Tech Roundup
Nov. 10, 2026
Aqtiva's technology to improve crop health and productivity earned it the Innovation of the Year award at the ASTech Awards, continuing a string of successes for the University of Alberta-born company. Founder Tanay Kumar was among several Edmontonians to be honoured at the 37th annual awards celebrating science and technology at The Westin on Nov. 6. He'll be onstage again on Nov. 12 to pitch for investment at Startup TNT's fall investment summit finale. And the company is preparing for commercial deployment.
Among the winners for the best in sector categories was Zero Point Cryogenics. "We are building the ecosystem for quantum technology right here in Edmonton," said founder John P. Davis, whose dilution refrigerators create the cold conditions that make quantum computing possible. Thomas Jones of Jones Microwave, who won the award in aerospace and defence, also celebrated localness in his acceptance speech. "We're making this right here in Edmonton," he said. "Very exciting!" Roland Lee of MacEwan University was recognized for his work on sustainable water management and waste conversion. DrugBank's Michael Wilson took home the award in the health, medical, and life sciences category, and David Wishart, whose research led to the creation of DrugBank, was named Researcher of the Year. (See the Nov. 10 edition of the Health Innovation Roundup for more on that.)
Tara McGee of the University of Alberta and Amy Cardinal Christianson of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative were recognized for their innovative work to reduce the negative impacts of wildfire evacuations on First Nations. Adeiza Suleman and Efemena Ikpro of 10Alytics were honoured for their platform for practical tech training. Barb Carra of Cybera won in the Women in Innovation category. Amanda Lockhart of Canada Security Collective and Alireza Bayat of the Canadian Underground Infrastructure Innovation Centre went home with special awards for championing innovation. The inaugural Breakout Venture of the Year award, the culmination of the Alberta Capital Connect program, went to Calgary's Propra, with Edmonton's Nanostics and Zylotex as runners-up. The latter is also among the six finalists for Startup TNT's fall summit.
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Headlines
- NiaHealth received the A100 One to Watch award at the Start Alberta Tech Awards. Co-founder Sameer Dhar said the team is proud to be from Edmonton. "We've got people in Alberta who really want to help each other and help businesses and entrepreneurs like us do meaningful things in the world." Kristina Milke of Sprout Fund won the award for Ecosystem Support of the Year. Graphite Ventures, which has an Edmonton team, was named Investor of the Year.
- Corol, Correct-AI, Enerbund, and Zylotex have been named to the Foresight 50 list as Canada's top cleantech ventures of 2026. "Very proud of our team and everyone who has helped us get here," Zylotex posted. "There's a lot happening behind the scenes at Zylotex, and it feels pretty good to take a moment and celebrate it."
- BioWare will be the subject of Massive Effect: The BioWare Story, a documentary that started filming two years before its closure, Engadget reported. "It's the story of how a group of underdogs from the Alberta prairies built one of the most beloved studios in gaming, told by the people who were there," producer Shane Fennessey said in a statement on X. "Now, with the shocking news of the studio's closure, we carry the responsibility of telling how the story ends."
- Speaking at the Canadian Steel Conference last week, SketchDeck.ai customer-success director Nicole McLaren urged steel fabricators to test AI on real bids. She recommended appointing a champion, involving a skeptic early, and measuring existing work times before starting.
- The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute's AI literacy team wrote a blog post about Jev, a new type of AI model designed to execute fast, structured, and low-cost decisions without the heavy overhead of traditional LLMs. Jev is best for when a workplace task involves repeatedly evaluating information against clearly defined options, the Amii team wrote.
- Edmonton Unlimited held a Scientific Entrepreneurship Day on Oct. 28 with the University of Alberta and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute. Speakers advised researchers to test customer demand and protect intellectual property.
- Edmonton Unlimited will host the Graduate Research Commercialization Challenge's final showcase on Nov. 23 at 5:30pm. Finalists pursuing master's degrees and doctorates at the University of Alberta will deliver five-minute pitches on turning research into products, technologies, and ventures.
- Alberta Innovates released its 2025-26 annual report, highlighting that it expanded hydrogen testing capacity and connected more than 300 food and beverage organizations to opportunities, as well as opening a commercially accessible carbon-fibre processing facility through InnoTech Alberta.
