MaRS Innovation’s 2013 Top 10 List
2013 was an exceptional year for MaRS Innovation. Here are the top 10 news stories from our commercialization portfolio. 1. MaRS Innovation secures a $15 million CECR funding extension In January,…
CBC News’ “The National” Features Granata Decision Systems
Amanda Lang interviews U of T prof and co-founder Craig Boutilier in segment on innovative start-ups and Canada’s future
Following an appearance on the CBC’s “Lang and O’Leary Exchange” on November 28, MaRS Innovation UTEST company, Granata Decision Systems, appeared on CBC news “The National.” The segment included an interview with Amanda Lang.
Watch Boutilier’s interview with Lang for “The National” on CBC’s website.
Founded by Craig Boutilier and Tyler Lu, Granata Decision Systems is one of the first six companies incubated through the UTEST program for early-stage technologies, jointly administered by MaRS Innovation and the University of Toronto.
Granata is one of eight companies to join OneEleven’s accelerator program for companies tackling big data problems.
Their software allows marketers to optimize the effectiveness of their campaigns.
The segment features co-founder Craig Boutilier’s pitch at an invitation-only investor gathering at OneEleven to secure funding to further the success of Granata Decision Systems.
Lang & O’Leary Exchange features Granata Decision Systems
UTEST company makes cameo through launch of OneEleven, Toronto’s new data-driven accelerator for entrepreneurs
CBC’s Lang & O’Leary Exchange featured Granata Decision Systems, one of the first UTEST companies incubated through that program for early-stage technologies by MaRS Innovation and the University of Toronto, in their program on Wednesday, November 28, 2013.
The data-driven company is one of eight to join the inaugural cohort for OneEleven, a new accelerator funded by OMERS Ventures, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, Ryerson University and other industry partners to support mature, sophisticated entrepreneurs tackling big data problems.
Thotra Receives National Post and Hindustan Times Coverage for Speech Transformation Technology
Thotra’s speech transformation technology to improve comprehension in call centres and transcription services worldwide
On October 11, 2013, The Hindustan Times covered a technology developed by UTEST start-up graduate Thotra (invented by Frank Rudzicz) for its speech-transformation software.
The article commends Thotra for recognizing the communications gap surrounding accents, hailing the technology as the solution to “put an end to all accent problems.”
On October 2, 2013, Thotra’s technology was also covered in the National Post:
The software, which filters out aspects of speech that can hinder comprehension, is put to the test by processing lines from Colin Firth in the movie The King’s Speech. The results showcase the potential of the software and how it can assist comprehension of accents.
ChipCare, UTEST and MaRS Innovation profiled in Nature journal article on commercialization programs in Canada
Canadian commercialization and entrepreneurial programs helping scientists and researchers bring their products to market are the focus of a recent article in Nature Journal and on nature.com.
Posted online on October 2, 2013, the article explains how the Centres of Excellence in Commercialization and Research (CECR) programme, and specifically MaRS Innovation, develop research and put it into practice:
“MARS Innovation and its sister organization MARS Discovery District are not-for-profit organizations that are tightly integrated in Canadian research commercialization. They are based in a heritage building that once belonged to the Toronto University Hospital, in the heart of the city’s ‘discovery district’ — the inner-city conglomeration of universities, institutes and hospitals which has a reputation as a research hotbed. “Here, all the different actors in the commercialization sphere come together in one space,” says Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of MARS Discovery District.
Whirlscape’s Minuum keyboard debuts at #2 on Google’s Top New Paid Apps list
The Minuum keyboard, which made its public debut in the Google Play Store on August 21, 2013, has already reached #2 position in Google’s “Top New Paid Android Apps” list. The keyboard is the only non-game currently in that list’s top 10.
In the “Top Paid in Android Apps” general category, Minuum is already #9. The keyboard, made by Whirlscape Inc., has a four-star rating among users.
