BC Business
For this year's Technology Impact Awards, which include several billion-dollar names, the judges will choose the winners from 44 contenders in 11 categories.
Technologically speaking, we’ve never been in better spirits. Just ask the BC Tech Association, which has announced the finalists for its 2021 Technology Impact Awards.
The province’s largest and longest-running tech awards saw a record 44 finalists across 11 categories.
Inspiration from resilience and community is the theme of the 2021 TIAs, which acknowledge what local technology companies have done to confront the pandemic.
“Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the province’s tech sector pulled together to support our communities, help small business to adopt technology, provide reskilling programs and put workers displaced by COVID into new jobs in the tech sector,” said BC Tech president and CEO Jill Tipping.
In categories ranging from excellence in technology innovation to anchor company of the year, the finalists include an outfit that uses cosmic rays to help locate mineral deposits, a specialist in virtual reality training for surgeons and a leader in ultraviolet-light disinfection. Five of them—AbCellera Biologics, Clio, Dapper Labs, GeoComply Solutions and Thinkific Labs—recently reached a valuation of at least $1 billion.
“We’ve seen seven unicorns emerge in B.C. so far this year, we are announcing 44 inspiring Technology Impact Awards finalists, and there are many more tech companies with that potential in the pipeline,” Tipping said. “We just need to support them to grow and scale in the coming years. That’s why BC Tech is advocating for federal and provincial investment in the ScaleUP BC Partnership platform to support the scale-up of 800 companies across B.C.”
Here are the finalists.
Excellence in Technology InnovationCanexia HealthDapper LabsFormTraceSafe
Excellence in Technology AdoptionAdvanced Intelligent SystemsBoast.aiHSBC CanadaLimage Media Group
Company of the Year StartupehsAIIdeonLive It EarthMatidor.com
Company of the Year GrowthAcuva TechnologiesLaunchpadPrecisionOSRiipen
Company of the Year ExportBoast.aiGeocomply SolutionsInvinity Energy SystemsLMI Technologies
Company of the Year ScaleCanalystEast Side GamesJane SoftwareThinkific Labs
Company of the Year AnchorAbCellera BiologicsAbsolute Software Corp.Cymax GroupWell Health Technologies Corp.
Spirit of BC Tech: ResilienceCopperleafPressReaderSeaspan ShipyardsThrive HealthTraction on Demand
GameChanger Diversity and InclusionBroadbandTV Corp. ClioEast Side GamesStemcell Technologies
Tech Culture of the YearFreighteraKlueLumen5Rival Technologies
Person of the YearCarl HansenLaurie SchultzHamed Shahbazi