Are you ready for Discover Tectoria?

Welcome to this week’s Sunday Briefing. In this issue, you'll discover a big raise for a trio of local organizations, learn more about a new Solaires product, meet the burgeoning bluetech accelerator that calls Victoria home, and plenty more.

-James, @jimmermatthews

Discover Tectoria rediscovers itself

Have you ever had to explain to your family what exactly it is that you do? I’m quite lucky in that department. Staff writer is an accurate two-word summary. But, I’m sure data scientist or engineering lead come with some unique dinner table challenges. Those must be compounded with industries like Web3. I’ve definitely got some blank stares about the Metaverse. But, an event returning to Victoria later this spring is here to help with the whole explaining-to-your-mom-what-you-do thing — and plenty more.Discover Tectoria is set for June 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and promises a showcase of more than 75 Greater Victoria tech companies, research projects, interactive displays, and community partners. Everything is under one roof. It’s one of the only events where the local community and visitors come together to discover the innovation that’s stemming from right here in “Tectoria”, according to its hosts, VIATEC. Attendees get to interact with the people and their creations to better understand who and what is driving Victoria’s largest industry, leading to potential careers, connections, or just an appreciated knowledge.For VIATEC CEO Dan Gunn, an auxiliary benefit of the event is the opportunity for attendees to showcase their work to their family and friends.“We didn't anticipate this when we first created the event,” Gunn tells me, “but [for] a lot of people who work in tech, their family have no idea what they do. This is a chance for your parents or your grandparents or your siblings to come out and be like, ‘Oh, okay, so this is what you're a part of.’ Because if you're not a part of something, it's really hard to envision. And this is the best physical manifestation of entrepreneurial innovation that you can go to.”Read my full conversation with Gunn in our Scaleup Story Series, supported by VIATEC.

#VicTJtalks | Victoria: On the Climatetech Frontier | April 12

We've announced the full lineup for our first #VicTJtalks event! The evening will feature speakers from Audette, Ocean Networks Canada, Open Ocean Robotics, and the provincial government, and will bring together entrepreneurs, execs, talent, investors, and the tech community to network and learn.

Local innovators are tackling climate change head on with technology to face a warmer world. From using the ocean to remove atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions to creating a climate-friendly built environment, there’s something special about the climate solutions in made in Victoria.

• Space sponsor: VIATEC

🏙️ Community catchup, powered by VIATEC

Games and Tech Victoria Talk | Designing for Immersive AR: The Sky's the Limit

On April 13, Rob Roe — Hololabs' VP of rendering and systems — will give an overview of designing and creating immersive AR experiences on mobile platforms, drawing on his experiences creating the company's upcoming game, Sky Haven. Roe will review the current state of AR technologies for mobile games (including AR Foundation, Qualcomm’s Vuforia, Niantic Lightship, and Social apps) along with Hololabs’ solution for rendering AR content.

He'll also offer some different approaches for bringing AR into the skies around us, and discuss the usability of the technique for gameplay and immersive world-building. The event will then touch on the use of maps in conjunction with AR systems, as well as narrative and game-design tricks to mitigate edge cases.

📰 More Victoria innovation news

💰 Big bucks for bluetech: Seven projects received a total of $7 million from the Province’s Innovative Clean Energy Fund. Three of these are local: Open Ocean Robotics received $1.75 million, South Island Prosperity Partnership’s Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST) received $2 million, and Pani Energy received $837,800. Dive in. 

🌊 Victoria's vibrant venture accelerator: Speaking of COAST, its venture accelerator program — led by executive-in-residence Shannon Bard — got a shoutout in Entrevestor. Read on.

🍃 Shiny new Solar Ink for Solaires: The cleantech outfit unveiled the latest evolution of its Solar Ink product, which CEO Fabian de la Fuente says is new, improved, and greener. Learn more.

👩‍💻 A toast to Toast: Ariel White, founding city director of WNorth's Victoria chapter, reflects on Women’s History Month, mentorship, friendship, and her professional journey. This includes Toast, a membership-based women’s collective founded to flip the hiring dynamic in favour of women in tech. Living proof in a power suit

🕴️ Tech jobs of the week

Find your next career:

First Light Technologies is hiring for a number of positions, including the ones below:

• Technologist

• Electronics Engineer

• Sales Development Representative

• Accounting Clerk

Hiring in Victoria? Reply to this email and let us know!

📅 Upcoming events

April 12: #VicTJtalks: Victoria: On the climatetech frontier

April 5: Cash Management: Strategies to Extend your Runway for SaaS Founders and CxOs

May 4: Life Sciences British Columbia Showcase Series: Vancouver Island

Have an upcoming event? Reply to let us know.