CIX lists Canada's 20 most innovative companies

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The CIX annual list

The Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) has released its list of the top 20 most innovative companies in Canada, chosen by a committee of industry experts.

Here are this year's finalists:

Digital media

• Frank and Oak, Montreal
• Scribble Live, Toronto
• Shopcaster, Toronto
• Sitescout, Toronto
• Urthecast, Calgary
• Yactraq, Surrey
• Celtx, St. John’s
• PenyoPal, Toronto
• Wajam, Montreal
• Sweet IQ, Montreal

Information and communication technology

• Livelenz, Bedford, N.S.
• Payfirma, Vancouver
• Vidyard, Waterloo
• Influitive, Toronto
• Printchomp, Waterloo
• 360pi, Ottawa
• Viafoura, Toronto
• Nulogy, Toronto
• Employtouch, Toronto
• Jibestream, Toronto

The storage revolution

Ottawa-based Diablo Technologies closed a $28-million funding round, the company revealed Thursday. The seller of memory system interface products will use the cash infusion to complete work on a new platform that it says will improve transaction processing and data analysis. The funding round was led by Battery Ventures, with contributions from Celtic House Venture Partners, BDC Venture Capital, and Hasso Plattner Ventures. "Storage is undergoing the type of a technological revolution that we see only once every few decades, and it's an exciting time to be involved with the entrepreneurs and technologists who are leading this new wave," Battery's general partner Scott Tobin says in a press release.

The shameless celebrity item

Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria delivered a keynote speech on Nov. 7, at the fourth annual Latino Entrepreneur of the Year Awards gala in Long Beach, Calif. This post from Celebrity-gossip.net is mostly a forum to display photos, which might explain why there's no detail on the contents of her presentation, though the site does make reference to the fact "Eva was thrilled to find out that President Barack Obama won his re-election campaign for another four years in the White House."

EVENTS AND KEY DATES

Solutions for energy reduction

Emerson Climate Technologies is hosting a Smart Symposium for utilities professionals on Nov. 29, at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, Ont. The event focuses on solutions for energy reductions in refrigeration and precision cooling. There will be exhibits and a variety of seminar topics. You can register here.

A new space for innovation

The University of Toronto's Institute for Optical Sciences hosts an afternoon symposium on Nov. 12, to launch TechnoLABS. The new space in the Banting and Best Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers support and training for students and recent alumni who are building innovative companies. Speakers include former U of T students who have successfully launched or run technology companies, including Graeme Ferguson, co-founder of Imax, and Neil Reid, co-founder of Sciex. The event runs from 1 pm to 5 pm.

EDITOR'S PICKS FROM REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS

It should be about growth, after all

"Most entrepreneurs don't want to grow their business," says University of British Columbia professor Thomas Hellmann. "They fear if they go beyond their own expertise, they might lose everything. Or, conversely, if they become too successful, they wouldn't be able to keep control over all facets." This story outlines some ways to dig up new business.

FROM THE ROSB ARCHIVES

Glimmers of hope

Optimism is hard to find in the negative news barrage, Robert F. Keats wrote in this guest column from January, 2012, though logically speaking, he said, he believes the United States will survive and thrive beyond its economic crisis for the following reasons.

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