The Pulse: June 4, 2025

Fresh off winning the Rising Star of the Year award at this year’s YEG Startup Community Awards, Bigyan Karki said he’s working to develop the world’s first fully agentic file system.

“We want all file operations to be handled by natural language,” Karki, 28, told Taproot about The Drive AI. “Imagine you’re working as a project manager and you’re working with 100 clients at the same time in systems like Google Drive, Box, or Dropbox. You start by creating 100 folders (and creating individual permissions for the clients). It would probably take an hour or two of your day. But imagine if there was a platform that can do it within seconds.”

Karki co-founded The Drive AI during his master’s of computer science studies at the University of Alberta, from which he graduated in 2023. The Drive AI already has 17,000 users on its platform, which is currently free. It also landed its first investment, from San Francisco’s LAUNCH, in January (though Karki would not disclose the investment amount).

He said The Drive AI is like Google Drive, but smarter. Unlike large language AI models that can answer questions during work processes, an agentic AI can actually do work for its users. In The Drive AI’s case, that means you can tell the AI to create, (re-)name, move, delete, and otherwise organize your files.

So far, that’s only with a file explorer that runs locally on a device. The next step is to add these functions to the company’s cloud-based platform, where users can already collaborate in real-time and chat.

“Until very recently, we were just focused on university and college students — students from Stanford, MIT, and the University of Alberta are using our platform,” Karki said. “Now we want to focus on business-to-business with the file agent that we are working on … We want to have big businesses onboard into our platform, but we want to get started with small businesses that have 10 or 20 people in a company.”

He said big companies The Drive AI will target include tax and law firms, which have “terabytes of files.” He added that he is already onboarding some businesses as part of the new direction away from business-to-consumer sales. Karki is also seeking pre-seed investment.

Right now, The Drive AI’s file explorer responds to written prompts, but Karki wants to add voice commands for the agentic AI functions in the future, including generative ones, which could save further time for users.

“In the future, you could just talk to The Drive AI,” he said. “You could say, ‘I want to write a cover letter based on my resumé that’s inside The Drive AI, proofread it for me, and then send it to an email address,’” he said.

“That’s where we shine, having this magical experience with your own files and folders.”

