Edmonton Unlimited is looking to be the matchmaker connecting tech startups with businesses that want to innovate.
Build World Tech Venture Pilots aims to launch 10 pilots by September, with a mission to "to accelerate the integration of local innovation into the local economy." The scope of "built world tech" could include anything within construction technology, proptech, smart cities, infrastructure, or sustainable development.
"Edmonton has a very significant construction engineering ecosystem. We have some of the best construction engineering firms in the entire world — certainly in Canada," said program lead Zack Storms, citing construction leaders such as PCL and Stantec. "It's also a space that has lacked innovation. When you talk to people from construction engineering, they are all readily willing to admit that their industry suffers from a lack of innovation, and it's ripe for for a lot of opportunities with new technologies."
While applications were encouraged by Jan. 20, it's still possible to apply. Proposals are to be evaluated from February to June.
"This program is aimed at the entrepreneur," Tom Viinikka, the CEO of Edmonton Unlimited, told Taproot. "That's something that we really wanted to dial in and focus on: going to the entrepreneur and trying to help them with the thing they're doing. We don't want to be directive about what an entrepreneur does — I think that's counter to their nature — and so this is helping entrepreneurs step forward, increasing the resources that are available to them, and connecting them to customers."
Storms has been working to solicit built-world companies for the venture pilots while seeking pitches from startups. While the companies tend to face common challenges, their desire for tech mostly comes down to the bottom line.
"Safety is a big theme for the industry," Storms said. "Broadly speaking, a lot of the construction firms are very interested in how they can use various new AI or innovative IT technologies to make things more productive at the organization … I remember talking to one senior executive, and I asked, 'Do you have a list of problems you want to solve?' He said, 'Anything that makes us more money (is appealing).'"
Startups with shovel-ready pilots that aim to scale should apply, Storms said. While startups are not guaranteed a fee from pilot partners, Alberta's Ministry of Technology and Innovation has provided funding to help cover pilot costs, among other expenses. Neither Edmonton Unlimited nor the ministry would disclose the funding amount.
Zack Storms and Tom Viinikka at Edmonton Unlimited on Jan. 16. (Colin Gallant)
Viinikka said the pilot program's two main purposes are to attract future clients and validate technology. "A really important part of commercialization is getting that first customer, which may or may not be a first customer for them in our program, but certainly a key customer that we're opening a door to," Viinikka said.
The built world program casts a wider net than its predecessor, Capital City Pilots, a now-defunct program that paired tech companies with challenges issued by the City of Edmonton. The new program offers an array of partner options from the private sector instead the single, governmental customer.
Edmonton Unlimited hired Storms to lead the experiment because of his track record as catalyst at Startup TNT, Viinikka said.
"Zack is a great community builder, a great connector, a great glue guy, that can help facilitate those interactions and get people excited about being involved with each other," he said.
Storms was looking forward to some downtime after spending six years at the helm of Startup TNT, then hiring CK Dhaliwal as its executive director. But when opportunity knocked, he couldn't help but answer.
"I love building new projects that benefit the community," Storms said. "I love bringing people together. Back when we were launching Startup TNT, I used to fancy myself a co-founder for hire … The job is to help these founders get a pilot to move their company forward — how do we as a community support them?
"I get to continue to do what I love," he said.
Viinikka, who was hired to run Edmonton Unlimited in May 2024, said the municipal innovation authority has more new projects in store. It recently promoted Sangeet Brar to the post of chief operating officer, rising up from vice-president of finance and administration.