Canadian Robotics Council raises $100,000

The Canadian Robotics Commission (CRC) has entered into a $100,000 funding partnership with the Next Generation Manufacturing Centre (NGen) in December 2023, a global innovation cluster for advanced manufacturing in Canada.

The CRC says the funding will play a vital role in helping it grow Canada’s robotics ecosystem and raise the profile of Canada’s robotics capabilities both domestically and internationally.

The CRC was founded in 2022 and officially registered as a nonprofit in 2023. The organization said the funding will also be critical to developing its organizational structure to sustainably pursue this mission.

The CRC will also join NGen’s Cluster Accelerator Network as its Robotics Leader. This will enable the Council to meaningfully collaborate on mutually beneficial projects and activities with NGen’s adjacent network clusters, including those in artificial intelligence, photonics, and automation.

The CRC and NGen will launch their partnership by co-hosting the CRC’s third annual symposium in Toronto on June 14, 2024. The symposium will bring together key representatives from industry, academia, and government to discuss the status of and opportunities for robotics in Canada.

“NGen’s existing network includes robotics end-users in mining, mobility and advanced manufacturing, and connects important but missing dots in Canada’s robotics ecosystem,” said Hallie Siegel, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Canadian Robotics Council and Managing Director of Strategy and Partnerships at the University of Toronto’s Robotics Institute. “Networking with NGen’s complementary clusters will play an important role in helping us grow the Council’s membership, ensuring that Canadian innovators are not siloed by industry or market, but instead work together to raise awareness of robotics and encourage and promote its adoption and development from coast to coast.”

“The Canadian Robotics Council has demonstrated that it has a strong and unified vision for growing Canada’s robotics ecosystem,” said Christy Michalak, NGen’s Advanced Manufacturing Development Program Director. “As the national voice of Canada’s robotics industry, the CRC is uniquely positioned to lead the NGen Robotics Cluster in a way that drives growth and innovation in Canada’s manufacturing sector.”