Three Ottawa firms among first cohort of L-Spark/BlackBerry accelerator program

Three of the capital’s rising software firms are among the first seven companies to run through a new accelerator program presented by Kanata-based L-Spark and BlackBerry QNX.

Communications services firm Martello Technologies, cybersecurity company Bluink and automotive software developer Evolved Vehicles Environments will join four other companies from across Canada in the six-month program aimed at growing the country’s next great tech company.

First announced in September, the seven companies will get access to BlackBerry mentors and R&D team, drawing on the firm’s expertise in embedded software and cybersecurity applications to develop out their promising technologies.

Bluink, which develops password authentication and digital ID technology, is no stranger to the L-Spark system, or accelerators in general for that matter. The company went through L-Spark’s original program in 2017 and was accepted to Invest Ottawa’s first accelerator cohort earlier this year. Last year the firm secured a $1.2-million contract with the Ontario government to develop an electronic platform to store photo IDs such as health cards and driver’s licenses.

Evolved Vehicle Environments, also a member of the IO Accelerator, connects cars’ dashboards to users’ home devices. The startup signed a deal with Subaru in August to integrate its software into the automaker’s Starlink in-vehicle technology.

Perhaps the most advanced company to join the accelerator is Martello Technologies, which has already had a high-velocity year. The network performance management firm completed numerous acquisitions in 2018 and went public on the TSX Venture exchange via reverse takeover in September.

Also joining the first cohort are Montreal-based cybersecurity company KyberSecurity, Kitchener-based artificial intelligence firm Acerta, Edmonton-based automotive tech developer Soltare and imaging device maker Visionary Semiconductor of Waterloo.

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