The small Virginia-based firm uses AI to predict the formation and movement of sea ice, which helps with planning shipping in the far north. PolArctic Canada is a joint venture with seafood magnate John Risley’s Arctic Economic Development Corporation; co-founder Leslie Canavera will move to Halifax to run the Canadian operation, the AEDC announcement said. (The Logic)

Talking point: PolArctic has previously worked in Sanikiluaq, a Nunavut community on Hudson Bay, to make detailed sea maps and assess fishing prospects partly based on traditional Inuit knowledge. Formed last May by Risley, former Justin Trudeau advisor Michael McNair and St. John’s ocean industry executive Sean Leet, AEDC aims to support infrastructure construction in the North. It’s already involved in one of Nunavut’s major-project priorities, a new port on the east coast of Baffin Island.