Welcome to this week's Sunday Briefing. In this issue, read about Calgary's top cleantech ventures, a new $3 million fund for startups fueling the energy transition, and the Indigenous tech firm that took home an AI award. Have a great day – see you again Thursday!

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The city's most investable cleantech ventures

Foresight Canada announced the honourees for its second annual Foresight 50, a list of Canada’s most investable cleantech companies. 17 businesses on the list hail from Alberta – 15 from Calgary and two from Edmonton – 34 percent of the list. Last year, 18 firms featured from Alberta.

The honourees – which were unveiled at multiple events hosted by Foresight last Wednesday – were chosen from over 150 applications. They were reviewed by a panel of independent judges representing investors and cleantech community partners who selected the ventures based on criteria including potential environmental impact, overall investability, and probability of success.

Among the firms that made the cut are Carbon Upcycling Technologies, a waste and carbon utilization firm unlocking a new frontier of circular materials; Copperstone Technologies Ltd., which helps industrial clients manage liabilities and safety costs associated with hazardous sites; and Earthware, a return-for-reuse takeout container service.

For the full list of Alberta businesses, read our feature: Calgary and Edmonton's 17 most investable cleantech ventures

🤝 Funding, Deals + Partnerships

• Avatar Innovations secured $750K from Cenovus Energy for a new $3M fund and opened applications for its 2023 Avatar Ignite Program focused on solving complex technology challenges. Read more.

• Fintech giant Square partnered with Interac and the Calgary Stampede to optimize the fan payment experience. Read more.

• Enbridge is partnering with 23 First Nation and Métis groups on the Athabasca Indigenous Investments Partnership, worth more than $1 billion in northern Alberta. Read more.

📰 News To Know

• “This is about building better tech. Better tech incorporates the diverse perspective and experiences of all sorts of people.” – Calgary company models growing LGBTQ2S+ diversity movement in tech industry. Jill Croteau / Global News.

• Alethea Medical won the AI award in the Ingenious Technology Category of the TECHNATION Ingenious Awards. Read more.

• Tej Grewal, co-founder of Qube Technologies, made the Forbes 30 Under 30 Energy 2023 List. Forbes.

• Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) is teaching oil and gas companies how to fish. Glen Weir / IT World Canada.

• Calgary tech market still focused on growth as investment slows. Peter Mitham / Western Investor.

• 10 ways the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology’s Trades and Technology Complex changed everything. Nancy Cope.

• Embold, a Calgary-based ad tech company launched the latest version of its platform. Samira Balsara / IT World Canada.

• Edmonton: Proposed Edge Fund would benefit from sharper focus, says investment manager. Karen Unland / Taproot.

📊 By The Numbers

• $1.3 billion – What creative industries in Alberta are projected to spend on digital transformation by 2024, which will accelerate esports ecosystem development alongside the province’s 5G connectivity, cloud computing, AI and machine learning development.

💡 POV: Ideas and Insights

• Bobby Racette and Margaret Glover-Campbell, CEO and COO of Virtual Gurus, respectively, writing in Fast Company: Now’s a great time to start investing in women of colour

• Chris Neumann, general partner at Panache Ventures, writing on his personal blog: 10 ways to end 2022 strong

• Chamber says Calgary needs a rebrand to attract workers, reflect diversity. Calgary Herald.

📸 Photo Of The Week: Demo Day

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