The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF) — part of Calgary Economic Development — announced funding on Wednesday for the latest pair of programs aimed at attracting investment and innovation to the city.
Harvest Builders, a local company that helps people launch tech startups, will receive $4 million over three years.
Harvest plans to use the grant to help at least 290 Calgarians get tech ventures off the ground and grow existing companies.
Chris Simair, Harvest’s CEO and the former CEO of SkipTheDishes, said the grant will allow the company to grow its current base of clients.
“This investment will enable Harvest to expand our initial pilot and work with founders to co-build new companies that will continue to fuel the funnel of new innovation and technology here in Calgary,” Simair said.
AltaML, a Calgary-based artificial intelligence company, will be getting $3.25 million over the next three years to launch a data science internship program in Calgary.
Two-hundred-forty people are expected to get experience solving real-world problems with AI.
Cory Janssen, the CEO of AltaML, said the grant could have long-term benefits for Calgary’s existing industries.
“Energy, agriculture and health care can all be using AI,” said Janssen.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who sits on the OCIF board of directors, said the programs will help Calgary grow as a tech hub.
Companies that get grants from the OCIF also have to put their own money into the projects.
So far, the fund has kick-started 11 projects with a total of $30 million.
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