Coffee Briefings are timely deliveries of the latest ITWC headlines, interviews, and podcasts. Today’s Coffee Briefing is delivered by IT World Canada’s editorial team!
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Government of Canada invests C$4.8 million to support Mississauga-based clean tech company
Last Friday, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) announced a C$4.8 million investment to support Stromcore Energy Inc., a manufacturer of intelligent lithium-ion batteries for forklifts.
“Businesses in Ontario are leading the way in modernizing and developing new processes, technologies and products that will build a strong green economy,” said minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, Filomena Tassi. “Our government’s $4.8-million investment in Stromcore Energy Inc. underscores our commitment to helping businesses reach their potential as they move toward innovative green solutions and create good jobs across our province.”
Thanks to this investment, the company will add new advanced manufacturing equipment and launch two new products; Turbo Bank, an AI-powered charger, and Electric Cart, a zero-emission e-forklift, developed in collaboration with Amazon, to lift goods.
The company said that these new products have fast-charging capability and the ability to operate in colder environments, helping improve productivity while greening operations.
Stromcore also said it will create 18 new jobs, as it plans to scale its operations and enhance its competitiveness.
The company also plans to continue supporting the sustainable recycling of batteries as part of a circular economy. It disassembles and salvages up to 99 percent of the battery components at end of life, to minimize their potential negative environmental impact.
Digital Commerce Calgary Fintech Award expanded to include all Canada-based fintech companies
The scope of the second annual Digital Commerce Calgary Fintech Award has been broadened to include all Canada-based fintech companies. The award was initially open only to Calgary-based fintech startups or those looking to relocate to the city.
“Now, fintech entrepreneurs from coast to coast have the opportunity to showcase their brilliance and disrupt the financial technology landscape,” said Jeffrey Smith, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Digital Commerce Bank. “Let’s come together, unite our expertise, and redefine the future of finance on a national scale.”
The award competition selects a total of 25 startups to participate in a 6-week program that features workshops, coaching, guidance from industry experts, and networking opportunities. Then, five startups are selected to live-pitch to a panel of judges to compete for one of three non-dilutive cash prizes totalling over C$300,000. The winners will be unveiled during an Award Gala scheduled for October 2023 in Calgary, Alberta.
To accommodate the expanded participation, the application deadline has been extended to Jun. 12, 2023.
Thomson Reuters announces new plugin with Microsoft 365 Copilot
Global content and technology company Thomson Reuters has announced a new plugin that includes Microsoft 365 Copilot across its productivity suite. This integration seeks to help the company redefine professional work, starting with legal research, drafting and client collaboration.
This comes after the company announced during its Q1 2023 results call that it intends to invest more than US$100 million annually on AI capabilities.
“Generative AI empowers professionals to redefine their work and discover innovative approaches,” said Steve Hasker, president and CEO of Thomson Reuters. “With our customers in the driver’s seat, Thomson Reuters AI technology augments knowledge, helping professionals work smarter, giving them time back to focus on what matters.
With Microsoft, Thomson Reuters developed a contract drafting solution, powered by its legal products and content and Copilot for Microsoft Word. The AI delivers a draft in Word, where professionals can edit and validate their final document.
The company also shared plans to incorporate the following generative AI (gen AI) capabilities:
- Westlaw Precision – customers can find answers to complex legal questions based on proprietary expert content
- Practical Law – access the expertise of more than 650 attorney editors combined with gen AI
- Checkpoint Edge – provide answers to complex tax and accounting questions
- Legal Document Review and Summary – read through hundreds or thousands documents in just seconds to spot risks, resolve questions, etc.
New cloud-based Wi-Fi platform launches
UK-based provider of wireless ISP services, GlobalReach Technology has announced Trusted WiFi, a cloud-based Wi-Fi platform designed for managed service providers (MSPs) and broadband carriers to launch Wi-Fi services quickly for their customers.
The solution features a brandable captive portal, choice of authentication methods, and anonymised data capture and analytics as well as hardware support and management. It seeks to support thousands of enterprise-grade services from a single dashboard, reducing cost and time-to-market.
“We are already a trusted provider for many partners, supporting them at scale with millions of weekly sessions at over 45,000 venues,” said Sara Lupori, chief product officer. “Trusted WiFi includes everything needed to design and deliver a robust service, using any Wi-Fi infrastructure, in minutes.”
The new platform will be available through GlobalReach’s partners who provide wireless infrastructure services.
Samsung invites Canadians to share their best photos in new contest
Samsung Canada is inviting Canadians to capture and share their most epic photos in the ‘This is My Epic’ contest, launched yesterday.
The best photos captured with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone will compete for a chance to win 1 of 10 prizes consisting of C$1,000 cash and a Samsung Galaxy prize pack including a Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy Watch5 and Galaxy Buds2 Pro (valued at C$2,399.97 based on MSRP).
Canadians interested in participating in the contest can submit their entries between May 25 and Jun. 30, 2023
Samsung Canada will also host photography workshops at Samsung Experience Store locations in Toronto, Burnaby and Montreal to help Canadians level up their photography skills. Each session will be followed by a street photography experience where participants will test out their new skills.
The workshops will be held on the following dates:
- CF Toronto Eaton Centre on June 3
- Montreal Eaton Centre on June 10
- Metropolis at Metrotown on June 17
Register for the workshops here.
More to explore
Ericsson whistleblower hits jackpot with US$279M payout
Additional activity relating to the resolved bribery case with Swedish telecommunications firm Ericsson and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) occurred last week, with news the whistleblower involved is now an extremely wealthy individual.
Redwood launches soft-skills simulation platform
E-learning platform and software company Redwood Performance Group has released a new interactive workplace simulation called GradForce Skills.
Microsoft details five ways to govern AI in new report
Yesterday, Microsoft released a new report, “Governing AI: A Blueprint for the Future”, detailing five guidelines that governments should consider when developing policies, laws, and regulations around AI.
IT World Canada’s chief information officer (CIO) and chief content officer (CCO), Jim Love, sat down with Peter Near, the Canadian national director of technology for VMware, during ITWC’s Digital Transformation Conference and awards.
ChatGPT back online after worldwide outage
OpenAI confirmed at around 7am this morning that the site of its popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT, was experiencing an outage, following reports of elevated error rates.
Newfoundland Health wasn’t prepared for ransomware attack: Report
The IT security of Newfoundland and Labrador’s healthcare system before a crippling 2021 cyber attack and data theft was lacking, says the province’s privacy commissioner’s office, which also said there was no justification for the government not telling the public for over 500 days that it was ransomware.
Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.
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