- The funding is aimed at supporting 30 companies and commercializing 25 new products
- FedDev Ontario has invested $17.3 million in ventureLAB, including $10.7 million for the growth of HCI and $2.1 million for women’s entrepreneurship
In order to help more hardware and semiconductor-focused tech companies, the federal government has offered $4.5 million in funds for VentureLab.
These funds will be used to boost the development of semiconductor and hardware tech firms. The federal government plans to reduce costs and time to market for Canadian-manufactured products by offering this amount.
The funds will support 30 companies in total, which lead to the commercialisation of 25 new products, shared the federal government.
“This new investment in our Hardware Catalyst Initiative by FedDev Ontario will have a tremendous impact on our ability to continue to grow and scale these great hardtech companies from Canada while also building a stronger knowledge-based economy,” Hugh Chow, CEO of ventureLAB, said in a statement.
FedDev Ontario has invested $17.3 million in ventureLAB, including $10.7 million for the growth of HCI and $2.1 million for women’s entrepreneurship via the WES Ecosystem Fund. Established in 2011, ventureLAB has been assisting Canadian hardware startups with fundraising, talent retention, tech commercialisation, and customer acquisition.
Chow took over as CEO in September, succeeding Melissa Chee and Matt Skynner. Additionally, ventureLAB launched the HardTech Investor Network last year, dedicated to backing Canadian pre-seed and seed-stage startups.
