Ottawa-based defence-tech company H2 Analytics has received $800,000 in new federal funding to expand its international footprint and upgrade its AI-powered training software.
Where the money comes from
H2 Analytics received the money as non-dilutive funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, better known as FedDev Ontario. The Ottawa-based firm plans to use it in two ways: expanding its international footprint and upgrading its AI-powered Exercise Architect Suite, or EASE, platform.
What EASE does
EASE streamlines the development and deployment of realistic intelligence simulations for military customers, including the Canadian Armed Forces. According to FedDev Ontario, the platform enhancements funded by this money will allow users to design and manage more complex training exercises, support multilingual coordination and improve system performance.
The funding announcement does not say how the money will be split between the upgrades and the international expansion, and it does not name the countries H2 is targeting.
Hiring and growth
Founder and CEO Hugo Hodgett said the funding will help the company bring on more staff while speeding up the next stage of the product. "This funding will help us hire highly skilled Canadians while accelerating the next phase of EASE development," Hodgett said.
The company has grown quickly. H2 Analytics now employs 47 people and has nearly doubled its headcount in the last six months. Its revenues have risen more than 550 percent over the last three years. For most of its existence, the company has been self-financed.
Hodgett, a military veteran, launched H2 in 2017. The number of new hires the funding will support has not been announced.
A shift in how defence is viewed
Hodgett also spoke about how the funding landscape for defence companies has felt from the inside. "Defence was a dirty word in VC in Canada. That has, in theory, changed," he said.
What it means for Ottawa
For Ottawa's tech scene, the funding is another sign of defence-focused companies growing in the capital. A company with 47 employees that has nearly doubled its team in half a year is adding jobs here, and Hodgett has said the money is meant to help hire skilled Canadians. Where those new roles will be based has not been stated.
The news follows other defence-tech activity in the city. This past weekend, Calian and Invest Ottawa launched the Northstar Defence Lab at Area X.O, a hub where defence-tech companies will test and develop their work side by side, with a dedicated building expected to be ready early next year. You can read more in ottown's earlier report.
What happens next
H2 Analytics has said it will put the $800,000 toward the EASE upgrades and its international push. Timelines for the platform enhancements and for any new foreign markets have not been announced, and ottown will update this story if more details are released.
Sources: Ottawa Business Journal
