Tech Roundup
July 21, 2026

Headlines

• Reinforcement learning pioneer and Turing Award winner Richard Sutton has left Keen Technologies to found Oak Lab with Khurram Javed. They are focused on developing AI through real-time experiential learning rather than large datasets. The University of Alberta researcher, who is the chief scientific advisor for the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, set a "holy grail" goal of creating a trillion-parameter AI agent that can learn and plan on just 20 watts of energy — roughly the power needed to run a few lightbulbs. Keen Technologies is game designer John Carmack's effort to create artificial general intelligence; he and Sutton joined forces in 2023, but Sutton announced his desire to "pursue a slightly different path toward understanding intelligence" in a post on July 13.
• AltaML has received an investment of about $6.1 million from Toronto-based VerticalScope, deepening an existing relationship in which the applied AI company has deployed agentic workflows and automation across VerticalScope's platform. The investment takes the form of an 18-month secured promissory note, with a five-year warrant giving VerticalScope the option to acquire preferred shares.
• The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute has received $1 million in Claude credits from Anthropic, which the organization will use to encourage AI adoption and support startups and businesses. "Access to AI technology is one of the biggest hurdles for growing companies," Amii's Mitchell McCaig said in a release. The news follows a provincial investment of $50 million into Amii.
• Janak Alford, Alberta's deputy minister of technology and innovation, spoke to Digital Journal about the Velocity White Papers, which explain how the Alberta government used AI agents to find vulnerabilities and rebuild legacy systems. Fifty AI agents ran in parallel to scan 466 million lines of code in about 20 hours, finding that 1,280 applications were performing about 700 distinct business functions — exposing widespread duplication across ministries that will inform a major modernization effort, he said.
• Alberta and Quebec have signed a five-year agreement to share knowledge on integrating AI into public administration, with no financial commitment but a framework for exchanging tools, training approaches, and lessons from each province's experience. The deal formalizes collaboration that began in 2022. It was announced on July 14 by France-Élaine Duranceau, Quebec's cybersecurity minister, alongside Nate Glubish, Alberta's technology and innovation minister.
• University of Alberta biomedical engineering professor Craig Jones discussed the benefits of AI in medical imaging with CTV Edmonton, saying AI is already saving time and likely lives. He pointed to two Health Canada-approved initiatives to diagnose COVID-19 and brain bleeds. Jones, who is also an Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute fellow, shared similar remarks on CBC Edmonton's Radio Active.
• Edmonton developer Kyle Bauder has launched Zelse, an exploration app that gamifies real-world visits to landmarks by awarding points for GPS-verified check-ins to parks and attractions in more than 650 cities across every continent, including 10 missions in St. Albert. Bauder described his development process — including heavy use of AI coding tools — in a Medium post; an iOS version is expected by the end of July.
• Janice Baskin, manager of the Edmonton Regional Innovation Network, shared her insights with Cesar Rojas. She discussed how ERIN supports early-stage entrepreneurs through free membership, grant funding via the Community Initiatives Fund, and programming that helps founders who have been building alone find their way into the community.
• Startup TNT has named Sharyat Bhanwala as its community manager in Edmonton. He previously supported more than 28 early-stage founders at the University of Alberta's Engineering Incubator while completing his master's degree in mechanical engineering.
• Edmonton Tech Wednesdays is looking for a new venue, as GRETA Bar will close on July 26, ending a three-year run that drew more than 7,000 tech and business community members to weekly gatherings, Mykola Holovetskyi posted.
• Canada's National Observer noted that Meta's $13-billion Alberta data centre will draw power from Alberta's natural-gas-dominated grid for years — raising questions about whether the speed of AI infrastructure expansion is locking in new fossil-fuel dependency faster than clean power can be built. "Alberta delivers power on the timeline AI companies want," wrote Amy Legate-Wolfe. "For now, that means natural gas." While provincial and municipal leaders have welcomed the development, some Sturgeon County residents have raised concerns.

Jobs and opportunities

• Nominations and applications for the 2026 Start Alberta Tech Awards are now open. Start Alberta will unveil the winners on Nov. 4 as part of Calgary Innovation Week.
• AltaML is hiring an information security operations specialist.
• PCL is hiring an AI analyst.
• The Government of Alberta is hiring a software development manager and a digital solutions analyst.
• The City of Edmonton is hiring a user experience developer.

Happenings

Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:

• July 21: Open Data Areas Alberta Stakeholder Session for Public Sector and Academia starting at 3pm online
• July 21: Explorer Session #4: IP and Corporate Law starting at 5pm at University of Alberta ICE Engineering Incubator
• July 22: Tech For Good Alliance Working Group starting at 4pm at Arcadia Brewing Co.
• July 23: Open Data Areas Alberta Stakeholder Session - Industry and Tech Innovators starting at 2pm online
• July 23: Startup TNT Happy Hour starting at 6pm at Pub 1905
• July 26: Solar Fest Day starting at 12pm at Earth's Refillery Coop
• Until July 26: KDays Innovation Zone at Edmonton EXPO Centre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Aug. 1-4: BioRob 2026 at Edmonton Convention Centre
• Aug. 26: Tech For Good Alliance Working Group at Arcadia Brewing Co.
• Sept. 9: Aerospace Accelerator Program Online Info Session online

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

Taproot is taking a summer break! The Tech Roundup will return on Aug. 11.