BlackBerry and L-Spark announce four companies for BlackBerry’s IVY program

WATERLOO and OTTAWA — BlackBerry Limited and L-SPARK, a software-as-a-service accelerator, announced the four winning companies that will make up the third cohort of their joint accelerator program, which aims to grow Canadian technology companies that are focused on connected vehicle technologies.

The accelerator has provided select companies with access to BlackBerry’s Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform – BlackBerry IVY™, enabling them to deliver connected vehicle use cases leveraging in-vehicle data with a view to improving driver and passenger experiences. BlackBerry IVY is a scalable, cloud-connected software platform that allows automakers to provide a consistent and secure way to read vehicle sensor data, normalize it, and create actionable insights from that data both locally in the vehicle and in the cloud.

The companies that make up the third cohort of the program include:

Deeplite, Montreal – Deeplite provides an AI inference optimization platform for the millions of developers struggling to deploy edge-AI to products in vehicles, smart cities, 5G IoT by trying to make more energy-efficient AI.

Raven Connected, Ottawa – Raven Connected provides a comprehensive video telematics platform that incorporates an array of sensors, communication modules and direct connection to the vehicle’s onboard computer to capture images, video and other data elements. These components are incorporated into ML and AI models to generate real-time insights into vehicle performance, driving behaviors, road conditions and pedestrian safety.

Sensor Cortek, Ottawa – Sensor Cortek uses deep neural networks to develop advanced embedded AI-based perception systems enabling reliable understanding of real-world environments. The company creates intelligent software solutions with a focus on advanced driver-assistance and autonomous vehicles.

Wedge Networks, Calgary – Wedge Networks is a cybersecurity software vendor specializing in intelligent real-time threat prevention. Wedge’s threat prevention platform protects connected devices – including connected and autonomous vehicles and intelligent transportation systems.

“The four companies selected for this very special BlackBerry IVY focused accelerator program with L-SPARK represent the very best of the Canadian smart mobility ecosystem. Each brings with them a wealth of talent, innovative technology and a drive to deliver high-impact, data-driven services and solutions that will one day transform the in-car experience,” said Peter Virk, Vice President of IVY Product and Ecosystem, BlackBerry. “We look forward to working with them in the weeks and months ahead and are confident that their offerings will resonate with OEMs as we continue to build out the breadth and depth of our BlackBerry IVY ecosystem.”