Mia Jensen

Mia Jensen is a reporter with the Ottawa Business Journal. A graduate of Carleton University’s School of Journalism, Mia previously worked as a Local Journalism Initiative reporter for the Sudbury Star covering health, mining, business and the arts. Outside of journalism, she has worked in communications with the Rainbow District School Board, and as a researcher for the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra.

Peter Strom, president and CEO of March Networks. File photo

Peter Strom, March Networks CEO, on going global and the appeal of the ‘Canada’ brand

Techopia, Insider Only Top Stories

From left: Fastest growing companies recipients Frank Bouchard (Wipebook) and Fahim Sheikh (Trellis) chat before dinner at Beckta Dining and Wine. Photo by Mia Jensen

Ottawa’s Fastest Growing Companies meet and mingle ahead of this year’s award ceremony

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Attendees at Tech Thursday Ottawa's first event on May 1 at Manor Lounge on Elgin Street. Photo supplied

Tech Thursday comes to Ottawa as another networking option for the local tech scene

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Hot Frosty production

Now’s not the time to panic, says Ottawa Film Office head in response to Trump tariff plans

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Hard Rock Ottawa staff at the first of its three mass hiring events in April. Photo supplied

Hundreds of hopefuls look to be hired on the spot at Hard Rock Ottawa job fairs

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You might recognize the fedora, but Jarrod Goldsmith keeps a lot more than that under his hat

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Lowertown Brewery in the ByWard Market is hosting fans as the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Photo supplied

‘Sens Lot’ proving popular as hockey fans take over various venues throughout the city

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The Royal Oak is celebrating its 45 anniversary with a week of events this month. Photo credit: royaloakpubs.com

Serving up success: How two venerable Ottawa pubs have survived – and thrived – over multiple decades

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Windmill Development Group's Jonathan Westeinde (left) and Linebox Studio's Andrew Reeves at the City Building Summit on Wednesday. Photo by Mia Jensen

City-building panellists push for new measures to kickstart development, promote affordable housing

Ottawa, Insider Only Top Stories

AI startup

AI-fuelled startups need ‘clear differentiator’ to make investors take notice, local expert says

Top Stories, Insider Only Techopia

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Video

Ottawa’s AI scene is evolving. Early momentum was created by companies such as Solink, founded by Mike Matta, which applied computer vision to retail analytics, and Ranovus, led by Hany Mussad, which develops the optical hardware necessary for high-capacity AI data centres. Subsequent growth was driven by firms such as MindBridge, co-founded by Solon Angel and Eli Fathi, and BluWave-ai, led by Devashish Paul, which targeted specific industrial applications in financial auditing and energy grid management.

A new AI player is garnering international attention. Backboard.io is developing a memory-native API designed to manage long-term context in large language models. In January 2026, the company closed a pre-seed funding round led by Mistral Venture Partners, with participation from N49P, Garage Capital, and Developer Capital.

In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks to Rob Imbeault, the founder and CEO of Backboard.io. Having already co-founded tech unicorn Assent, Imbeault is now in the CEO seat and predicting big things to come.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:56 Introducing Rob Imbeault
14:00 Sponsor Segment
22:27 Building a Better Working World
24:03 Techopia Sponsors
24:43 Closing and What’s Ahead at OBJ

For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.

Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5

Techopia Live: Imbeault is back with Backboard.io | Episode 295

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