Ryerson University’s Centre for Urban Energy announced January 16 that “Clean Energy Zone” company Argentum Electronics, founded by Ryerson electrical engineering student Bolis Ibrahim, was named the winner of the sixth edition of the biennial N100 Evolution, a technology startup competition. With it comes the first prize of $250,000 in investment, from Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation.
The prestigious multi-stage competition began in July 2018 at Venture13 in Cobourg, Ontario with a total of 44 startups eventually being whittled down to one winner. Each business competed across a series of challenges, including pitch competitions, business planning activities and boardroom presentations, while receiving mentorship from industry experts.
Argentum Electronics has developed a new Power-over-Ethernet (POE) product. In a POE system a single cable provides both a secure data connection and power to electrical devices. Argentum's patent-pending technology enables more power to be delivered to devices, such as LED lighting, through POE.
The startup has the support of partners including Microsoft’s IoT and AI Insider Lab in Redmond, Washington and the University of Toronto's Impact Centre, and has already demonstrated the technology's potential through a pilot project with WZMH Architects in Toronto. The victory will help Argentum expand its team and take the product to market.