Meet the Winners of the 2024 Innovation Awards

In the past year, businesses have had to navigate a landscape marked by whiplash-inducing technological advancements, undeniably urgent evidence of climate change and ever-shifting consumer values that increasingly prioritize social responsibility. The companies that simply keep up with digital transformation, sustainability best practices and workplace wellness trends can survive, but it takes a future-focused commitment to driving meaningful impact to truly thrive in 2024 and beyond.

Together with judges Krista Jones, interim CEO of MaRS Discovery District, and Takara Small, award-winning tech reporter and podcaster, Canadian Business selected 25 companies that exemplify resilience, adaptability and an unwavering dedication to bettering lives both within and beyond our borders. Meet the companies that are redefining what it means to be an innovator.

Illustration: Nada Hayek

Pontosense

Founded 2021

Headquarters Toronto

Founders Alex Qi, Yihong Qi and Muxin Ma

In 2017, at the Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas’s annual gizmo circus, tech entrepreneur Alex Qi watched a presentation for a biometric monitoring device that was unlike the heart-rate-tracking smartwatches already common at the time. Two wireless routers captured the heartbeat of an audience participant without any physical contact, instead using the same radio waves that Wi-Fi utilizes. He remembers Yihong Qi, a BlackBerry alum who was also attending the event, turning to him with a revelation: You could get even more detailed data using higher-frequency millimetre waves, or mmWaves, through a singular but more efficient sensor.

In 2021, the pair, along with health-tech entrepreneur Muxin Ma, officially co-founded Pontosense, with the aim of using mmWave technology to analyze environments, recognize patterns and offer actionable insights in a variety of settings. The applications of this technology could save lives on numerous fronts, they thought, from health care to vehicular safety to home security.

The underlying science is deceptively simple. Pontosense’s proprietary four-square-centimetre sensor emits high-frequency electromagnetic waves into the air. After bouncing off objects, those mmWaves reflect back onto the sensor, identifying micro-movements as subtle as a heartbeat with medical-grade accuracy from up to 15 metres away. Qi likens it to a bat’s echolocation—except Pontosense takes it to the next level. Using artificial intelligence and proprietary machine-learning tools, the company’s software is able to quickly isolate and remove unwanted noise from data—like a car’s vibrations when trying to measure the driver’s heartbeat—solving an issue that plagued previous iterations of mmWave tech.

Imagine the safety and security enhancements possible with a Pontosense sensor incorporated into

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Corporate London teams up with Nokee Kwe to help meet economic reconciliation goals

London business owners looking to hire and diversify their workforce are being encouraged to consider Indigenous employees as an act of reconciliation that organizers say will also be good for the bottom line. 

A new program, led by the non-profit employment skills centre Nokee Kwe and supported by the London Chamber of Commerce, hopes to address two issues identified by employers: staff shortages and cultural representation in the workplace.

“Let’s not just envision an inclusive workplace, let’s become that change,” said Sharon Deebrah, the project manager for the First Employ Project for Business Reconciliation. “Collaborating and networking is the key to economic development.”  

The corporate sector was called upon in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to actively engage in reconciliation practices, including ensuring Indigenous peoples have equitable access to employment and training.

“Sadly, businesses across the country have not stepped up to their moral obligation under the TRC regulations,” said Graham Henderson, CEO of the London Chamber of Commerce.

“We were dismayed to see from a recent study that 31 per cent of businesses do not think that the calls to action applies to them. They thought it was only personal.”

Henderson said of the steps toward reconciliation that have been taken, including land acknowledgements and sharing educational resources, economic reconciliation remains a missing piece.

He hopes by connecting Chamber of Commerce members and others in corporate London to Nokee Kwe’s project, business leaders in London will have an easier time hiring and supporting Indigenous employees.

“Folks want to do this. They just don’t really understand how to do this,” Henderson said. 

The first order of business for the First Employ Project for Business Reconciliation is to conduct a survey with employers to understand where they’re at and what they want to know. After that, the data will be used to create recruitment and retention materials. 

“I’m very optimistic about this. This is a changing culture and people are far more open to learning after learning the details of the residential schools. People are interested in opening their doors to our community,” Deebrah said. 

She said more information for getting involved will be coming soon. 

LISTEN: Nokee Kwe organizers and the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce explain the goals

London Morning10:14How can businesses attract and retain Indigenous talent?

The Nokee Kwe London Employment and Education Centre is launching a new project to help local businesses attract and

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