4AG Robotics is celebrating 12 million mushrooms picked in 2025, an increase from two million in 2024. To accommodate its growth — with worldwide orders of its harvesting robots booked through to June 2026, it is moving into a new 36,000-square-foot production facility in Salmon Arm, B.C., which will enable the company to scale production up to four robots per week.

The company has also been snatching up accolades. It was recently recognized at the FIRA USA – World Ag Robotics Forum as Best Startup 2025. Earlier this year it picked up the same title at World FIRA, making it one of the few — if not only — companies to win the pitch and impress the investor jury in both North America and Europe.

Arca has signed an agreement with Microsoft for nearly 300,000 tonnes of durable carbon removal over 10 years. This agreement is a significant validation of Arca’s Industrial Mineralization solution that captures and permanently stores CO₂ from the air as stable carbonate minerals. Microsoft’s long-term commitment is a major step in Arca’s trajectory from pilots to potentially million-tonne operations.  

Vancouver-based ChopValue has expanded in the EMEA with a new satellite office in Copenhagen and its first microfactory in Madrid. Its parent company, Microfactory Venture Platform (MVP), is an approved vendor for Restaurant Brands Europe, which will enable ChopValue’s locally based microfactories to manufacture full-service furniture solutions for brands such as Popeyes and Burger King starting in Spain, Italy and Portugal.

On the R&D side, it has partnered with Takenaka Corporation to advance scalable circular construction materials. Through this collaboration, the company is transforming local waste into engineered materials, supporting Japan’s transition to low-carbon, resource-efficient manufacturing.

Pushing the boundaries of its sustainability, Mangrove Lithium is moving to commercialize a cement clinker substitute from the discards of its lithium processing, which will help cut greenhouse gas emissions from the cement sector. Clinker, the pebble-like ingredient used to make cement, is currently responsible for about seven percent of global carbon emissions.

More recently, the company has received a follow-on commitment from NorthX to help demonstrate the continuous operation of its lithium refining platform — the final step before commercial deployment.

Vancouver-based Netskrt has been busy growing its presence worldwide. The global CDN with last-mile awareness recently announced an expansion in Brazil, now covering over 60 delivery points and handling more than 5.0 Tbps of live and on-demand streaming video across a country with millions of sports fans. It has also announced a strategic partnership with Guam Exchange, improving connectivity, content delivery and access to quality streaming for users across the Pacific region. Lastly, Netskrt has partnered with MIX, one of Italy’s largest Internet Exchanges, to deliver high-quality streaming video to subscribers across the country while also reducing latency and traffic strain on local infrastructure.

Novarc’s Open House in November welcomed InBC, Seaspan, Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) and Honourable Paul Choi, Parliamentary Secretary for Trade to its Burnaby headquarters. The company demonstrated its new SWR TIPTIG Autonomy, the world’s first fully autonomous Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding solution that can deliver precision and consistency previously unattainable in TIG welding. The technology has the potential to improve productivity, safety and weld quality across a wide range of industries such as shipbuilding, energy and clean technology.

Novarc was recently named one of the fastest growing companies in North America in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 list.

Supported by Yaletown Partners

Inverted AI has partnered with Foretellix to advance scenario-based testing with realistic and targeted AI-based simulation. A pioneer of predictive human behaviour models for simulation and planning, Inverted AI is using real-world data to train policies critical for achieving fully autonomous vehicles.

Supported by Active Impact Investments

North Vancouver-based Jetson’s Air heat pump has been named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025. Jetson is on a mission to replace fossil-fueled heating systems with advanced electric heat pumps that cut emissions, save on energy and lower costs for homeowners across North America.

Supported by Evok Innovations

For the fifth year in a row, MineSense Technologies has been recognized by Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 as one of the fastest-growing technology companies in Canada. MineSense’s technology unlocks orebody knowledge in real-time, improving ore recovery, minimizing environmental impact and increasing efficiency in mining operations such as in the critical minerals industry essential to the energy transition.

Supported by Yaletown Partners

Photonic has advanced to Stage B of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), the stage of validation which will assess the plausibility of its R&D roadmap towards industrial quantum performance. Photonic is building one of the world’s first commercial-scale quantum computing systems, with potential use case for a wide range of industries.

