BC Business
The 28th edition of the Technology Impact Awards honoured local tech companies in 11 categories, from best startup to most impressive growth story.
Co-host Jill Tipping addresses the crowd at Science World
Well, apparently nerds and geeks have one thing in common: they like to party.
That was the scene last night at Science World, when the 28th Technology Impact Awards (TIAs) celebrated the achievements of the province’s tech sector with a good, old-fashioned, in-person event. The sold-out gathering was also broadcast online.
Hosted by the BC Tech Association, the awards took place on two levels, with bar service, food by social enterprise Potluck Catering and a live band. BC Tech president and CEO Jill Tipping held down the first floor, while TV hostturnedhuman connection expert Riaz Meghji worked the upper level.
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“It’s wonderful to come together as a community and experience the excitement and energy that erupts when hundreds of passionate people share their stories and successes,” Tipping said. “This year, like last year, we were overwhelmed by the unbelievable support that this community brings to this program,” she noted of the TIA’s partners.
As the evening wore on, the well-lubricated crowd made it tough to hear some of the acceptance speeches for the awards, which honoured 44 finalists in 11 categories. George Heyman, provincial minister of environment and climate change strategy, stopped by virtually to announce a new award for 2022: Gamechanger Climate Solutions. BC Tech will present that prize in partnership with Vancouver City Savings Credit Union.
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“Despite the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, B.C.’s tech community has continued to find solutions and turn obstacles into opportunities,” said Meghji, who also interviewed finalists on the red carpet. “The past year has shown that when faced with an obstacle, B.C.’s tech sector rises to the challenge and comes out stronger.”
READ MORE: Q&A: Riaz Meghji says the pandemic has turned bosses into broadcasters
Losing to former Galvanize CEO Laurie Schultz in the coveted Person of the Year category, Carl Hansen triumphed at the end of the night when his AbCellera Biologics took the Company of the Year Anchor prize.
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AbCellera swiftly brought its drug discovery platform to bear on COVID-19, noted founder, director and CEO Hansen, a recent EY Entrepreneur Of The Year winner for the Pacific region. “Working together, we were able to bring a solution to the clinic in world-record time,” he said of the resulting antibody treatment, which the U.S. authorized for emergency use last fall.
READ MORE: Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 winner: Carl Hansen engineered AbCellera’s rise to biotech powerhouse
By the middle of next year, AbCellera estimates, that therapy will have reached almost two million patients, prevented more than 100,000 hospitalizations and saved roughly 40,000 lives.
To hear Hansen tell it, that’s just the start. “I’m most excited today about the opportunities before us,” he said of his publicly traded company, which now has about 370 employees and a market capitalization of some US$4.4 billion. “Just like seeing your kids grow up and go off to school, I’m looking forward to seeing what that kid will do out in the world.”
Excellence in Technology InnovationFinalists: Canexia Health, Dapper Labs, Form, TraceSafe Winner: Dapper Labs
Company of the Year Startup Finalists: ehsAI, Ideon, Live It Earth, Matidor Winner: Matidor
Excellence in Technology AdoptionFinalists: Advanced Intelligent Systems, Boast.ai, HSBC Bank Canada, Limage Media Group Winner: Advanced Intelligent Systems
Tech Culture of the YearFinalists: Freightera, Klue, Lumen5, Rival Winner: Klue
Spirit of B.C. Tech Resilience Finalists: Copperleaf, PressReader, Seaspan Shipyards, Thrive Health, Traction on Demand Winner: Traction on Demand Company of the Year Growth Finalists: Acuva, Launchpad Technologies, PrecisionOS, Riipen Winner: Launchpad Technologies
Company of the Year ExportFinalists: Boast.ai, GeoComply Solutions, Invinity Energy Systems, LMI Technologies Winner: LMI Technologies
Company of the Year Scale Finalists: Canalyst, East Side Games, Jane Software, Thinkific LabsWinner: Thinkific Labs
Gamechanger Diversity and Inclusion Finalists: BroadbandTV Corp., Clio, East Side Games, Stemcell Technologies Winner: BroadbandTV Corp.
Person of the YearFinalists: Carl Hansen, Laurie Schultz, Hamed Shahbazi Winner: Laurie Schultz
Company of the Year AnchorFinalists: AbCellera Biologics, Absolute Software, Cymax Group, Well Health TechnologiesWinner: AbCellera Biologics