VICTORIA, BC, November 8, 2023 – It's that exciting time of year again! The VIATEC Community Awards are set to celebrate Victoria's tech talent, with 50 exceptional finalists now in the spotlight. These standouts, handpicked from a pool of 120 hopefuls, truly reflect the spirit and dynamism powering our local tech scene.

Here are the inspiring contenders for 2023:

Anchor Company of the Year (50+):

• AOT Technologies
• Redlen Technologies, a Canon Inc. company
• Workday

Scale Company of the Year (20-49):

• ASAsoft™ (Canada) Inc.
• Open Ocean Robotics
• Pani Energy
  

Growth Company of the Year (10-20):

• Feature Media Inc.
• HummingBird Drones / Fire AI
• MarineLabs
• Niricson
  

Startup of the Year (<10):

• Axolotl Biosciences 
• GoChip Animal Technology
• Origen Air
• Simple Strata Solutions, Inc.
• Swede
• Apricell Biotechnology Inc.
• Care2Talk Technologies Ltd.
• VoxCell BioInnovation
• Solaires Entreprises Inc.
• Cosmogence

Product of the Year:

• ASAsoft™ (Canada) Inc.
• Open Ocean Robotics
• Sepura Home Ltd.
• Trusty Ox Systems Ltd
• Vecima Networks
  

Innovative Excellence - Hardware:

• Apricell Biotechnology Inc.
• Redlen Technologies, a Canon Inc. company
• Solaires Entreprises Inc.
• VoxCell BioInnovation
  

Innovative Excellence - Software or Service:

• AOT Technologies
• BestHuman (Legal name: Locelle Digital Inc.)
• MarineLabs
• Schneider Electric
• Udutu Learning Systems Inc.
  

Leader of the Year:

• Darin Herle, CEO, Cosmogence
• Humaira Ahmed, CEO, BestHuman (Legal name: Locelle Digital Inc.)
• Jim Balcom, COO, Redlen Technologies
• Leif Baradoy, CEO, Giftbit
• Mark Holder, COO, Checkfront
  

Emerging Leader of the Year:

• Amir Seyfoori, CEO and CSO, Apricell Biotechnology Inc.
• Connor Pickard, COO, Sepura Home Ltd.
• Eve Bennett, CEO, MeepMeep
• Sahar Sam, CSO, Solaires Entreprises Inc.
• Scott Beatty, CEO, MarineLabs
  

Employer of the Year:

• AOT Technologies
• Pilothouse
• RFDM Solutions Inc.
• VoxCell BioInnovation
• Workday
  
  

A distinguished panel from VIATEC, Island Women in Science and Technology (iWIST), Women’s Equity Lab, Cindicates, Alacrity Canada, and UVic’s Coast Capital Innovation Centre will carefully review these finalists. The award recipients will be celebrated at a gala dinner on November 30th at Carson Hall in the Victoria Conference Centre.

This is more than just an awards night; it's a tribute to the ingenuity of Victoria’s tech companies whose efforts have firmly placed Greater Victoria on the tech map as BC's fastest-growing region in the industry. Our tech sector boasts an impressive economic impact of $5.22 billion and provides jobs for 16,775 individuals!

To join in on this celebration of our vibrant tech community, secure your tickets for the Victoria Tech Community Awards 2023. See you there to cheer on our local innovators!

**Media Contact:**

Dan Gunn, CEO

VIATEC

250-882-2820

dgunn@viatec.ca