Supported by Yaletown Partners

SALUS has launched a smarter version of its SALUS IQ, its AI-powered engine that searches across thousands of safety regulations, manuals and best practices to provide immediate answers for the construction industry. SALUS’ digital safety platform is helping construction teams to simplify risk management, enhance compliance and improve safety.

Supported by Brightspark Ventures

ShopVision has partnered with Similarweb to bring traffic trend data into its industry-wide reporting. An AI super agent and e-commerce intelligence platform, ShopVision is helping merchants to understand the market in real-time and respond quickly.  

Supported by Pender Ventures

Veritree is another B.C. company that has been recognized in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 as one of the fastest growing companies in Canada. Veritree helps businesses invest confidently in restoration projects with real-time, on-the-ground data providing transparency and measurable impact. In October, Veritree’s corporate partners pledged 6.9 million tree plantings as part of their commitments to ecosystem restoration.

A few months back, Veritree was also named in The Globe and Mail’s ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies. All three of the Pender invested companies named in the list — Veritree, Jane App and Traction Rec — are notably based in B.C. (Note: Pender invested in Jane prior to InBC’s commitment and it is not counted under our portfolio)

4AG Robotics has introduced its Forager HX800 mushroom harvesting robot, which can harvest, trim and pack into punnets, detect disease and optimize stem length, and make real-time decisions for size, quality and placement. Developed in collaboration with commercial growers, the HX800 retrofits onto standard Dutch rack systems, and can operate 24/7 and service multiple rooms.

4AG was just named in The Globe and Mail’s annual list of the Top Growing Companies in Canada.

ChopValue has published its 2024 Urban Impact Report, which includes highlights such as 199 million chopsticks diverted from landfills, 9.7 million kg of CO₂ emissions saved and more than 80 micro-factories operating or in development worldwide. The company continues to install its climate-positive premium wood furniture, engineered from recycled chopsticks, for clients across the world including most recently at the office of global non-profit The Bridgespan Group and 7-Eleven in Hong Kong.

Clarius’ Median Nerve AI and Prostate AI technology are now approved in Canada and available for clinical use, helping healthcare providers to enhance the accuracy and speed of carpal tunnel and prostate assessments. The company also launched a new release of its Clarius App, improving patient care with AI-powered ultrasound tools for clinicians such as physiotherapists, plastic surgeons and veterinarians, and for ultrasound education.

Mangrove Lithium was part of the Critical Minerals Trade Mission to Japan, hosted by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). CEO Dr. Saad Dara had the opportunity to present at the Canadian Critical Minerals Investment Seminar at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, sharing the company’s vision for clean, scalable lithium refining. The company was also able to connect with its trade partners in Japan and meet other organizations across the battery and clean energy value chain.

Netskrt Systems has teamed up with Lumen Technologies to scale its live-streaming services. Lumen will provide Netskrt with dynamic Edge Bare Metal (EMB) capacity to support the company’s rapidly expanding content delivery on a multi-national level, increasing Netskrt’s reach and providing more communities with access to high quality live streaming.  

Novarc Technologies has launched the SWR+TIPTIG Autonomy, an autonomous welding cobot that can perform high-precision TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding. The world’s first fully autonomous robot for the TIG weld process, capable of x-ray quality TIG root welds, the SWR+TIPTIG Autonomy is setting a new standard for the pipe fabrication industry.

Novarc Technologies is a finalist in this year’s BC Technology Impact Awards in the Gamechanger AI category.

Svante has been awarded funding from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to enhance its testing capabilities on the durability of its filters for point of source carbon capture. This funding is part of the federal government’s larger investment in Canadian-made carbon management technologies, announced at Svante’s Centre of Excellence for Carbon Capture and Removal in Burnaby, B.C.

The company is also expanding its support for Speed Skating Canada to ensure Canadian athletes have the resources to perform at the highest level leading up to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. In 2024, Svante collaborated with Speed Skating Canada to highlight the adverse effects of climate change on outdoor winter sports. Svante’s branding will now be on national team uniforms throughout the 2025-26 season, bringing international awareness to the work it is doing to accelerate a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Svante is a finalist in this year’s BC Technology Impact Awards for the Company of the Year – Ambition category.

Poseidon Ocean Systems has reached a milestone, celebrating its 500th Depth Charge Plume (DCP) unit sold worldwide. Poseidon’s DCP oxygen diffuser technology is a key part of their end-to-end fish life support system for the aquaculture industry, offering advanced aeration, oxygenation and automation, enabling farms to improve fish welfare, increase efficiencies and reduce energy consumption.

