15 Dec 2015 Top Tech Headlines of 2015
Author: BC Tech Association
2015 was a wonderful year for the tech industry in BC. With so many milestones being reached by companies across the province, we found it hard to keep track of all of the good news! To help jog our memories, we compiled a short list of just a few newsworthy stories that you may have missed (or forgotten about!) throughout the past year.
Click on the headlines to read the full story:
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- January 2015: Growth of the Okanagan Technology Sector – A Billion Dollar Industry
Accelerate Okanagan announced a total economic impact of over $1 Billion for the Okanagan Tech Industry for 2013.
- April 2015: Funding Announced to Support Home-Grown Tech Talent
Premier Christy Clark announced a commitment of $250,000 to develop coding-related skills at five BC post-secondary institutions on April 28th, 2015.
- April 2015: HyperGrowth Program Launches in Vancouver
Second-stage revenue accelerator seeks to grow anchor technology companies in BC
- April 2015: Government Supports Innovation in the Development of Clean Technology
Honourable Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification announced $2 million to support the creation and operation of a clean technology development facility.
- May 2015: Metabridge Top 15 Tech Startups Announced
8 of the top 15 Canadian Startup companies were found in Vancouver!
- May 2015: H+ Technology Takes Home Two NextBC Awards and Launches on Kickstarter
H+ Technology was voted 2015’s BC Company of the Year and also received an award for Most Disruptive Innovation!
- June 2015: BC’s Tech Sector Continues to Grow and Create Jobs
The 2014 Profile of the British Columbia High Technology Sector released by BC Stats showed the positive impact in 2013.
- June 2015: BCTIA Announced the Winners of the 2015 Technology Impact Awards
The 2015 Technology Impact Awards marked the BCTIA’s 22nd year recognizing excellence in the BC technology industry.
- June 2015: UrtheCast To Acquire Deimos Satellites And Earth Imaging Operations
UrtheCast is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Elecnor, S.A. to acquire the Earth Observation business, Deimos.
- June 2015: Vancouver’s Recon Instruments has been acquired by Intel
Under Intel, Recon will have more resources for growth and be able to benefit from Intel’s technology portfolio.
- June 2015: DraftingSPACE Has Been Acquired by Vancouver’s BuildDirect
Vancouver-based BuildDirect has acquired Waterloo-based startup DraftingSPACE for an undisclosed amount.
- August 2015: PHEMI Closes $12.2 Million Venture Financing
PHEMI, the company delivering security, privacy and governance insights through the promise of big data, raised a $12.2 million round of venture financing to expand the commercialization phase of the company.
- August 2015: Vancouver Startups Receive Millions from PlentyOfFish CEO
Markus Frind, who scored US$575 million from the sale of his online dating site PlentyOfFish, has plunged back into local online startups, this time as an investor. Frind has reportedly invested $9 million in Grow and $18 million in Vancouver-based online furniture retailer Cymax Stores Inc.
- September 2015: Vancouver Startup Week: Edvisor takes $100,000 prize in BCIC-New Ventures Competition
The 15th annual BCIC-New Ventures Competition saw Edvisor take home the $100,000 BCIC First Prize Package and Rocket Builders GotoMarket Prize.
- October 2015: Elastic Path Software Raises $10 Million to Fuel Further Innovation
Elastic Path Software has raised $10 million in a round led by Yaletown Venture Partners and the BDC Venture Capital IT Fund.
- November 2015: Syrian Refugees Get Peace Geek App to Track Services in Camps
Vancouver-based humanitarian organization, Peace Geeks, developed an app that lets refugees find shelter and water in camps.
- November 2015: 10 BC Tech Companies Named in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50™ Program
Winners Share Impressive Growth Rates and Report Finding and Attracting Talent a Concern
- November 2015: Microsemi to Buy PMC-Sierra in $2.5-Billion Deal
Chip maker Microsemi Corp said on Tuesday it would buy rival PMC-Sierra Inc in a $2.5-billion (U.S.) deal, a day after Skyworks Solutions Inc walked away from a bidding war.
- December 2015: Vancouver’s Allocadia Raises $22 Million Series B Financing Round
Vancouver’s Allocadia announced it has raised a Series B financing for $22 million, bringing the company’s total funding to $30 million.
- December 2015: Vancouver Firm Trulioo Gets $15 Million in Funding
Vancouver’s financial technology sector just got a boost with the announcement of a $15-million funding round for Trulioo, a company that offers identity verification services for businesses and organizations around the globe.
- December 2015: BC Government Announces $100 Million VC Fund to Build Province’s Tech Sector
BC announced that is creating a $100-million venture capital fund to build the foundation for a comprehensive technology strategy aimed at stimulating growth.
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These are just a few of the exciting news stories about our industry to be published in 2015. You can read more BC tech updates on our Blog, or check out our BCTIA Year in Review infographic to get a look at just how much the industry has grown in the past year.
What was your favorite tech moment of 2015? Share it with us on twitter @bctia using hashtag #techin2015.
We wish you Happy Holidays and a joyful New Year, see you in 2016!
