Four companies in Newfoundland and Labrador are receiving a financial boost to support tech-based research and development projects.
$781,075 in funding will come from the provincial government and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).
Dialog Enterprises in St. John's is receiving $265,000 to conduct further work on its unique software to modify, interpret and analyze corporate legal data and contracts. The automated product, called Rally, would offer this service without the need for legal documents or expertise.
HYKE Technologies, also based in St. John's, will use a non-repayable contribution of $102,460 to assist phase-two development for the HYKE platform. A real-time version of the company's HYKE app, it’s meant to eliminate the need for coupons and loyalty point systems as incentives for customers making purchases at retail stores.
Also receiving a non-repayable contribution is AS Works. The St. John's company is getting $86,000 to build artificial intelligence into its existing Ducted Fan Unmanned Aerial System. This would allow the system to operate autonomously while continuing to collect and process data. The product will be marketed to potential users in the military, search and rescue and first responder fields as a tool to increase situational awareness and map for safety.
NuCliq Biologics in St. John's will use a $81,562 non-repayable contribution to assist with the ongoing development of its Gut-Check analysis kit. This kit profiles bacteria from a person's gut microbiome, providing a simplified report with detailed information useful for customers and doctors.
The province is covering just over two-thirds of total funding ($535,000), with NRC looking after the remaining amount through its Industrial Research Assistance Program. That program will also provide some professional advisory services to the four companies.
According to a provincial government news release, Newfoundland and Labrador’s technology sector has an estimated value of $1.6 billion and employs 4,000, and an additional 2,000 jobs will be created within the sector over the next three years.
“As start-up companies grow and develop, support from the provincial government plays a role in an entrepreneur’s path forward,” Industry, Energy and Technology Minister Andrew Parsons said in the release. “For companies such as Dialog Enterprises, HYKE Technologies, AS Works and NuCliq Biologics, our investment will allow these firms to expand their (research and development) efforts, while further strengthening and diversifying our province’s emerging tech sector.”