Brightspark Ventures has led the seed round for ShopVision, a B.C.-based technology company with an e-commerce intelligence platform. An AI super agent helping merchants to understand the market in real-time and move quickly, ShopVision is already trusted by leading brands like Arc’teryx and Herschel.

Salmon Arm-based 4AG Robotics has been getting its mushroom harvesting robots onto farms, expanding from one farm to now picking mushrooms on three continents. It has also made significant strides in its technology, unveiling robots that can now reliably work 24 hours a day and pack mushrooms into small punnets ready for the grocery store. To support both the increase in sales and its production capacity, the company has doubled its team to 70 employees.

4AG Robotics just won the “Best Startup Award – Investor’s Choice” at The International Forum of Agricultural Robotics. In late 2024, Foresight Canada also named the company as one of “Canada’s Most Investable Cleantech Ventures”, with a third-party auditor determining that its robots save a standard farm 8.4 million Kgs of CO₂ emissions annually.

Arca Climate Technologies has been taking its innovations global, with a mission to drive industrial-scale climate action. In the past year it has advanced the world’s first carbon dioxide removal (CDR) demonstration project at an active mine site in Western Australia, advanced the development of its patented mineral activation technology to accelerate carbon capture and storage in mine waste, and formed partnerships with multiple mining companies to explore the suitability of their operations for CDR. Currently, the company is a finalist in the globally prestigious XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition, with the grand prize winners to be announced on Earth Day 2025.

In 2024, Foresight Canada named Arca as the “BC Cleantech Startup of the Year” and one of “Canada’s Most Investable Cleantech Ventures”.

ChopValue has been taking its local approach to manufacturing to new markets, expanding its microfactory network to nine countries while committing to producing and sourcing locally in each region. With partnerships such as A&W Restaurants in Canada and wagamama in the United Kingdom, the company is showcasing how businesses can thrive while embracing sustainability. To date, ChopValue has recycled over 204 million chopsticks and saved over 10 million kgCO2e emissions.

Since InBC’s investment and the opening of its new manufacturing facility in Vancouver, Clarius Mobile Health has been rapidly expanding its presence in global markets including acquiring new distributors across Europe and the Asia Pacific region, enabling Clarius scanners to be sold in countries ranging from Germany to Japan and Australia. It has also been developing its technology, launching new products such as the Clarius OB AI for prenatal care and T-Mode AI for ultrasound education.

As of January 2025, Clarius’ ultrasound technology has touched over five million lives worldwide.

Netskrt Systems has been expanding its customer base, now providing edge caching solutions to 450 internet service providers (ISPs) worldwide and growing, including smaller ISPs serving rural and remote communities. Contributing to the company’s growth is its venture into the live streaming sports industry; Netskrt now delivers live streams of NHL games in Canada and NFL games in the United States and will be helping content providers stream NBA games later this year. To support its massive scale, the company has increased its team to more than 70 employees, the majority of whom are based in B.C.

Sanctuary AI has been developing its technology and strengthening its position as a leader in humanoid robotics intellectual property. Recently, Morgan Stanley ranked the company third in published U.S. patent filings (a report, the company points out, that only detected 51 of its approximately 140 published U.S. patent filings). This comes shortly after Tech + IP Advisory ranked it fourth globally for patent holdings for general purpose robots and dexterous manipulation. In December, Sanctuary AI launched its new robotic hand technology with 21 degrees of freedom and the ability to perform in-hand manipulation, enabling its robots to carry out high-value work tasks requiring fine manipulation.

Rossland-based ThoughtExchange has been bringing its survey and engagement technology to more education districts and is now reaching seven million students across eight provinces, one territory and 38 U.S. states. Last year, the company launched a Small District Success Plan, tailoring its services to give K-12 education districts with fewer than 5,000 students access to the same quality engagement methods and data analysis as larger districts. It also continued to pioneer its AI innovation, which can analyze millions of survey responses almost instantly. Now this year, the company has appointed George Psiharis, former COO of Clio and AlayaCare, as Chief Executive Officer to lead its next phase of growth.

In 2024, ThoughtExchange was named in The Globe and Mail’s list of “Canada’s Top Growing Companies”.