth Warrior Lifestyle, partnered with Kuma Outdoor Gear to upcycle tents and camping chairs that have minor manufacturing defects. Most of the gear that Kuma upcycles has manufacturing defects and never made it to a customer, but the company also accepts returns from customers who want to extend the life of their gear through its Fix-It-Don't-Replace-It program.

Then what? Hillyer worked with several local organizations throughout the year to find new ways to use textiles that would otherwise go to the landfill. The scrunchies sold at the 2025 Edmonton Folk Music Festival were upcycled from T-shirts from previous festivals. Earth Warrior Lifestyle partnered with the Edmonton Convention Centre for a lanyard library, which offers free reusable lanyards for conferences and events. She also took time off from Earth Warrior Lifestyle to accompany the cast of Bear Grease: the Musical to its Off-Broadway run in New York City.

What's next? Earth Warrior Lifestyle is selling toques upcycled from old sweaters that will be donated to women's shelters, schools in low-income communities, and people experiencing homelessness. Part of the funds will go toward helping the company repair the truck that it relies on to rescue textiles from landfills.

As province pushes data centres, Edmonton operator says challenges await (Jan. 14, 2025)

The original story: The owner of a small-scale data centre in Edmonton told Taproot that electrical capacity for artificial-intelligence-scale data centres, as targeted for $100 billion of investment by the province, was well out of reach. "We have something like five or 10% of the expected data centre capacity we'll need for the next five or 10 years," said Dale Corse, the CEO of Wolfpaw Data Centres. "Could we handle an AI boom? No, absolutely not."

Then what? Data centres remained a major conversation throughout the province in 2025. Taproot covered their potential emissions impact, plans by Beacon AI Centers to build five or more hyperscale facilities, the province's suggestion that burning natural gas is more realistic than using renewables to power data centres, a possible deal with tech giant Meta, the advantages for data centre projects in Sturgeon County's designated industrial zone, and more.

What's next? The Alberta Electric System Operator, which oversees electrical generation, is working on its next steps to support data centre development in Alberta now that the grid is maxed out for data centres until at least 2028. Martin Boucher, the research chair in sustainability for NorQuest College, recently told CTV Edmonton that small, modular, nuclear reactors could add to the power mix in Alberta. "It's a long-term play," Boucher said. "This is like 10 to 15 years in the horizon." Meanwhile, two European investors are working towards opening four centres worth a combined $1.2 billion in Alberta towns.

Departure of Good Goods from downtown leaves business association with few options (Dec. 5, 2024)

The original story: The Edmonton Downtown Business Association awarded retail attraction grants to Le Belle Arti, Obj3cts, Foosh, The Growlery Beer Co., and Good Goods Company. Each company received $212,000 with the expectation that it would sign a lease for 18 months within the EDBA's boundaries. Good Goods was only open at 10250 106 Street NW from April to September 2024. The shop reopened inside Riverdale's Little Brick in November of that year. Then-executive director Puneeta McBryan said Good Goods spent the money on what the grant was intended for, and renovations that the company made to the former space were still an investment in the future of downtown retail. "I would hate for there to be a perception that this business, these people, got this grant money and ran off," she said. "The money stayed downtown for the vast majority (of time). We are much more likely to have another retailer downtown, operating in that space, as a result."

Then what? The Growlery opened The Den in the basement of Mercer Warehouse on July 26. Its launch marked the final opening by a grant recipient. In other downtown retail news, Edmonton City Centre entered receivership in July. The future of the once-vibrant shopping destination remains in question as legal proceedings take place, but both a planning consultant and an architect have suggested reducing its overall retail footprint by replacing parts of the mall with other offerings. The mall has already been offering gallery-style events, including a Banksy exhibition that closes on Jan. 11.

What's next? A different downtown hub of commerce is being revitalized by National Bank of Canada, which acquired Canadian Western Bank in February for $5 billion. The bank's Edmonton hub occupies 10 of the 36 floors inside the former Manulife Place, which is now called National Bank Centre. Victoria Girardo, National Bank's senior vice-president for commercial banking in Western Canada, said National Bank Centre will host 800 employees. The bank is also contributing to downtown vibrancy through donations for programs by the EDBA and Bissell Centre. "When we looked at how we wanted to really show up as a community partner, we had a rigorous process around looking at organizations that really were part of how we wanted to be a part of the financial fabric and the vibrancy of downtown," Girardo said. "The Core Patrol with the EDBA, and the Bissell Centre, really did represent organizations that have a lot of credibility in this space, of making an impact, and a long history, and a proven track record of doing that within the city of Edmonton."

Curious about the sequel to other business and tech stories Taproot has covered? Send us a note at hello@taprootedmonton.ca and we'll look into it.