Governmental matters
- The City of Edmonton's proposed budget includes $1 million to renew the Edmonton Edge Fund. Meanwhile, administration has proposed keeping Edmonton Unlimited's funding allocation stagnant for another four years. City council is set to debate the budget starting on Nov. 23, with a final vote expected by Dec. 18.
- Kris Andreychuk discussed Edmonton's public-sector AI work on CBC's This is Edmonton podcast. He leads the city's applied artificial intelligence team, which develops tools aimed at better serving residents.
- Alberta's Ministry of Technology and Innovation will host Agency 2026 over three days in early December. About 40 government-built AI prototypes for public servants will be showcased in Edmonton on Dec. 7. The event will close in Calgary on Dec. 9 with an open industry day. Deputy Minister Janak Alford said the government will launch the next volume of the Velocity White Papers and new Alberta AI Academy material.
- Rural Municipalities of Alberta called for a provincial review of regulatory and engagement frameworks for large-scale data centres at its conference in Edmonton on Nov. 2 to 5. The resolution seeks clearer roles, responsibilities, and decision-making authority for those projects. "The question is no longer whether municipalities should think about data centres. The question is whether they're prepared when the application comes," said Amanda McDonald, the reeve of the County of Grande Prairie, which is about 40 kilometres north of the proposed Wonder Valley data centre.
- Capital Power CEO Avik Dey and TransAlta CEO Joel Hunter said Alberta's data centre policies will draw projects to the province and help to avoid the kind of public backlash that has been seen in American municipalities and counties. "We've seen what's happened in other jurisdictions where maybe the build-out has gone too quickly and, as a result, has required a lot more infrastructure that results in higher utility bills for customers and as a result of that we've seen the moratoriums," Hunter said during an earnings call. Dey told analysts that Alberta is "in an enviable position today relative ot other markets."
- Stantec's new CEO, Susan Reisbord, said the company will continue to advance data centre development under her leadership, despite growing public backlash. Stantec is part of the team building Meta's $13-billion data centre in Sturgeon County, and it is involved in Walton Global Investments' bid to make it possible to put data centres in the Edmonton Energy and Technology Park.
Jobs and opportunities
- Applications are open for Lab2Market Launch Climate & Energy, delivered by the University of Alberta. The new cohort is a specialized national stream designed to navigate the unique commercialization pathways of clean technology, such as extended development cycles, regulatory hurdles, and capital-intensive scaling. There will be an information session on Nov. 30.
- The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute is hiring a machine learning educator to support the development of AI literacy programming in the K-12 education system, post-secondary institutions, and industry.
- Jobber is hiring a manager in customer success technology.
Happenings
Here are some events coming up soon:
- Nov. 11: Tech Wednesdays starting at 5:30pm at The Pint Public House
- Nov. 12: Post-Federal Budget Breakfast with the Hon. Eleanor Olszewski starting at 9am at Fairmont Hotel Macdonald
- Nov. 12: Set Up Your Business in Alberta starting at 12pm online
- Nov. 12: Startup TNT: Top 6 Finale Night starting at 6pm at Citadel Theatre
- Nov. 12-13: Robotics & Intelligent Systems Expo at University of Alberta (Electrical and Computer Engineering Research Facility)
- Nov. 13: Money and You - Part 2+3 starting at 10:15am at ATB Entrepreneur Centre
- Nov. 16-17: InWithForward Workshops Thick Data & Design Research for Donors at Action Lab
- Nov. 17: Earth 2.0: Engineering Small Steps to Save Our Planet starting at 2pm at University of Alberta (University Commons Building)
And here are more to keep in mind:
- Nov. 19: Built In Edmonton at Pub 1905
- Nov. 24: Demystifying AI Part 5: AI in Action — AI Solutions Reshaping Healthcare Delivery online
- Nov. 25: Big Shot: Circular Economy Pitch Night at Edmonton Unlimited
Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.
This roundup was sponsored by Edmonton Unlimited.
Now is the time for us, Edmonton's innovators, and our city. Headquartered in Alberta's capital city, Edmonton Unlimited harnesses the power of possibility and brings the very best of Edmonton to the world.