Nova Scotia's tech sector impresses at North America's largest tech conference

The Digital Nova Scotia team was in Toronto last week for Collision 2024, North America's largest tech conference. This marked our third consecutive year attending the event, where we absorbed the latest innovations, supported our industry members and showcased the unique advantages of living and working in Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia's presence was particularly strong this year, with Invest Nova Scotia leading a delegation of 21 companies—the largest contingent of ICT firms to date. Among them were DNS members Sandbox ERP, EmployNXT and Sparrow BioAcoustics.

This impressive turnout underscored the remarkable growth and potential of our region's tech sector. These companies showed off their work to a record-breaking 37,832 attendees from 117 countries.

• A record-breaking 1,834 companies exhibited on the event floor, including startups from 57 countries and global partners such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Dell, and Snowflake
• 45 percent of exhibiting startups are women-founded, 42 percent of attendees were women, and 35 percent of speakers were women
• 1,003 members of the media covered talks from 570 speakers, who were joined by 739 investors

Artificial intelligence (AI) once again dominated the discussions, with speakers exploring its applications and implications.

Indigenous community leaders shared their unique perspectives on AI, while discussions also covered AI's impact on venture capital, what's next for AI models, and much more. Geoffrey Hinton, often hailed as the 'Godfather of AI,' took center stage to provide his insights on whether we can truly control this powerful technology.

A highlight for DNS was the release of QueerTech's groundbreaking new report at the sixth annual conference. The national nonprofit's research, a first-of-its-kind report on 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion and experiences in the Canadian technology industry, revealed significant disparities for Queer Canadian tech workers, sparking important conversations and awareness.

We were grateful for the opportunity to connect with many of our members and local tech companies who also attended the event, including Alison K Consulting, Matters of Data, b-line, Tribe Network, Adrigo Insights and innerlogic! Collision 2024 was once again a whirlwind of learning and inspiration. The participation of our local attendees further cemented Nova Scotia's reputation as a thriving hub for tech innovation.