per cent alberta tech companies technology

Alberta grows tech sector, jobsAlberta Enterprise Corporation has released the findings of its 2021 AlbertaTechnology Deal Flow Study revealing that Alberta is now home to more than3,000 technology companies, a 233 per cent increase since 2012. The majority(58 per cent) are located in Calgary, with 30 per cent in Edmonton and almost13 per cent in other regions of the province.“Over the last two years we’ve seen record-breaking venture capital investmentin Alberta and we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of technologycompanies since we first started measuring,” said Kristina Williams, CEOAlberta Enterprise Corporation. “These milestones demonstrate that ourtechnology sector is resilient and has growth momentum. Investors are choosingto invest in Alberta’s founders and those women and men are successfullystarting and growing innovative companies here.”The Alberta technology industry is showing signs of maturity with almost 40per cent of local tech companies surveyed exceeding revenues of $1 million, a66 per cent increase since 2018. Over the last two years, the number ofcompanies with 25 or more employees has increased by 12 percentage points upto 25 per cent. Fundraising is another key indicator of growth for technologycompanies, and almost a quarter of Alberta tech companies have raised Series Aor later stage financing.“It’s great to see more than double the number of companies identified in the2021 Study. Alberta’s tech sector is maturing rapidly and it is now a realdriver of employment and diversification. We don’t just want to be a player inCanada’s tech space — we want to become a dominant player going forward,”commented Doug Schweitzer, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation.One of the data points Alberta Enterprise was watching closely in the 2021study was on the diversity of founders in Alberta. Two years ago, the reportshowed 30 per cent of tech companies in Alberta have a female founder or co-founder. The 2021 report showed almost the same proportion of femaleleadership suggesting inclusivity is one of the cultural advantages of Alberta— placing it ahead of the global average of 20 per cent female founders.1Alberta Enterprise initiated an Alberta Tech Deal Flow Study in 2012 with agoal to provide industry stakeholders with a reliable report for measuring thehealth, growth and composition of the Alberta technology and innovationsector. The 2021 study is the fourth edition, co-authored this year with PwCCanada with the same team that produced the PwC MoneyTree Canada Report.“By thoroughly tracking key data about our technology sector, we are able tosee how to wisely support a sustainable technology industry in Alberta,” addedWilliams. “Looking at a decade of data, we can see the major growth impactthat greater access to venture capital has had for our homegrown Albertatechnology companies.”#### Key 2021 Deal Flow Study findings:Tech sector size and cities – there are 3,083 tech companies in Alberta in2021 (compared to 1,238 companies identified in the 2018 study). Mostcompanies operate in our two largest cities – Calgary: 1,776 companies,Edmonton: 918 companies.Tech company financing – 43 per cent of Alberta’s technology startups are atthe pre-seed or seed stage and 43 per cent have raised at least US $1 millionto date.Tech company growth – 40 per cent of survey respondents have achievedprofitability, and 38 per cent of companies reported revenue greater than $1million in the last fiscal year.Tech jobs – The number of companies with 25 or more employees has increased by12 percentage points up to 25 per cent, between 2018 and 2020.Tech founders – The average age of Alberta’s startup founders is 43 and 68 percent have previous startup experience. Almost 30 per cent of Alberta companieshave female founders or co-founders and 35 per cent of the companies thatachieved profitability in the last two years were female founded.Tech type – 67 per cent of Alberta companies are developing software, many forbusiness-to-business enterprise applications. A significant proportion ofcompanies are integrating digital technologies like artificial intelligence(AI) and machine learning (ML) (36 per cent) and big data (27 per cent) intotheir products and services. Companies surveyed had customers in the followingindustries: 34 per cent professional services, 23 per cent in otherindustrials, 15 per cent in energy and mining, 12 per cent in information andmedia, 8 per cent health, wellness and medical, and 8 per cent in agriculture.Investment sources – Alberta tech firms raised capital predominantly fromlocal sources in Alberta, some from other parts of Canada; 10 per cent raisedfrom Silicon Valley.ESG Impact – Startups strived to deliver environmental, social and governance(ESG) impacts in their product or service offerings: 39 per cent had anenvironmental benefit, 45 per cent had a social benefit, and 18 per cent had agovernance benefit.The 2021 Alberta Tech Deal Flow Study was made possible due to input fromAlberta’s tech and venture capital firms and numerous organizations that makeup the Alberta startup ecosystem. Alberta Enterprise expresses its thanks toAlberta Enterprise portfolio venture capital funds, Western EconomicDiversification Canada (WD), and all those that contributed. We hope the studyfindings continue to be useful in supporting the growth of Alberta’stechnology sector.