Shaw goes social with digital signage, SunLife gamifies retirement

JOLT accelerator has begun the search for its Summer 2014 cohort. Its focus this year will be the Internet of Things (IoT for short), so dust off your pitch deck and shine up your finest wearable tech prototype.

JOLT a little too far along for you? Try Montreal’s new pre-accelerator program backed by Google, Tech Stars, and Steve Blank. The pre-accelerator, called NEXT, will focus on validating early stage problems and customer development as well as defining market size, funding opportunities and pitches.

Toronto’s very own Bitstrips, makers of those comic-strip-ified status updates, is rumoured to be raising $15 million in funding after reaching 30 million avatars in two months (and taking top spot among free apps at your local app store). The team may just use that money to scale up its deployment into your Facebook news stream.

Speaking of social media, Quebec’s Matrox Graphics has partnered with Shaw Communications to deliver its socially integrated DOOH technology to six stores in Western Canada. Matrox says the tech will “drive Shaw-specific social media content automatically collected off Facebook and Twitter” on an overhead band of 20 displays.

In Canadian gamification news, Sun Life launched a gamified investment experience to teach users about retirement and investment planning. The initiative, called MoneyUp, is aimed at in-office environments

And in news that’s just plain interesting, this week saw Thalmic Labs partnered with Clearpath to drive a robot with one arm, presumably leaving one arm free to defend against the robot invasion.

Finally, the Business Development Bank of Canada has opened nominations for Canada’s most innovative startup. Nominations are open until April 4 and awards will be presented between May 20 and 22.