Technology

Canada’s position as an agricultural power has traditionally rested on its land, commodities and export capacity. Increasingly, however, its competitiveness will also depend upon data. Across Canadian agriculture, digital technologies are changing how crops are monitored, machinery is operated and production decisions are made. Artificial intelligence (AI), satellite positioning, drones, robotics, connected sensors and increasingly autonomous equipment are moving farm management towards a model built around continuous measurement, analysis and prediction. The economic stakes are considerable. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the country’s agriculture and agri-food system employed 2.3 million people and generated C$149.2 billion, around 7 per cent of Canadian gross domestic product, in 2024. Primary agriculture itself contributed C$31.7 billion and supported 223,000 jobs. Digital agriculture offers one route to improving the productivity and resilience of this economically important system. The question is whether Canada is converting its scientific and technological strengths into widespread commercial adoption.

After another historic rise through early June, driven primarily by semiconductor and AI-related stocks, technology sector returns have cooled somewhat. A combination of geopolitical risks such as the Iran war, worries about the size and sustainability of the AI buildout, and what we viewed as some stretched valuations has contributed to this. The Morningstar US Technology Index is up 32.0% on a trailing 12-month basis, compared with 20.0% for the US equity market, with quarter-to-date returns of 5.4% versus 2.0%, respectively. While some stocks have cooled off, we think the AI buildout remains fundamentally intact. The buildout is still supply-constrained, capex estimates for 2027 have risen, the unit economics on recent compute deals suggest very healthy ROIs for installed compute capacity, and token consumption continues to increase exponentially while model capabilities continue to improve. While we remain positive on the fundamentals, many semis screen as overvalued, so we would be very selective here. Cybersecurity names have run up quite a bit and are overvalued. After the recent partial comeback for software, we see the sector as closer to fairly valued.

The federal government is investing up to $1.98 million to develop sustainable fertilizer technology to reduce emissions and microplastics. Under the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) program in the research and innovation stream, Lucent BioSciences Inc. (Lucent Bio) will use the money to change the way that fertilizer coatings are made.

Spotify has launched a brand to sell the software it built for its own engineers to other companies. The brand, Spotify Technology, groups four products – Portal, Confidence, Xirp, and Spotify for Backstage – under one name, with its own website at technology.spotify.com. The launch was announced by Tyson Singer, Spotify’s SVP of Technology and Platform, in a blog post dated October 7. In the post, Singer wrote that Spotify Technology “is becoming the R&D operating system.”“I get asked a version of this question every day: why is Spotify in the business of selling software?” wrote Singer. “The truth is, the Spotify you know and love is more than a great streaming service. Behind our consumer app are hundreds of cross-functional squads shipping products and code day in, day out. “The truth is, the Spotify you know and love is more than a great streaming service.

International working groups will examine occupational health risks, smart protective equipment and oversight of AI tools. UL Research Institutes’ Fire Safety Research Institute is supporting international working groups examining firefighter health hazards and the use of emerging technologies in emergency response.

Revolve Group, Inc. RVLV is expanding its use of artificial intelligence (AI) to sharpen pricing, optimize inventory and personalize shopping. Its proprietary technology and data infrastructure are helping teams respond to demand and make faster decisions. New applications in visual search and store analytics could further strengthen customer engagement as the company expands its physical retail presence. The benefits were evident in second-quarter 2026 gross margin, which rose to 56.6% from 54.1% a year earlier. Although tariff refunds accounted for most of the increase, margin improved approximately 90 basis points excluding that benefit. Management primarily attributed the underlying improvement to AI and data-driven adjustments to markdown algorithms. Net sales climbed 12% to $347.4 million, while trailing 12-month active customers increased 11% to 3.04 million. Product discovery represents another opportunity. On its second-quarter earnings call, Revolve Group outlined plans to test image-based search, enabling shoppers to upload photographs and find exact items when available or similar merchandise.

ROCHESTER, N. Y. – Five RIT student-athletes were honored by the Liberty League with weekly accolades announced by the league on Monday, October 12. Senior Kathryn Arbegast was the Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week. Senior Gwen Petrie was named the Women's Diver of the Week and first year Layla Parker was named the Women's Volleyball Rookie of the Week.

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