Ottawa announces $1.7M in funding for Waterloo-based tech business

A Waterloo company has received a major investment to boost production and hire new workers.

An electronics manufacturer in Waterloo is getting financial help to accelerate production and hire an additional 20 employees.

Voltera Inc. makes benchtop 3D printers for prototyping electronics, including traditional circuit boards.

Evan Solomon, the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation made a stop at their Waterloo headquarters on Wednesday to announce $1.7 million in funding through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), which aims to help small businesses grow.

“Our government recognizes that we need to support companies and we’re going to do that,” Solomon promised. “We’re going to support the four key things [technology companies] need: computers, customers, capital and talent.”

Jesus Zozaya, Voltera’s co-founder and CEO, welcomed the investment. He said the funding would help the company with a new prototype.

“It’s expensive to get products out and, ultimately, this funding seals the deal for us and allows us to focus on creating the product, creating a fantastic user experience and, if things go as planned, we should be launching the product by the end of the year.”

Blake Medical Group Inc., a Hamilton-based medical manufacturer, will also get $1.9 million through FedDev Ontario to aid their expansion into Brantford. According to a media release, the company will also “adopt new advanced equipment for their new, smart medical mattress line and existing medical mattresses and therapeutic products.” It also said: “These upgrades will allow the company to bring key material sourcing in-house and deliver patient-focused solutions to hospitals and long-term care facilities across Canada while opening up new opportunities in international markets.”

Solomon said innovation was important, especially at this critical time.

“We are in a crisis; we are in a trade war,” the minister said. “People are feeling it, and they are feeling it in your communities. Here in this region [they are being] hard hit by tariffs… We need the resilience of actually building stuff here and not relying [on other countries].”