Eleven market-ready semiconductor projects with an estimated value of $44.3M
Ottawa: May 13, 2026: Demand is escalating for more intelligence in the products that support our health, make gadgets smart, life convenient, and industry more productive. And it’s being met by semiconductors. These microscopic technologies are not only redefining what devices can do locally — at the edge of the internet, without being connected — they are reducing their size, weight, and power consumption.
CMC Microsystems, which manages FABrIC, a Government of Canada Strategic Response Fund initiative to advance domestic capabilities in advanced semiconductor design and manufacturing, is pleased to announce an over $10.7M investment, representing an estimated total value of $44.3M for eleven industry-led projects across Canada that tackle those demands.
As compute moves to the edge — to the devices themselves rather than the cloud — minimizing heat, power needs, weight and the space required are of critical significance. These projects address these intensifying demands with sophisticated solutions that do more than build discrete products – they build domestic industrial capacity. End-use industry applications range widely across some of the most significant drivers of the Canadian economy: advanced manufacturing, clean tech/energy, medtech, ocean marine, automotive and digital. Every project has a clear path to commercialization.
Launched in October 2025, this Challenge call focused on Edge-AI, including edge computing, edge sensors, and AI connectivity as well as Ocean Marine IoT devices. It generated 64 expressions of interest from across the country.
This second funding round reinforces Canada’s leadership position in the growing market for optical connections to reduce power demand in data centres. It extends intelligence to the sensor through low power and energy efficient sensing systems including ocean marine applications, health, autonomous robots and vehicles, and industrial automation. Investments also extend Canadian expertise for in-the-field or edge computing and analog electronic design.
The successful projects — six in Quebec, four in Ontario and one in British Columbia — are:
Quebec: $5.5M in federal funding for a total investment of $16.3M
Boréas Technologies Inc., Active Cooling for Edge AI Computing, $1,000,000
The powerful computational benefits of AI generate enormous amounts of heat. It is a major limit on the capabilities of edge devices. Heat management is essential — this project promises cheaper, smaller, lower-energy cooling systems that accelerate functionality on the edge.
HaiLa Technologies Inc., Ultra-Low-Power Edge-AI Connectivity Chip, $1,000,000
This system-on-chip (SoC) combines extreme low-power communications with secure edge processing, enabling real-time, secure monitoring in a wide range of applications, from personal health devices, smart buildings, industrial equipment and processes to automotive.
indie Photonics Canada Inc., Semiconductor Lasers for Oceanic Fibre Optic Sensing, $970,554
Existing submarine fibre optic cables offer a unique opportunity to deploy compact, low-noise semiconductor lasers for distributed sensing applications. A cost-effective way to monitor seismic activity, environmental conditions, and the health of the telecom network, it also strengthens national security, protecting against national disasters and cyber threats.
Noze Inc., Development of high-resolution, scalable silicon aroma sensor for healthcare applications, $524,144
This medical-grade chip will power next-generation breath-based health monitoring. By analyzing biomarker molecules in human breath, it will enable non-invasive, accessible tools for early disease detection and wellness tracking.
SPARK Microsystems International Inc., Wireless Personal Area Network System-in-Package for Low-Energy, Low-Latency AI Wearables, $1,000,000
As AI wearables evolve from accessories into always-on multi-modal health and safety devices, the demand for high-speed synchronization and extended battery life is exploding. This project delivers a Canadian-designed wireless subsystem for next-generation wearables.
WhalePiX, LightEdge: Scalable Photonic Chiplets for Far-Reach Connectivity, $999,796
Aimed at enabling energy-efficient optical connectivity for advanced AI and data-centre systems, LightEdge’s high-speed chiplet supports multi-terabit data transmission and establishes a Canadian manufacturing workflow that builds next-generation AI infrastructure.
Ontario: $4.6M in federal funding for a total investment of $26.3M
Blumind Inc., Ultra Low Power Analog AI for Physical AI, IoT and Wearables, $1,500,000
This audio inference chip will enable always-on, wake-word, and command recognition in IoT devices and consumer wearables from smartwatches to autonomous vehicles – reducing battery drain by a factor of 100 to 1,000.
mmSense Technologies Inc., High Performance connected conformal 4D millimetre wave Radar IoT Sensor, $847,300
Accurate, real-time detection in smart infrastructure, industrial, and automotive environments, from smart parking, security monitoring, environmental sensing, and automotive systems.
Ranovus Inc., ODIN® Optical Engine Fast-track Prototype Development (“Raptor”), $1,500,000
This market-demand-driven project responds to the unprecedented growth in AI model size. With training and inference growing exponentially, data centres and edge connectivity growth are being constrained by power availability. Ranovus’ high-bandwidth, power-efficient, large-scale networking technology is essential for both scale-up and scale-out needs. Their technology positions Canada in the AI hardware value chain and maintain sovereignty over critical infrastructure components.
Sheba Microsystems Inc., MEMS-actuators for AI-based temperature compensation enabling enhanced ADAS camera systems, $796,280
Advanced-Driving-Assistance-Systems (ADAS) automotive cameras are fixed-focus with large lenses affected by temperature change — an issue that will worsen as pixel size continues to decline. Sheba’s technology maintains sharp focus, with market applications in automotive, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies.
British Columbia: $618,000 in federal funding for a total investment of $1.7M
Bonsai Micro, Edge AI Controller (eAIC) for LEO Satcom and 5G, $618,000
By sensing and optimizing the performance of analog, RF, and mmWave circuitry for advanced wireless communication applications, the eAIC will improve the power efficiency of critical digital technology hardware and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
More information on supported projects can be found here.
FABrIC: A generational investment by the Government of Canada
FABrIC is a Strategic Response Fund initiative of the Government of Canada to accelerate domestic capabilities in advanced semiconductor design and manufacturing. Managed by CMC Microsystems, FABrIC galvanizes national strengths in photonics, MEMS, compound semiconductors and quantum technologies, accelerating commercialization and amplifying Canada’s competitive advantages by maximizing the economic impact of its semiconductor sector.
Marquee programs include Challenge funding, the Quantum Computing Sandbox and Training. Challenge funding supports the development of fabrication processes and IoT products that build national capacity. The Quantum Computing Sandbox is Canada’s first program to enable access to state-of-the-art quantum computing platforms. The FABrIC training portfolio provides specialized skills development for graduate students, early and mid-career professionals in the highly technical and demanding processes of the semiconductor sector.
Contact Information
Gordon Harling
President & CEO
CMC Microsystems
(613) 449 6820
harling@cmc.ca
fabricinnovation.ca
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