• Innovative Digital Twin Platform for Climate Resilience Secures $110,000 Innovate BC First Place Prize
• 217 Startups From Across British Columbia Competed for $250,000 in Cash and Prizes
VANCOUVER, BC – September 19, 2024 – TIMEZYX, a cleantech startup providing real-time digital twin technology to help cities and infrastructure adapt to extreme climate events, has won the 2024 New Ventures BC Competition, presented by Innovate BC. In addition to taking home the $110,000 Innovate BC First Place Prize, the Vancouver company earns the distinction as the province’s top startup.
TIMEZYX provides a “living” structural simulation through a digital twin, continuously updated with real-world data to represent buildings and infrastructure. Their technology helps insurers assess insurability conditions for extreme events like floods and earthquakes, while enabling infrastructure owners to reduce the risk of structural failure.TIMEZYX’s Digital Twin Lab combines health data with real-time computations for comprehensive risk assessments, ensuring resilience and longevity for assets of any size.
SkyAcres Agrotechnologies, an agtech startup enabling anyone to grow and sell produce through an energy-efficient vertical farming system and AI-powered marketplace, earned the $60,000 Innovate BC Second Place Prize. skiKrumb, an Okanagan-based company that’s revolutionizing ski resort navigation with a radio GPS tracker that works without cell service, secured the $35,000 Innovate BC Third Place Prize.
Beyond the top three prizes, five more startups earned awards across various categories.
The Alumni Impact Award went to MineSense Technologies, a pioneer in digital mining solutions that provides real-time data and sensors to optimize metal recovery and minimize environmental impacts in ore mining. The Vancouver company has received numerous awards, including the Deloitte Fast 50 and a recent induction into the Global Cleantech 100 Hall of Fame.
The Alumni Impact Award honours competition alumni who have made a substantial impact on the BC tech community.
The New Ventures BC Competition, presented by Innovate BC, just completed its 24th consecutive year and continues to drive innovation across British Columbia. The six-month program offers startups unparalleled access to mentorship, education, and community, while offering up $250,000 in cash and prizes. Since launching in 2000, the annual competition has supported over 4000 companies that have created more than 9,000 jobs, and raised over $2.7 billion in financing. Notable alumni include Blanka, Ginger Desk, and Cyberdontics (now Perceptive).
QUOTES
Angie Schick, Executive Director at New Ventures BC
“This year’s competition showcased a unique mix of innovative startups from across the province. By combining cutting-edge innovation and creativity, this year’s winners are transforming traditional farms, energy production, and banking systems through made-in-BC technology.”
Kamyab Zandi, CEO, CTO, and Co-Founder at TIMEZYX
“We are thrilled and honoured to receive the top prize in this year’s New Ventures BC Competition. This achievement validates our commitment to transforming how cities and infrastructure adapt to extreme climate events. We appreciate the recognition and support, which will allow us to enhance our digital twin solution and deliver impactful cleantech solutions.”
Peter Cowan, President & CEO at Innovate BC
“Innovation is a major driver of economic growth and a catalyst for solving problems both locally and on a global scale. Innovate BC is proud to support the New Ventures BC Competition once again, which has long served as a platform for championing high potential B.C. startups and supporting them on their journey toward growth, success, and impact – here in our province and beyond. Congratulations to each of this year’s participants and winners.”
Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation
“It takes tremendous talent and courage to start a new venture and grow it into a successful business. Congratulations to each of this year’s New Ventures BC award recipients for all of their hard work and perseverance. I look forward to watching your businesses continue to grow and thrive in B.C.”
New Ventures BC (NVBC) was initiated 24 years ago to help early stage tech startups grow. As a non-profit, they run the annual New Ventures BC Competition, a Venture Acceleration Program, and the newly launched AccelerateIP. To date the New Ventures BC Competition, presented by Innovate BC, has supported over 4,000 companies that have created 9,000 jobs, and raised over $2.7 billion in financing in BC.
A Crown Agency of British Columbia, Innovate BC works to foster innovation across the province and bolster the growth of the local economy through delivering a wide range of programs that help companies start and scale, access talent and encourage technology development, commercialization, and adoption. Innovate BC also harnesses crucial data collection and research, and works to forge strategic industry and community partnerships that create more opportunities for B.C. innovators.
Supporting Information
Competition Homepage
Previous Winners
2024 Top 10 Announcement
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