This first call for Challenges was launched in September 2024 and included:
- Product Development, to develop and commercialize new advanced sensors and other semiconductor products for strategic end sectors
- Fabrication Processes, to develop semiconductor manufacturing capabilities in strategic core technologies (photonics, MEMS, quantum, and compound semiconductors) and making them widely accessible across Canada.
The response to the Round One calls for proposals was tremendous, and generated pan-Canadian interest and participation. There were 138 expressions of interest submitted from across Canada, targeting each of FABrIC’s core technologies. The total value of proposals was over $235M – more than the full five-year value of the FABrIC initiative.
The final selection included 20 projects from across the country, with twelve in Quebec, five in Ontario, two in British Columbia and one in Alberta.
End-use applications include some of the most important drivers of the economy: datacom, health & biotechnology, aerospace, mobility, advanced manufacturing, cleantech & sustainable energy, as well as quantum computing and sensing technologies. Every project has a clear path to commercialization.
Summary of Round One Challenge Recipients
| Product Development Challenge Recipients | |||
| Axonal Networks Inc. | paraDOX™: (parallel Digital Optical Cross (X) Connect) A new Ethernet Packet Switch Architecture using Silicon Photonic Optical Logic. | Montreal, Quebec | $850K |
| Boréas Technologies Inc. | Force and location sensor with piezo haptic driver integrated on a single die using a single piezo transducer to perform all functions. | Bromont, Quebec | $925K |
| Digitho Technologies inc. (DIGITHO) | Reprogrammable photomask for direct writing capability in lithography for Semiconductors. | Bromont, Quebec | $438K |
| Edgewater Wireless Systems Inc. | Next-generation Spectrum Slicing for IoT and Wi-Fi applications. | Kanata, Ontario | $921K |
| ICSPI Corp. | Development of an atomic force microscope semiconductor metrology system. | Waterloo, Ontario | $623K |
| MMSENSE Technologies Inc. Co-Lead: C-COM Satellite Systems Inc | High Efficiency Beamforming IC and Intelligent Beam-forming Antenna Modules for Satellite IoT and ESA Terminals. | Waterloo, Ontario | $911K |
| PROVA Innovations Ltd. | Advanced ASIC Development for Real-Time Gait Analysis in Rehabilitation Devices. | Ancaster, Ontario | $398K |
| Qubic Inc. | Development and commercialization of low-noise superconducting amplifiers for scalable quantum computing. | Sherbrooke, Quebec | $925K |
| Ranovus Inc. | ODIN® ELS-Canada Capability Demonstrator (ELS-CCD). | Kanata, Ontario | $923K |
| Soundskrit Inc. | Development of a directional MEMS microphone resilient to wind noise for outdoor consumer devices. | Montreal, Quebec | $173K |
| Fabrication Process Challenges | |||
| Aeponyx Enterprises Inc. | Development of an advanced integrated photonic platform targeted for operation between 450 and 1065 nm for quantum applications. | Montreal, Quebec | $867K |