Amidst the economic doom and gloom that the COVID pandemic has wreaked on Toronto, there’s been one consistent source of good news.

The Greater Toronto Area’s technology sector keeps on growing. The latest example? Delivery app DoorDash announced Wednesday that it would be starting a 50-person engineering team by the end of the year.

It’s the first non-U.S. engineering office for the company.

(Reuters) – Toronto-based semiconductor group Alphawave said on Thursday it was planning to apply for a London listing of its shares, adding that the cornerstone agreement with certain investors gave it a valuation of up to $4.5 billion.

The initial public offering would include issuing new shares, raising roughly $500 million, as well as an offer of existing stock to be sold by current shareholders, the company added.

It was just Yesterday, or 25 years ago, as some people call it, that John, Robert and I produced an event in Toronto called “Smart95.” Most of you attending or downloading the video from this year’s ICF Summit were not there. But there were two features of that event that have withstood the test of time because their arrival was inevitable.

ICF produced the world’s first “smart” conference in the world in 1995 in Toronto. Above image of Toronto is used under Wikimedia Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

The event in Toronto (a city that went on to become the Intelligent Community of the Year in 2014) was the first event in history to use the word “Smart.” You can look it up. John Jung named it and a search revealed it was not in use anywhere. It gives us bragging rights for life, I guess. Most important, it triggered a movement and a way of thinking that has spread out far and wide, from East to West.

An artificial intelligence development company out of Toronto has introduced some fancy new tools to help businesses operate more safely during the pandemic.

Predictmedix's technologies allow stores and other establishments to screen customers for symptoms of COVID-19 before they enter, and they can even tell when people aren't properly social distancing or wearing masks while inside.

Demand for face masks these days is off the charts so it's no surprise that all sorts of designers in Toronto are taking a stab at designing their own versions.

LuxMea Studio, a multidisciplinary design studio with offices in Toronto and Boston, has an idea for a face mask that goes beyond the usual cotton or polyester varieties. So far, they've raised over $100,000 to begin the mass production of masks made by 3D printers.

In this #NoPlaceButHome discussion, we move away from the topic of physical space and density in communities and move to another topic: privacy. ICF Co-Founders Lou Zacharilla and John Jung speak with Kristina Verner, Monique Crichlow and Jean-Noé Landry in the third discussion of The New Abnormal series.

The City of Toronto is set to announce a new program, ShopHERE, aimed at helping Toronto’s independent businesses build and optimize online stores at no cost, BetaKit has learned.

Launched in conjunction with Digital Main Street, a program of the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, the initiative will also receive support from Toronto’s technology community.

ShopHERE’s goal is to help local independent small businesses and artists that currently do not have the resources to build an online store. Web developers from a number of Toronto tech companies will build and launch 3,000 online stores through the program over the next three months.

TORONTO — An Alphabet company's vision for a "smart city" project in Toronto includes buildings made of timber that are five times the current limit, potentially steering the company into the challenges of timber innovation in Canada.

Sidewalk Labs' proposal includes developing 30-plus story buildings made of timber, close to Toronto's central business district, as part of their commitment to sustainability.

Have you been to Toronto yet? If you’re looking for a vibrant city that applauds itself on having diversity as its strength, you have to visit Canada and see what Toronto has in store. Toronto has been recognized as one of the most multicultural cities in the world, boasting over 200 ethnic groups with over 140 languages spoken. It’s now the fourth-largest city in the world and continues to attract people who are seeking a community where they can fit in while standing out. Black entrepreneurs and professionals will find a rich, welcoming culture that will expose you to life beyond the space you currently occupy.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Major Investment Demonstrates the Company's Commitment to Canadian Market

VTS, the commercial real estate industry’s (CRE) leading leasing and asset management platform, announced today the opening of its new product development center in Toronto. The Toronto location will serve as the firm’s first major product development center outside of New York, enabling VTS to access Toronto’s pool of highly skilled product and engineering talent as the startup looks to continue its rapid growth.

VTS is actively hiring for the office, which is located in Downtown Toronto and opened in June. The company plans to grow the Toronto development team to at least 50 people by the end of 2020.