Bell partners with Montréal innovation centre, Centech

Bell has announced a three-year strategic relationship with Montréal innovation centre, Centech. As Centech's exclusive telecommunications provider, Bell will leverage its advanced network capabilities, 5G and AI management expertise to help emerging Canadian businesses drive innovation, growth and adoption of advanced technological solutions.

Centech's accelerator environment enables Bell to partner with entrepreneurs and start-ups, including Haply Robotics, a start-up that develops 3D haptic controllers. The technology that Haply Robotics has developed reproduces tactile sensory inputs, allowing users to feel precisely what it is like to interact in a specific environment, for example, during remote surgeries or on screen, with a VR headset. The high speed and low latency of Bell's 5G network enables real-time control and feedback for physical robots through remote-touch controls in disciplines where this was not previously possible.

Centech is a non-profit organization created by the ÉTS (École de technologie supérieure) to support entrepreneurs and propel their technological innovation projects (Deeptech) stemming from science and engineering. The solutions developed are concentrated in the health (Medtech), logistics, energy, environment and telecommunications sectors. Since 2018, the incubator has supported more than 400 innovative companies such as Sollum Technologies, SPARK Microsystems and Puzzle Medical Devices.

"Bell's collaboration with Centech clearly demonstrates our desire to stay ahead of the curve in technology and innovation, as well as our continued dedication to moving cutting-edge projects forward. We are proud to contribute to the success of local businesses with our world-class networks and the strength of Bell team members," said, Karine Moses, Bell's Vice Chair, Québec.

"We're very pleased to welcome Bell as a Centech partner, and therefore help propel innovation and make it possible to share knowledge and deliver projects that have an impact. And, thanks to Bell's 5G network, we can provide robust connectivity and coverage, high-performance data transmission and above all, a secure environment for our contractors," commented, Richard Chénier, General Director of Centech.

Driving growth through innovation

Last month, Bell launched Bell Ventures, its corporate venture capital initiative to encourage the development of companies that harness the power of Bell's networks to drive growth and adoption of advanced technological solutions. Recent investments by Bell Ventures include Boreal Ventures, a venture capital fund supporting Québec's most promising deep tech start-ups, created in partnership with Centech.

Bell is also a founding partner of The PIER at the Seaport in Halifax, a living lab that will help shape the future of transportation, supply chain and logistics industries, and the Vector Institute in Toronto, which focuses on research in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). This new collaboration with Centech will help develop innovative solutions for companies in various sectors, namely health (Medtech), automation, Industry 4.0, logistics and transportation, energy and the environment.

Bell is Canada's largest communications company. It provides advanced broadband wireless, TV, Internet, media and business communications services throughout the country. Founded in Montréal in 1880, Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc.

Centech is an ecosystem that propels technological innovation and entrepreneurship projects from science and engineering.

Open to all, Centech was founded in 1996 by the École de technologie supérieure. Thanks to its Acceleration and Propulsion programs, Centech acts as a real instrument of growth, thus creating one of the largest concentrations of technology entrepreneurs in the start-up phase in Québec and Canada.