This morning we received word that Aptli has been approved for funding through the Ontario Centre of Innovation's CIT Development and Commercialization (DC) Program, for our work on AI-enhanced infrastructure construction management.

A few hours later, we signed our first commercial trial.

We've been building toward this for a while, and you don't get many days like this. Two pieces of validation landing within hours of each other, one from the public-sector side that requires deep diligence to win, and one from the market side that requires a customer to actually open their checkbook, is the kind of timing you couldn't engineer if you tried.

On the OCI Process

The program was rigorous in the best sense. Its questions sharpened our own thinking about what we were building and why. Particular thanks to Toyosi Bakare, our Program Manager, and to Robert McMillan and Laura Clark on the OCI team. The diligence they brought to this file made it a better project.

On the People Who Got Us Here

A separate and equally important thank you to Joco Amante, whose guidance and early belief in this work helped shape the path that led to today. The work ahead traces back to conversations and connections that started well before this approval, and this announcement belongs to them too.

On What's Next

The OCI backing gives us the runway to do the work properly, investing in security, scalability and AI capabilities for the customers we serve. The trial we signed today starts at the end of the month and puts that work in front of real users in the field. More to share as it unfolds.

Thanks to everyone in our corner. Now, back to building.

Edward Young Chief Technology Officer, Aptli