Calgary’s deep agricultural roots and growing technology sector are creating new opportunities for companies that sit at the intersection of both industries.
For homegrown AI company Brilliant Harvest, that combination has provided the foundation to build its technology, validate it with industry and scale across North America.
The agtech startup has developed an AI platform that brings equipment information and documentation together in one place, helping farm equipment dealerships answer customer questions, support technicians and improve day-to-day operations.
Brilliant Harvest recently raised $4 million USD in seed financing to expand its team, launch new artificial intelligence tools and grow across Canada and the United States. The round included new investors, FTW Ventures, Alpaca VC, Automotive Ventures, SVG THRIVE and NYA Ventures, alongside existing backers Builders VC and AltaML.
Founded just three years ago, Brilliant Harvest has scaled to 30 employees across North America, including about 20 in Calgary.
The company was also one of only two Canadian participants selected for Google’s Gemini Startup Forum, which gave a cohort of businesses from 17 countries the opportunity to engage directly with AI experts from Google.
A screenshot of Brilliant Harvest's AI platform in action. Photo: Brilliant Harvest
Why is Calgary a strong base for an agtech company?
Alberta has 50.3 million acres of farmland and more than 70,000 people employed across its agrifood industry. It is also Canada’s third-largest exporter of agrifood products.
Calgary offers something relatively rare: direct access to both the people who build technology and the companies who use it. Agribusiness companies have access to farms and primary producers in the region, but can also easily tap into a growing technology ecosystem, corporate decision-makers and research institutions.
“Calgary brings agriculture, technology, capital and customers together in one place, giving agtech companies a clear path from idea to market,” said Brad Parry, President and CEO of Calgary Economic Development.
“Brilliant Harvest shows what that advantage looks like in practice — building with industry, attracting investment and scaling across North America.”
For Brilliant Harvest, accessing the city’s technology talent has been particularly important for its growth. Calgary’s tech talent pool is growing faster than any other major market in North America, surging 61 per cent to almost 65,000 workers from 2021 through 2024, according to CBRE.
“Some of the brightest minds in technology, software development and AI are in Calgary,” said Brilliant Harvest Founder and CEO Remi Schmaltz.
“People are coming to Calgary because it’s an affordable place to live. You’re next to the most beautiful place on earth — Banff National Park, Kananaskis and all those areas — and we’ve got a great culture and vibe in the city. You can find great people here that want to work hard and want to be part of something bigger.”
Brilliant Harvest’s growth reflects the ambitions of the city’s economic action plan, Uplook, which aims to accelerate innovation and see Calgary companies scale their impact beyond the local region.
What did Brilliant Harvest gain from the Gemini Startup Forum?
The Gemini cohort gave Brilliant Harvest an opportunity to learn from companies applying AI across different industries and markets.
Chosen as one of only 100 companies worldwide from more than 2,000 applicants, Brilliant Harvest joined a select group of startups working directly with Google to explore where AI is headed and how businesses can put it to work today.
Participants compared where they are finding value, what challenges they are encountering and how they are integrating AI into their businesses.
Schmaltz also heard from Google and its DeepMind AI research team about the current capabilities of AI, where the technology may be heading and how companies can distinguish meaningful advancements from online hype.
The experience is helping Brilliant Harvest refine both its customer-facing technology and internal operations, including how it can develop software faster and operate more efficiently.
“Just being able to level set and hear from DeepMind what’s going on with AI, what’s real and where we’re headed was really valuable,” said Schmaltz.
What’s next for Brilliant Harvest?
Western Canada remains an important market for the company because of its history of agricultural innovation and its concentration of farmers and dealerships looking for practical ways to become more efficient.
Calgary-headquartered Rocky Mountain Equipment became Brilliant Harvest’s first customer and an early partner. The company has since expanded its footprint across dealerships in Canada and the United States, and plans to grow adoption among some of the field’s biggest brands.
Schmaltz sees significant opportunity for AI in agriculture — not as a replacement for people, but as a tool that helps dealers and producers find information faster and solve problems more effectively.
“Our footprint is continuing to expand. We’ve got some exciting new agents coming out that are going to be pretty huge for our customers, and then we’re going to continue to integrate with dealer management systems, manufacturers, AI agents and technologies and other third-party tools,” said Schmaltz.
As Brilliant Harvest expands across North America, its growth story highlights what makes the Blue Sky City a compelling place for agtech companies: deep industry expertise, access to customers, a growing pool of tech talent and an innovation ecosystem that supports doing things differently.
Calgary’s agricultural expertise, technology talent and collaborative business environment are helping agtech companies scale. Learn more about opportunities in Calgary’s agribusiness sector here.