Portfolio Update: OtoSim on Healthy Sim blog; UTEST grads Whirlscape and Crowdmark launch betas
Here’s a snapshot of some MI start-up news that you may have missed over the last week: OtoSim Inc.'s medical training simulators, which teach otoscopy and otolargyngology skills in an…
Whirlscape’s team on Minuum, Indiegogo and crowdfunding a beta keyboard launch
Every six weeks, MaRS Innovation’s marketing and communications manager writes a guest post for the MaRS Discovery District blog profiling MI’s activities or one of our start-up companies. You can read the original post on the MaRS blog.
On Monday, June 17, Whirlscape Inc. released the beta version of its hotly anticipated, tiny, one-dimensional digital keyboard, Minuum: “the little keyboard for big fingers.”
If you follow tech gadget news, you’ve likely read about or even supported the company’s successful Indiegogo campaign, which raised more than US$87,000—over 870% above their modest initial goal of $10,000—from nearly 10,000 supporters who have now become beta users for the product.
The stats don’t end there. By number of funders, the Minuum Keyboard Project’s campaign is in Indiegogo’s top 10 of all time and is ranked No. 2 among all technology campaigns. Over 1.1 million people worldwide viewed Minuum’s original teaser video on YouTube, which the Whirlscape team edited and shot themselves.
Yonge Street Media: Crowdmark, moderated marking and helping teachers grade better
Yonge Street Media, a weekly online magazine that covers talent, innovation, diversity and quality of life stories in the Toronto region, covered Crowdmark‘s efforts to disrupt the way teachers grade and interact with students in their Innovation section on Wednesday, June 19, 2013.
Crowdmark graduated from the UTEST program earlier this spring. Last week, the company announced it has raised $600,000 in seed funding and completed two successful proof-of-concept pilot projects. Its co-founders are from the University of Toronto.
Here’s an excerpt from Hamutal Dotan‘s article (emphasis ours):
It is the bane of every teacher’s existence: grading. Though essential, it’s also repetitive and time-consuming. It is also increasingly prone to concerns about inequity: from grade inflation to inconsistent standards across different classrooms, sometimes parents, students, and even teachers themselves have a hard time deciding just what the grades they have assigned actually mean.
Aiming to help with both those problems is Toronto startup Crowdmark. Founded by two University of Toronto mathematics experts–the department’s associate chair, James Colliander, and graduate student Martin Muñoz–Crowdmark provides teachers with a suite of tools to facilitate faster grading, and enables teachers to handle large volumes of grading collaboratively.
Whirlscape releases Minuum keyboard beta to early users
10,000 Indiegogo supporters first to try one-dimensional, virtual mobile keyboard
TORONTO, Canada (June 18, 2013) — Whirlscape Inc., creators of Minuum, “the little keyboard for big fingers,” today released the Android beta to the nearly 10,000 supporters who funded the keyboard’s wildly successful Indiegogo campaign.
The Minuum Project campaign raised over $87,000 (USD) through the crowdfunding platform between March and April 2013, well past its initial goal of $10,000. Whirlscape promised to release the hotly anticipated Minuum beta two months after the campaign, and has delivered on that promise.
Minuum’s beta launch to its Indiegogo supporters was covered by TechCrunch, TechCrunch Japan and Mobile Syrup. Whirlscape’s technology was also highlighted in a VentureBeat article on the future of typing.
The product was also reviewed on TechVibes and the Android Police blog: “Minuum Keyboard Beta: Good enough to renew my faith in crowd-funded campaigns.”
Minuum is a tiny, linear, one-dimensional touchscreen keyboard that re-imagines the standard QWERTY layout. It frees up mobile screen space while allowing fast, accurate typing. This touchscreen keyboard marks the first phase of the Minuum Project, which seeks to simplify typing on mobile devices—such as smartphones and tablets—and enable typing for wearable technology. The beta release is an important first step towards Minuum’s “type anywhere” future.