Two months into the year, the region of Alberta is off to a strong start in 2025.
The energy currently flowing through the province, which we’ll highlight in a moment, is not from nowhere—it builds on momentum from throughout 2024.
For example, Alberta outpaced B.C. for venture capital investment for the first time ever last year.
A lot of that investment was directed toward fintech, with Calgary’s Neo Financial having a banner year in particular.
But fintech is hardly the region’s only success. Who can ignore the fact that Alberta, whose reputation is widely built around fossil fuels, has been experiencing an expanding clean-tech sector?
Speaking of cleantech—but now shifting gears into 2025—Canada Growth Fund this month announced an official financial commitment to Longbow Capital, a Calgary-based private equity investment manager founded in 1997.
The company’s Longbow Energy Transition Fund II invests in businesses expected to benefit from North America’s energy transition, with a focus on technologies that lower carbon emissions. Canada Growth Fund’s commitment includes up to $50 million toward this fund.
The federal government also recently invested in a range of Edmonton-based technology innovators to diversify Alberta’s economy. Those companies are looking to solve an array of problems, from addressing the mental health crisis to improving the homebuilding process.
And in other news, several local entities were recognized at this year’s CIX Startup Awards, a showcase of Canada’s rising stars selected by North American investors.
Edmonton-based game engine innovator Artificial Agency was recognized in the “Early” category. Artificial Agency emerged from stealth last year US$16 million in funding.
University of Calgary spin-off Carbonova was also highlighted in this category for its technology that turns greenhouse gas emissions into carbon materials for inexpensive everyday essentials.
Meanwhile, in the “Growth” category, another Edmonton-Calgary pairing can be found: Edmonton’s Nanoprecise and Calgary’s Summit Nanotech both made the list. Nanoprecise, recognized as a technological innovator by the Global Energy Show Canada Awards, provides industrial machine monitors to reduce downtime and CO2 emissions. They’re among Canada’s fastest growing firms.
Summit Nanotech, the only Albertan to crack this year’s Global Cleantech 100, specializes in extracting lithium from brine using nanotechnology, aiming for a more environmentally friendly and efficient process compared to traditional methods.
Overall, Alberta appears to currently be succeeding in many areas, including in spaces you would not expect, such as the medical devices field. That industry achieved a record-breaking year for investment in 2024, according to the Start Alberta deal flow database.
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