When you think of major markets for Canadian tech innovation, Atlantic Canada does not often top the list. But Fredericton saw an increase of venture capital deals and dollars last year, culminating in the city nailing a spot as one of Canada’s top five tech markets in PwC’s MoneyTree report for Q3 2018. It was the first time New Brunswick’s capital city had made it onto the list since CB Insights began collecting MoneyTree data in 2012.

Cameron Ritchie’s business started with the goal of getting more youth into the job market.

He launched Homewurk in Grade 11, an online service that connects students with odd jobs in Fredericton. Now a first year engineering student at the University of New Brunswick, Ritchie’s business is booming, leasing office space, hiring administrative staff, and securing top clients.

In October, he was named Startup Canada’s young entrepreneur of the year.

FREDERICTON– Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), a nuclear science and technology company, announced Wednesday that it has selected Fredericton to establish its National Innovation Centre. The company says the centre will help the company significantly expand its cybersecurity research capabilities.

CNL will invest more than $3-million in equipment and security for its new Knowledge Park facility. It will also add 24 employees to its Fredericton office over five years. The company is seeking employees from a variety of disciplines, including computer science, systems engineering, applied physics and mathematics.

The City of Fredericton is putting the finishing touches on its final submission to Canada's Smart Cities Challenge — with high hopes of winning $10 million.

Fredericton's entry will focus on ways to better serve members of the community and improve access to city services.

They're doing this by expanding the city's digital infrastructure and building a data base.

“The Living Library: Immigration and Integration” is a project being organized in Fredericton as a two-way platform to both allow people to share their compelling stories of integration in New Brunswick, while also simultaneously letting people learn about other cultures by asking questions in a safe environment.

People will have the chance to be a “living book” or a “reader” on June 21, during the First Night of the Garrison Market, or June 23 on the second day of the 2018 Cultural Expressions Festival.

The idea of the “Living Library: Immigration and Integration” was discussed by a group who took part in a four-week workshop, Economic Immigration Lab, presented by the Pond Deshpande Centre at UNB.

Satellite imaging. Drones. High-tech cameras and sensors. Powered by technology straight out of a spy novel, Fredericton-based Resson Inc. is combining massive data sets, cloud-based processing and leading-edge machine learning to help farmers and food companies maximize profits and nip field problems in the bud. By analyzing detailed pictures of crops—from table grapes to potatoes—the company's software spits out specific information farmers can use to determine where pests are attacking, where more or less water is needed, and where and how much to fertilize.

Resson was started in 2013 by two University of New Brunswick students, and in 2016, it raised $11 million (U.S.) from agri-food giant Monsanto (its lead investor) and Maritime potato juggernaut McCain Foods. Based on input from McCain's largest growers, and with constant tweaking of its online dashboard, the company plans to make its software commercially available next year.

FREDERICTON– Appcast, a New Hampshire-based job-search company, will create up to 70 full-time jobs in Fredericton over the next four years with support from the provincial government, the company announced Wednesday.

Appcast says the new full-time equivalent positions expected to come in the fields of account management and sales.

When Bruce Hogan, Bill Kidman and William Lowry retired from the Canadian military about 10 years ago, they came home with an idea of how to apply what they learned overseas in the business world.
The three men had worked in geomatics in Afghanistan and they knew those skills would be applicable here. They just weren’t sure they could build a viable business.

“We were geomatics in the military flying airborne sensors. Bill Kidman’s last mission was to fly the entire country of Afghanistan [and do] aerial photography,” says Hogan. “We knew what we were doing in terms of the product. Business was a bit of a stretch for us. We had to learn a lot, but we knew how to make the actual systems work and data work.”

A Fredericton agricultural tech company won $1 million Thursday night in one of the most lucrative business plan competitions in the world.

SomaDetect, which is run by Bethany Deshpande and her husband and business partner, Nicholas Clermont, won the the top prize in the 43North annual international competition in Buffalo, N.Y.

"Were completely shocked," Deshpande said.

While the New Brunswick startup community is growing – leagues ahead of where it was before companies like Radian6 and Q1 Labs put the region on the map for outside investors – unrealized promise remains, industry leaders say.

"There is capital here," said Larry Shaw, CEO of Ignite Fredericton and Knowledge Park.