Canadian healthcare technology company recently received federal funding, formerly known as the Digital Technology Supercluster, from Vancouver-based financier $25.8 million for artificial intelligence (AI)-related projects received.
Now rebranded as Digital Canada's Global Innovation Cluster, the organization doles out funding through co-investments with Canadian tech companies, and since 2018 has distributed more than $200 million to companies it deems worthy.
The announcement comes as the federal government ramps up its efforts to make Canada a global hotspot for AI. In April, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $2.4 billion package of measures ahead of the government's 2024 budget to ensure what he called Canada's AI edge.
Two of DIGITAL's most recent investments involve Vancouver-based companies.
In April, DIGITAL announced a $3.1 billion initiative led by Gotcare to enhance Gotcare's platform with AI-driven patient matching capabilities, home health care delivery, and virtual support through Gotcare's Health Ambassador Network. Announced. The funding may also be used by Gotcare to develop its conceptual model of AI in predictive health monitoring into a marketable product.
RxPx is also a Vancouver-based company whose president is BIV Influential Women in Business recipient Lynda Brown-Ganzert. DIGITAL is co-investing $10.5 million in an RxPx-led initiative to use AI to improve patient recruitment to make clinical trials more complete, successful and relevant.
DIGITAL's other investments are in venture companies across Canada.
The company is co-investing $9 million in an effort led by Swift Medical, which has offices in Toronto and Chicago. Swift Medical will use the funding to develop AI tools to standardize and improve wound care assessment. The effort will use Swift Medical's AI-based technology to identify wound types and create accurate 3D models. These models are expected to streamline treatment at the point of care.
Finally, DIGITAL is co-investing in a $3.2 million initiative led by Montreal-based AlayaCare, which will use the funding to deploy the first large-scale language model-based smart AI assistant for home care.
Expectations for AI have been rising for over a year now. BibNewsmakers of 2023.
OpenAI's announcement of its free and publicly available chatbot ChatGPT in November 2022 inspired many investors to go all-in on this niche technology. Generative AI powers dozens of British Columbia-based companies.
A sign that AI hype is still at a fever pitch came after the markets closed this afternoon, when stock market darling Nvidia Inc. (Nasdaq:NVDA) reported quarterly earnings that beat already-high expectations.
The company makes semiconductor chips designed for AI platforms. The company's earnings per share were $6.12, up 461% from the same period last year. Revenue rose 262% to $26 billion compared to the same period in 2023.
Nvidia stock rose more than 6% in after-hours trading. Before the start of after-hours trading, Nvidia stock had risen 97.12% year-to-date and 209.4% over the past year.
[email protected]
