BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In many cities, entering a park is a deliberate act. You adjust your route, find a gate, and cross from public pavement into a space that operates by its own rules, even if those rules are minimal. Hanoi is dismantling that dynamic. Across four major parks, including Cầu Giấy,…
The government of Canada and Telus announced on Monday plans to advance three AI factory projects in British Columbia. The company says the centres could generate a potential $9 billion in economic activity. The Telus project “reflects the kind of ambitious infrastructure we need as a country.” AI Minister Evan Solomon. At Telus Gardens, the…
The Government of Ontario is investing another $5 million CAD across 10 local, early-stage companies developing life sciences and healthtech solutions. This is the fourth round of investments via Ontario’s Life Sciences Innovation Fund. The province announced the news on Monday. Recipients include Esphera SynBio, Kare Chemical Technologies, Myomar Molecular, myStoria, mDetect, NodeAI, ScriptRunner Innovations,…
Imagine: just before heading into renegotiations of the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), President Donald Trump shoots Microsoft a request. Could you grab Prime Minister Mark Carney’s briefing notes from his team’s Outlook, or Office, and share them with the White House? We could have compelling governance strategies for the data-driven digital economy, and we’ve just chosen…
MDA Space says it can now deliver up to 400 satellites per year after expanding its Montréal satellite manufacturing facility. The expansion doubles MDA’s manufacturing floor space as it chases increased global demand for satellite constellations. The Brampton, Ont.-based company announced Monday morning that it has finished its Montréal facility’s 185,000-square-foot expansion after just under…
Vendasta’s new Italian AI doesn’t answer the phone with “It’s-a me,” but it is named MARiO. The Saskatoon-based tech company announced late last month that it had inked a deal to roll out MARiO, an AI-driven employee platform, to more than 100,000 small- and medium-sized businesses across Italy. And yes, the company is seemingly leaning…
Silicon is so last season. The material that gave Silicon Valley its name has been surpassed by semiconductor tech 1,000 times faster: photonics, which transmits data on beams of light. Canada announced this week that it plans to allow private investment in the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre (CPFC), a move Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said…
Episode Description: Europe’s first stadium built exclusively for women’s football is going up in Brighton! And the most interesting design decision wasn’t the pitch. It was the size. Arielle and Karissa cover ten solutions this week, including a single injection that gave a child her hearing, two teenage sisters in Gaza who are up for…
Industry groups want Canada to have a standalone national semiconductor strategy. A Liberal MP said this week that a national strategy is a “stand-out” priority. But Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon says Canada will not pursue one. In an interview at Chips North on Tuesday, Solomon told BetaKit that Canada already…
Everyone agrees that building and backing deep technology startups is challenging. Deep tech companies—advanced materials, AI, biotech, hardware, and quantum computing firms—are typically founded around tough-to-replicate scientific discoveries or engineering breakthroughs, carry greater technical risk, and require a lot of capital, research and development, and time to commercialize their products. There is a renewed interest…
