Feds announce $4.5 million investment to support expansion of ventureLAB in Markham

Pentictonherald.ca
Jan. 29, 2024
Scarlett Liu

The Government of Canada announced a $4.5 million investment to support the expansion of ventureLAB. Located in Markham, ventureLAB is a lab and incubator established in 2011 that serves founders building hardware and semiconductor-focused products.

This support, through Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) will accelerate the pool of investment-ready semiconductor and hardware technology companies via access to specialized equipment and services, to reduce the cost and time associated with getting Canadian-made products to market.

“This new investment 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,” said Hugh Chow, chief executive officer of ventureLAB, adding the funds are expected to support more than 30 companies, create and maintain more than 170 high-quality jobs, and lead to the commercialization of 25 new products.

Over the past five years, FedDev Ontario has supported ventureLAB to establish the Hardware Catalyst Initiative (HCI), a state-of-the-art lab and accelerator that helps Canadian hardware and semiconductor-focused companies with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), medtech and automobility to grow and scale up to become globally competitive.

To date, HCI has supported more than 65 businesses, created and maintained 400 jobs, and created or licensed 80 new intellectual properties.

“Our government is investing in a robust innovation co-ordinator right here in Markham,” said Mary Ng, minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development. “With the expansion of HCI, ventureLAB will continue to help more businesses scale up and bring their innovations around the world while creating good jobs here in Ontario.”