Craig Brown

MaxSys owner Bryan Brulotte said the sale of the company to Agilus is an "exciting opportunity" for the firm and its team. (Photo supplied)

Ottawa staffing firm MaxSys sold to Agilus Work Solutions

Ottawa, Insider Only

Get our email newsletters

Get up-to-date news about the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Ottawa and beyond.

The Latest

Ottawa office investment market will ‘see some trades in 2026,’ Colliers exec says

Stolen Goods is closing on Sparks St., and the owners have some ‘crazy things’ planned

How The Ottawa Hospital uses AI tools to boost health outcomes and streamline clinical efficiency

‘A good hub to build from’: Ottawa a budding defence-tech hotbed, Kongsberg execs say

Industry stakeholders consider next steps after Algonquin College cuts 30 programs

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

OBJ360

Sponsored

Local businesses face hiring obstacles due to immigration pullback, flawed screening

Ottawa businesses critically important to ending youth homelessness across the city

EXPERT BLOGS

View All | Submit an Expert Blog

Sueling Ching, Ottawa Board of Trade

Building Canada’s Defence Innovation Hub

Sueling Ching

Film smarter: the competitive advantage of shooting in Pembroke

Kathleen Barr

The federal downsizing effect: Risk, resilience and Ottawa real estate

Charles Sezlik

EVENTS

View All | Submit an Event