• Following the introduction of the RS Zone, also known as the small scale residential zone, in the City of Edmonton’s zoning bylaw renewal, Edmonton more than doubled its “missing middle” housing units from 2023 to 2024, increasing from approximately 1,000 to 2,300 units. A report to city council’s urban planning committee notes that multi-dwelling housing accounted for about 85% of all new units approved in RS zones, with row houses contributing significantly. The committee is considering amendments to the zoning bylaw after a year of increased housing redevelopment that has led to resident concerns about densification. City staff proposed amendments such as reducing maximum building length from 30 metres to 25 metres and limiting building entrances to four per side along interior side lot lines.
• Lane closures on 107 Avenue between 101 and 121 Street are adding to traffic congestion for drivers travelling between west Edmonton and downtown. The 107 Avenue revitalization project, with some sections reduced to one lane in both directions from 9am to 3:30pm, compounds existing construction-related closures on 104 Avenue, Stony Plain Road, and Jasper Avenue.
• A new report by the Montreal Economic Institute found that Alberta’s emergency room wait times have not improved, with the median patient spending three hours and 48 minutes in the ER in 2024, an increase of 54 minutes since 2020. The Edmonton region had the highest median wait time at five hours and 54 minutes. The report found that the University of Alberta Hospital had the longest visits in Alberta with a median stay of eight hours and 30 minutes in 2024, followed by the Misericordia Community Hospital at seven hours and 54 minutes, and the Royal Alexandra Hospital at seven hours and 42 minutes.
• The Edmonton Police Service has charged a 31-year-old woman with fraud and theft for allegedly defrauding five Edmonton small businesses since January. The businesses, which include a chiropractor, a restaurant, and a home organization company, were allegedly defrauded using stolen credit cards, defunct credit cards, and bad cheques, with two businesses reportedly losing more than $10,000. Police believe there may be more victims and are encouraging anyone with information to contact them.
• In his latest article, Postmedia columnist Keith Gerein criticizes the UCP government for overreach into municipal affairs, including changes to civic elections, municipal codes of conduct, photo radar, and bike lanes. Gerein argues the UCP is taking decision-making control away from municipal governments and expresses concern over the cancellation of the south Edmonton hospital, despite investments in other infrastructure projects.
• Bill Clark, a former staff sergeant and 44-year member of the Edmonton Police Service who retired in May 2024, has been charged with breach of trust. According to police, Clark unlawfully shared confidential investigative information with the news media. The police service’s Professional Standards Branch conducted the investigation, with oversight from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.
• The Arkells will headline the Rogers Festival at the Final in ICE District on June 4 before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. The free concert will begin at 4pm in the Play Alberta Fan Park outside Rogers Place, with gates opening at 3:30pm.
• Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi has made another bet with Sunrise Mayor Michael Ryan on the Edmonton Oilers rematch with the Florida Panthers. This year’s wager involves the losing mayor reading a proclamation declaring the winning city’s day in their own city. Sohi expressed confidence in the Oilers, citing their improved performance and home-game advantage, while Ryan predicted an “epic” final.
• For Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers, Rogers Communications launched the “This is Our Ice” campaign, incorporating ice from the hometown rinks of six Oilers players into the Rogers Place ice surface.
• According to sports researchers, so-called “WAGs” (wives and girlfriends) of athletes are experiencing a resurgence in popularity, driven by social media. The new Bar Trove and Trove Living furniture showroom in downtown Edmonton, backed by Lauren Kyle McDavid, wife of Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, is generating buzz. Judy Liao of the University of Alberta notes the trend gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic as sports wives increased their social media presence.
• Edmonton Police Service Const. Alexander Doduk pleaded not guilty to assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon, after allegedly injuring Justin LaFrance with a baton on Nov. 26, 2019. LaFrance testified that he was seeking police assistance after a window was broken when Doduk allegedly struck him multiple times, resulting in a broken nose, chipped tooth, and other injuries.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued wildfire air quality alerts for the Edmonton region and most of northern Alberta due to wildfire smoke causing very poor air quality and reduced visibility on June 3. Air quality in Edmonton was expected to worsen, reaching a high-risk level of 7 on the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), but is expected to return to moderate risk levels on June 4. Environment Canada advises limiting time outdoors and keeping windows and doors closed, especially for children, seniors, and those with respiratory issues.
• The Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton was recognized by ChildKind International on June 3 for its world-class pediatric pain management practices. This recognition highlights a shift in culture towards believing children about their pain and ensuring it is controlled as much as possible.
• The Alberta Diabetes Institute is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Edmonton Protocol, a breakthrough treatment developed by University of Alberta researchers for Type 1 diabetes. The protocol involves transplanting insulin-producing islet cells into the liver, and has allowed 330 Edmonton patients to receive nearly 750 transplants since Byron Best was the first to receive a transplant in 1999.
• The Edmonton Oilers have signed forward Roby Jarventie to a one-year, two-way contract extension with an average annual value of $775,000. Jarventie, acquired from the Ottawa Senators in July, appeared in two games for the Bakersfield Condors last season, recording two assists.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Community Coffee RTakeover: ScaleUP Week Edition starting at 9am at Edmonton Unlimited
• Victoria Harbourcats vs. Edmonton Riverhawks starting at 11:05am at Re/Max Field
• Unlocking Opportunity: How AWE Supports Alberta Women Entrepreneurs starting at 12pm online
• 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Edmonton Protocol starting at 4pm at University of Alberta (TELUS International Centre)
• Docu-scussions: Someone Like Me starting at 5pm at Edmonton Clinic Health Academy
• Edmonton Tech Wednesdays starting at 5:30pm at GRETA Bar YEG
• Improvised Shakespeare starting at 7pm at Grindstone Theatre
• It’s Free to Dream Art Show starting at 7pm at The Aviary
• Road to Joy starting at 7pm at Winspear Centre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• June 7: What’s on your mind, municipally speaking? at Edmonton Public Library (Castle Downs)
• June 17: Dear Future YEG Presents: Youth Symposium at ArtsHub Ortona
• June 18: ECAMP Curiosity Walking Tours - Ukrainian Ties at Central McDougall Park

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.