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e@UBC has a vibrant startup co-working space out of the Graham Lee Innovation Centre, situated at the heart of the beautiful UBC Point Grey campus. Evidently, as our startups continue to expand, there comes a time when we notice our teams scouting out new locations to house their growing team and technologies.

Thankfully local partners like the BC Tech Association and Discovery Parks have noticed the importance of having an accommodating space to house startups that are scaling, both in technology and operations.The Generator Challenge at Discovery Parks awards premium workspace for 12 months to early-stage technology companies that demonstrate a high likelihood of success. In early June, three e@UBC ventures joined four other local startups in being awarded coveted office space to help with their expansions.

For A&K Robotics, they are creating their first commercial robotic application – winning The Generator Challenge came at an opportune time as they are currently testing their first prototype. “To us, winning the Generator competition represented a huge vote of confidence from Vancouver’s entrepreneurial community; as a young startup going into this adventure for the first time, it means a lot to win this award alongside other great startups,” Matthew Anderson, CEO of A&K Robotics remarked. In the next couple of months, they are preparing to complete their first full-scale indoor autonomous robot, moving towards securing investments to release a beta model, and gravitating towards completing their first global sales agreement.

Michael Ip, CEO of Switchboard, echoes a similar sentiment: “Having spent the last month in the Generator, our entire team is very grateful that Discovery Parks provides the Generator space for burgeoning startups like Switchboard.” Coming out from the New Ventures Design course from UBC, Michael and his cofounder, Sagar, discovered that there was a crucial logistical pain that needed to be solved. Switchboard worked with mentors and EIRs from e@UBC and they are now heavily focused on growing and scaling their business to make trucking logistics operate smoother and easier.

Torus Biomedical Solutions is commercializing a new technology for spine and trauma orthopedic surgeons to allow them to conduct fast, accurate, and safe measurements. Similarly, they are currently engaged with e@UBC mentors and EIRs.

The Generator program is based on the concept that free-flowing ideas and minimal barriers can accelerate the growth and success of technology companies. e@UBC is proud to collaborate and work with organizations like Discovery Parks and the BC Tech Association to help these new startups along the way.

Visit the Discovery Parks website here and about the Generator competition winners here.

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