NORTHUMBERLAND, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Northumberland CFDC, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing financing and strategy for entrepreneurs, today announced that UNIFIED COMPUTER INTELLIGENCE CORPORATION (UCIC) is the winner of its inaugural N100 startup competition. UCIC has successfully secured an investment of $100,000 for the development of “Ubi” (the ubiquitous computer), a revolutionary new device that will change how people interact with computers.
As part of Northumberland CFDC’s $5 million Investment Fund, N100 fills a void in the Canadian startup ecosystem by providing early-stage seed capital for higher risk ventures. The inaugural competition played out over 5 months of intensive startup challenges including a Pitch Contest moderated by Spark Centre’s Bryan Kanarens and featuring the N100 Power Panel. The Power Panel included representatives from the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, Maple Leaf Angels and National Research Council of Canada-IRAP, along with RBC 2012 Canadian Women Entrepreneur of the Year, Jodie Glover and serial digital entrepreneur, Paul Godin.
“We would like to congratulate UCIC as the first winner of N100, and we thank the 34 participating startups who responded to our global call with creative drive and entrepreneurial passion,” said Wendy Curtis, Executive Director, Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation. “N100 was designed to help transform ideas into investment-ready opportunities, and we look forward to the continuing evolution and growth of UCIC as the team sets out to achieve its next milestones—including shipping beta versions of the Ubi this fall to backers of their successful Kickstarter campaign.”
“We are thrilled with the outcome of N100,” said Leor Grebler, Co-Founder and CEO of UCIC. “We are witnessing the dawn of the era of ubiquitous computing and the internet of things. UCIC and its partners are at the forefront with Ubi. We look forward to working closely with Northumberland CFDC to establish a centre of operations, create jobs and grow our presence and impact in Northumberland.”
N100 is part of Northumberland CFDC’s startup acceleration toolkit, a toolkit which also includes FedDev Ontario’s Scientists and Engineers in Business (SEB) Initiative in Northumberland. SEB provides up to $30,000 in matching seed financing for startups led by STEM Entrepreneurs. Portfolio companies include: IFTech (immersive technologies/ARAIG), TheyINNOVATE (consumer technology products/Clipless), KAI Innovations (health informatics) and Gift-IT (a new online classified site where revenue goes to charity). In total, the initiative supported the launch of 20 startups over the past year, making rural Northumberland—a scenic, small town area one hour East of Toronto—an emerging startup hotspot.
N100 is set to enter its second year with a new global call for applications in January, 2014.
About Northumberland CFDC
Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation (Northumberland CFDC) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing financing and strategy for entrepreneurs. Northumberland CFDC is governed by a volunteer board of directors and staffed with business professionals delivering an array of entrepreneurial development programs funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario and located one hour east of Toronto. The corporation manages an investment portfolio that drives business startup and expansion, job creation and local impact to GDP. Current initiatives include FedDev’s Ontario's Scientists and Engineers in Business and N100: a new startup competition for up to $100K in seed capital investment.
About Unified Computer Intelligence Corporation / the Ubi
UNIFIED COMPUTER INTELLIGENCE CORPORATION (UCIC) is a Canadian technology company founded by three technophile engineers: Amin Abdossalami, Mahyar Fotoohi and Leor Grebler. UCIC’s first product the Ubi, is a revolutionary new ubiquitous, voice-activated computing device that offers instant access to information and control of home automation devices. The Ubi is equipped with a microphone, speakers and onboard sensors. It plugs into a wall outlet and accesses the Internet through a wifi connection. The Ubi listens for commands and monitors the environment, including: temperature, humidity, air pressure, and ambient light. This data can be accessed online or used to trigger alerts through email or text message. Read more.
