The commercialization of Canadian innovation has historically been below expectations, which could be why the Canadian government saw fit to invest over $2.9 million through FedDev Ontario into Rockport Networks Inc., an Ottawa-based networking solution firm.
Announced earlier this week by Karen McCrimmon, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of public safety and emergency preparedness and the member of parliament for Kanata-Carleton, the announcement stated that this investment, which will also leverage $5.4 million in private sector funding, will aid in the acceleration of commercialization of Rockport’s high-performance networking solution.
“FedDev Ontario’s investment in Rockport Networks Inc. will support the growth of a highly resourceful local company in an industry that demands innovative solutions for connectivity and networking,” said McCrimmon. “This announcement is great news for Ottawa, as it supports the scale-up of a local business, strengthening the ICT cluster and creating quality jobs in the region.”
Rockport, which was founded in 2012, said that this investment will not only allow them to create 20 new STEM jobs in the Ottawa area but will also allow Rockport to contract local manufacturers, engineers and software developers. To accelerate the commercialization of its product, Rockport will adapt its proprietary technology specifically for the server market, undergo product refinement, and will execute market development and product launch activities.
“Thanks to this partnership with FedDev Ontario, Rockport is positioned to accelerate market entry of our Canadian networking innovation, deliver the economic, environmental and security benefits, and continue to build a highly-skilled labour force,” said Doug Carwardine, the co-founder, president, and chief executive officer of Rockport.