Activate!Vaughan Smart City Challenge focuses on Smart City innovation

May 19, 2021 3:00 p.m.
Five companies selected as winners of pitch competition
 
Earlier this year, the City of Vaughan launched the Activate!Vaughan Smart City Challenge in search of groundbreaking smart city solutions. The City, in partnership with the Province of Ontario, York Region, The HUB, Alectra, Mackenzie Health, Mackenzie Innovation Institute (Mi2), ventureLAB and Vaughan Public Libraries, called on startups and scaleups to present innovative business solutions that will advance smart city technologies to enhance the quality of life in Vaughan and beyond.  
 
A total of 24 companies participated in the Smart City cohort of the Activate!Vaughan program. Through the program, each venture received one-on-one support from industry leaders, City staff and business mentors to validate and refine their technology solutions. After two months of training and mentorship, 17 finalists were selected to pitch their solutions to one of the four problem statements.
 
Following a week of pitch events, the City is pleased to announce that the judges have selected the following ventures as the winners of the Activate!Vaughan Smart City Challenge:
  • Challenge 1 – Electric Mobility Innovation: SWTCH Energy 
  • Challenge 2 – Municipal Services Route Optimization: IRIS R&D Group
  • Challenge 3 – Age-friendly Communities (Part 1) – Access to Healthcare: uCareNet
  • Challenge 3 – Age-friendly Communities (Part 2) – Social Isolation: Treasured
  • Challenge 4 – Intelligent Placemaking: EAIGLE
About the winners:
  • SWTCH Energy: end-to-end EV charging and energy management solutions designed specifically for high-density urban centers.
  • IRIS R&D Group: on demand, end-to-end AI-enabled smart city and asset reporting technology that seamlessly collects data from existing city vehicles to maximize the utility of city assets and enable significant cost savings.
  • uCareNet: an e-health solution that automates the delivery of home and community care, including booking of caregivers, care coordination and reporting, notification and collaboration tools and virtual patient monitoring.
  • Treasured: a digital platform that enables the creation of engaging, modern online exhibits for cultural storytellers with an easy-to-use tool for writing and publishing stories through custom, web-based 3D exhibits.
  • EAIGLE: vision-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) software solutions for crowd monitoring and occupancy data analytics, which draws anonymized insights from visitor's interactions with public places and facilities.
The winners of each challenge will be invited to engage in deeper consultation with the Activate!Vaughan program partners to explore collaboration opportunities and potential projects. Each of the winning ventures will also be invited to receive dedicated support, including specialized workshops, from experienced advisors at ventureLAB to help them bring their solutions to scale. Eligible ventures will also be able to access provincial microgrant funding through the Starter Company Plus program to support their business growth.
 
Activate!Vaughan Smart City Challenge marks an important step forward to build on the City’s focused efforts to be a Smart City leader. This challenge brought together City departments, industry partners, startups and scaleups to address the challenges of today and the future. By leveraging data and innovative emerging connected technology, the City and program partners are taking a smart city approach to achieve meaningful outcomes and to enhance the quality of life for all residents.
 
QUOTE
 
“As a global Smart City leader, the City of Vaughan seeks new and meaningful ways to incorporate Smart City solutions into our ongoing city-building efforts. In February 2021, we launched a first-of-its-kind program in Ontario – the Activate!Vaughan Smart City Challenge – to connect high-potential startups and scaleups to market-driven entrepreneurship opportunities and mentorship from industry leaders. We called on entrepreneurs, startups and scaleup businesses to propose innovative Smart City technologies to enhance our unrivalled quality of life, and they delivered impressive results. I want to express my sincerest gratitude and appreciation to everyone who participated in this challenge, and I offer my warmest congratulations to the winners. Programs like Activate!Vaughan energize Vaughan's economic prosperity, showcase our entrepreneurial spirit and promote environmental stewardship – all of which are priorities outlined in our Strategic Plan. From improving infrastructure and roads to recreation and healthcare, taking a Smart City approach is fundamental to delivering efficient, reliable and innovative city-building.”
-        Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua
 
QUICK FACTS
 
  • Through the Activate!Vaughan challenge, local startups received mentorship from experts at the partnering organizations to help them develop and refine their solutions.
  • The Activate!Vaughan program is powered by the Province of Ontario through the Starter Company Plus program.
  • The continued support of innovation programs like Activate!Vaughan, which connects entrepreneurs to market-driven entrepreneurship opportunities and mentorship from industry leaders, aligns with the City’s Economic and Cultural Development department’s Business Resilience Plan.
  • Programs like Activate!Vaughan catalyze Vaughan’s economic prosperity, showcase its entrepreneurial spirit and promote innovation – all priorities outlined in the Council-approved 2018-2022 Term of Council Service Excellence Strategic Plan.
  • In the spring of 2021, the City hosted a Demo Day for the Activate!Vaughan Healthcare Innovation Challenge in which a final $10,000 grant was awarded to one of the winning ventures.
  • To stay up to date on the latest updates as they happen, residents are encouraged to sign up for the City Update eNewsletter at vaughan.ca/CityUpdate and follow the City’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn channels.
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