Dapper Labs, Hootsuite, and VodaSafe were among the award winners of the BC Tech Association’s 2022 Technology Impact Awards (TIAs).
Twelve awards were handed overall out at the TIA gala, which was hosted on October 6. This year’s event marked the 29th annual TIAs hosted by BC Tech. BetaKit is a Technology Impact Awards media partner.
VodaSafe took home the Company of the Year – Startup award after a “Dragon’s Den-style” pitch competition that included three other finalists: Carbin Minerals, Daanaa, and MintList. The startup, which has developed an underwater scanning technology used to help find drowning victims, was awarded $10,000 from BC Tech and $4,000 in PR support co-funded by BC Tech and Switchboard PR.
Company of the Year – Growth was presented to AOT Technologies, which has developed a platform for open-source, low-code development. Advanced Cyclotron Systems, which sells particle accelerators called cyclotrons, took home the Company of the Year – Export award. While Company of the Year for Scale and Anchor went to Redlen Technologies and GeoComply, respectively.
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Redlen, which was acquired by camera company Canon last year, beat out finalists Freight Club, Lighthouse Labs, and ReadyMode for the award. Geolocation-security company GeoComply, which reportedly reached a unicorn valuation last year, beat out Global Relay, LMI Technologies, and Seaspan Shipyards for the Anchor award.
Dapper Labs was given two TIA awards: Spirit of BC Tech and Excellence in Company Culture. The other finalists for the Spirit of BC Tech award were Clio, LandSure, Trulioo, and VanHack. While FreshWorks Studio and Lumen5 were the finalists alongside Dapper Labs for Excellence in Company Culture.
Hootsuite was awarded Gamchanger – Diversity & Inclusion. The award follows Hootsuite restructuring the company, laying off 30 percent of its global workforce, approximately 400 employees, in August. Hootsuite was among a number of tech companies that went through a growth spurt in recent years that was then curbed by this year’s macroeconomic environment.
The newest award that was added to the TIA roster this year was GameChanger in Climate Leadership, which was given to clean hydrogen company HTEC.
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“We were thrilled to celebrate the innovative tech sector in BC and pulled out all of the stops to ensure the TIAs Gala reflected the theme of ambition,” said Jill Tipping, CEO of BC Tech. “In challenging times, innovation becomes more important than ever and through tonight’s awards we were able to shine a light on the strength of BC’s tech community.”
At the event, BC Tech also announced the recipients of its TIAs Scholarships, which are financial bursaries given to high school and post-secondary students to help them pursue careers in technology and innovation.
Here is the full list of winners and finalists for the 2022 TIAs.
SPIRIT OF BC TECH – AMBITION
Finalists: Clio, Dapper Labs, LandSure, Trulioo, VanHack
Winner: Dapper Labs
GAMECHANGER – CLIMATE LEADERSHIP
Finalists: General Fusion, Global Relay, HTEC, Loop Energy
Winner: HTEC
GAMECHANGER – DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
Finalists: Hootsuite, Jelly Academy, SAP
Winner: Hootsuite
EXCELLENCE IN INDUSTRY INNOVATION
Finalists: Seaspan Shipyards, TechBrew Robotics, Vancouver Airport Authority
Winner: Vancouver Airport Authority
EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION
Finalists: Elevated Signals, ForwardAI, MeetAmi Innovations, Transoft Solutions
Winner: MeetAmi Innovations
EXCELLENCE IN COMPANY CULTURE
Finalists: Dapper Labs, FreshWorks Studio, Lumen5
Winner: Dapper Labs
COMPANY OF THE YEAR – STARTUP
Finalists: Carbin Minerals, Daanaa, MintList, VodaSafe
Winner: VodaSafe
COMPANY OF THE YEAR – GROWTH
Finalists: AOT Technologies, FansUnite, Oxygen8, StandardFusion
Winner: AOT Technologies
COMPANY OF THE YEAR – EXPORT
Finalists: Advanced Cyclotron Systems, Canalyst, Launchpad, Weir Motion Metrics
Winner: Advanced Cyclotron Systems
COMPANY OF THE YEAR – SCALE
Finalists: Freight Club, Lighthouse Labs, ReadyMode, Redlen Technologies
Winner: Redlen Technologies
COMPANY OF THE YEAR – ANCHOR
Finalists: GeoComply, Global Relay, LMI Technologies, Seaspan Shipyards
Winner: GeoComply
PERSON OF THE YEAR
Finalists: Joy Johnson, Josh Nilson, Pascal Spothelfer
Winner: Josh Nilson (founder of the East Side Games studio)
Feature image courtesy BC Tech Association and CNW Group.
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