Welcome to this week’s Sunday Briefing. In this issue:

Now on to today’s briefing.

-Emily, [email protected]

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Vancouver-based SeaFoam took home the top prize at COAST Pitchfest this week, winning $10,000 for its carbon-negative building insulation made from seaweed byproducts combined with locally sourced paper and wood waste. Co-founders Amy Yang and Chloe Doesburg pitched their solution to a panel of industry experts at Victoria's COAST Innovation Hub on October 29, competing against four other ocean tech startups.

The company's insulation material is fire and rot resistant and can reduce construction emissions by up to 20 percent compared to traditional fiberglass insulation. SeaFoam is the second B.C. seaweed company to win Pitchfest—last year's winner, Seacork Studio, also develops construction materials from seaweed. The five finalists represented a range of ocean innovations, from autonomous vessels to whale detection systems and maritime charging stations.

Victoria-based Mostar Labs won the audience-selected People's Choice Award for its LilyPad mobile floating charging platform for electric boats. The competition, sponsored by Seaspan and Innovate BC, gives early-stage ocean startups a platform to connect with investors and industry partners while competing for funding.

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🚢 Working for a living: Open Ocean Robotics shared insights from its recent Prince Rupert deployment, where USV Operations Technician Sebastian Deggan detailed how the team prepared and operated the DataXplorer in one of Canada's busiest ports to collect acoustic and real-time ocean monitoring data.

💉 Brand new day: Victoria's VoxCell launched a new brand identity to reflect its evolution in preclinical drug development, as the biotech company continues developing human-relevant tissue models as alternatives to traditional testing methods.

📅 It's the final countdown: VIATEC released the full Victoria Tech Week calendar, inviting the community to browse and register for events taking place across the city from November 17-21 with support from sponsors including Redbrick and Osler.

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November 7 | High-Performance Perovskite PV for Indoor & Outdoor Use

This presentation will provide a technical overview of solar cell operation, highlighting the structural and electronic properties of perovskites and comparing their performance in outdoor versus indoor applications. It also addresses device integration for IoT systems, wearables, and smart home sensors, as well as challenges related to long-term stability and pathways for commercialization.

November 17-21 | Victoria Tech Week

Inspired by successful models from Boulder Startup Week, Seattle Tech Week and NY Tech Week, this new event adopts a decentralized format that turns Victoria into a city-wide innovation showcase, with dozens of events hosted by local companies in their own venues across the capital region.

November 20 | Tour of Reliable Controls Manufacturing Facility

Join an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Reliable Controls, a leader in building automation systems. Discover how their technology supports sustainable, energy-efficient building operations worldwide—all designed and manufactured right here in British Columbia.

Have something or someone we should know about?

Reply or email [email protected] so we can work together to spotlight the lesser-known stories of Victoria's tech ecosystem.