Ottawa, ON – September 23, 2025 – Invest Ottawa, in partnership with CENGN, is expanding its recently launched Bayview BetaWorks program and Area X.O services to further strengthen commercialization pathways for Canadian startups and scaleups.

This collaboration will further enable these innovators to test, validate and demonstrate transformative technologies with prospective end users and first customers, increasing the potential for future procurement and adoption. These opportunities are critical to unlock future business for Canadian founders and help build the strongest sovereign economy in the G7.

“Together with CENGN and Ericsson, we are opening new doors for Canadian founders and firms to access world-class infrastructure and expertise right here in Canada’s Capital,” said Sonya Shorey, President and CEO of Invest Ottawa. “Landing a first customer is one of the greatest hurdles that entrepreneurs face. By leveraging Bayview Yards and Area X.O as more fully as living labs, we will help more startups and scaleups test and validate bold technologies in AI, defence, security, smart mobility, agritech and more. This accelerates time to market, drives global impact, and strengthens Canada’s ability to build, adopt and scale homegrown innovation, fueling jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for our region and our country.”

Through this collaboration, the CENGN Living Lab Initiative will now include co-funded access to the 5G Advanced Performance Living Lab, powered by Ericsson, hosted at Bayview Yards, Ottawa’s innovation hub and one-stop business acceleration shop powered by Invest Ottawa.

“Advancing Canada’s leadership in 5G and smart technologies is crucial for our economic growth and global competitiveness. By investing in collaborative partnerships like the CENGN Living Lab with Ericsson and Invest Ottawa, our government is giving innovators and entrepreneurs the tools and opportunities they need to accelerate the development of breakthrough solutions in areas such as smart buildings, robotics, and applied AI. These partnerships help to build a stronger, more connected ecosystem—where Canadian ideas can be tested, refined, and taken to markets worldwide,” says The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry.

This facility provides pre-commercial 5G technology enabling innovators to test and validate cutting-edge products in critical sectors such as smart buildings, robotics, and applied artificial intelligence—helping reduce time to market and increase competitiveness on a global stage.

“Ericsson is proud to collaborate with CENGN and Invest Ottawa to help Canadian innovators succeed,” says Nishant Grover, CEO, Ericsson Canada. “Our advanced 5G technologies and deep expertise in network communications will accelerate the development and commercialization of transformative solutions across Canada’s key economic sectors.”

The CENGN Living Lab Initiative, supported by a $45 million investment from the Federal Government’s Strategic Response Fund (SRF), is designed to help more than 100 Canadian startups and scaleups prepare their products and solutions for commercialization and adoption. By offering access to advanced infrastructure, expert support, and real-world test environments, the initiative drives technology adoption across priority sectors, fosters new intellectual property, and fuels growth for Canada’s most promising tech ventures.

“By leveraging our comprehensive program services and funding alongside our partner’s pre-commercial 5G advanced testing environments, we are enabling Canadian innovators to bring their cutting edge technologies to global markets faster and with greater confidence.,” says Chris Joyce, , Vice President, Business Development and Marketing of CENGN, CENGN. “This initiative strengthens Canada’s position as a global leader in advanced communications. A technology that is transforming connected systems across industries and supports the country’s economic resilience and long-term growth.”

In addition to co-hosting the 5G lab at Bayview Yards, Invest Ottawa and CENGN are also partnering at Area X.O, the all-weather, multi-sectoral R&D complex for emerging technologies and ITB-certified NATO DIANA Test Centre.

Through this collaboration, startups and scaleups will gain co-funded access to $54 million of infrastructure, capabilities and expertise at Area X.O’s three integrated sites, including a private, public and large drone, heavy vehicle and defence R&D facilities. These include the 100-acre Ottawa Innovation Farm powered by FCC, including active agricultural fields, agritech and vertical farms; specialized defence and security assets, the only drone and advanced robotics testing and training facility of its kind in Canada 5G communications; and smart city infrastructure including 16 km of roadway, a railway crossing and 3- and 4-way intersections for federally supported projects.

These assets and supporting expertise delivered through Area X.O provide real-world testing environments for defence, security, smart mobility and agri-tech innovations, including autonomous drone and vehicle testing, swarm device coordination, and advanced crop and traffic monitoring.

“By extending these capabilities to Area X.O, we are equipping founders with resources that few ecosystems in the world can offer,” said Shorey, “With $54 million of state-of-the-art infrastructure and expertise brought together in one integrated R&D complex, we are reducing risk, accelerating commercialization, and enabling Canadian entrepreneurs to deliver groundbreaking solutions in defence, security, smart mobility, and agritech. This whole-of-ecosystem approach puts world-class assets and expertise within reach of startups and scaleups—helping them achieve breakthroughs faster, safer, and with greater impact. The faster we get these innovations to market, the stronger our economy becomes—fueling new jobs, investment, and prosperity for Canadians.”

 

Media Contacts:
Lindsey Fair
Vice President Marketing and Bayview Impact
Invest Ottawa
613-857-7779
[email protected]

Rick Penwarden
Senior Communications Manager
CENGN -Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks
613-963-1203
[email protected]

Invest Ottawa

Invest Ottawa is the lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital Region, facilitating economic growth and job creation in Ottawa. Guided by a vision to help realize Ottawa’s full potential as a globally recognized, innovative, inclusive, and future-ready city, Invest Ottawa delivers venture development, global expansion and talent programs and services that catalyze the growth and success of entrepreneurs and firms. These include small business training, mentorship, acceleration for technology firms, foreign business and investment attraction, local business retention and expansion in targeted sectors, commercialization and marketing Ottawa’s diversified economy and high quality of life. Invest Ottawa is also the manager of Bayview Yards, Ottawa’s innovation hub and one-stop business acceleration shop, and founder and operator of Area X.O, the R&D complex for next-gen smart mobility, autonomy, and connectivity technologies. Since 2017, the economic impact of Invest Ottawa and the businesses it supports exceeds $3.7 billion in GDP, 29,343 jobs, and $622 million in government revenues. www.investottawa.ca

CENGN – Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks

CENGN, Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks, drives innovation and adoption of applied AI, IoT, and advanced networking technologies through its Living Lab Initiative, technical expertise, and partner ecosystem. Through our services, we enable the digital transformation and competitiveness of the Canadian industry and the commercial growth of Canadian digital technology solutions. CENGN provides access to real end-user environments and the end-to-end testing services and expertise that accelerate validation, demonstration, commercialization, and adoption of digital innovation solutions across Canada and the globe.

Our unique expertise and positioning as a neutral third party in an ecosystem of technology, innovation, government, and academic partners, paired with a long track record of overperforming on program mandates, have made CENGN a trusted leader in delivering Government initiatives that support network technology innovation.

For more information on the CENGN Living Labs or for general inquiries on CENGN, please contact [email protected].