What The Tech: Driving “Infrastructure Independent” Innovation

Climate change and a passion for technology sparked Leigh Christie’s journey into the innovation ecosystem over two decades ago. What started as a skateboard and ski board manufacturing company in 2003 eventually evolved into MistyWest, an engineering design consultancy that specializes in creating intelligent and connected devices for some of the world’s most challenging environments.

Leigh Christie, Owner and Co-founder of MistyWest, joins Boast’s latest What The Tech podcast to discuss his unconventional path from electric vehicles to underground mining tech, the importance of building strong partnerships in the innovation ecosystem, and why Canada’s non-dilutive funding landscape makes it an incredible place to build a tech company.

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From Electric Vehicles to Connected Devices

MistyWest’s evolution tells the story of resilient entrepreneurship. Originally focused on electric and fuel cell vehicles in the late 2000s, Christie and his team had to pivot when the renewable energy boom went bust, leaving many of their automotive clients defunct.

“We had to pivot our business model away from automotive, away from transportation,” Christie explains. “Almost all those companies went bankrupt, so we had to figure out what was next.”

That “what’s next” became a focus on intelligent and connected devices; typically small, battery-powered, wireless devices with embedded intelligence. Today, MistyWest specializes in creating solutions for mining tech, health tech, and smart infrastructure, building everything from the electronics and firmware to the industrial design and packaging.

The “MistyWest Shaped Hole”

What sets MistyWest apart is their comprehensive approach to product development. Rather than just providing one piece of the puzzle, they look for what Christie calls a “MistyWest shaped hole”; companies that either lack their skillset entirely or need additional capacity without the overhead of hiring full-time engineers.

“We’re providing engineering services to a company where they’re either missing our skillset outright or they have our skillset, but it’s in short supply,” Christie notes. “At some point it just doesn’t make sense to hire four or five freelancers; you may as well hire a firm like us.”

This holistic approach is evident in their flagship product, MistyVision, an AI-powered camera system that can differentiate between 13 different types of trucks and operates completely independently of cloud infrastructure. Currently deployed at YVR airport, the system represents MistyWest’s ability to handle everything from optics and mechanical engineering to firmware and machine learning models.

The Power of Canada’s Innovation Ecosystem

One of the most compelling parts of our conversation focused on Canada’s approach to funding innovation. Christie is enthusiastic about the non-dilutive funding opportunities available north of the border, from SRED and IRAP to Scale AI and provincial programs.

“If you’re an American company, consider just moving here because it’s incredible,” Christie says. “In the US they have the Department of Defense with a lot of defense spending and grants for R&D. In Canada, rather than spending all that money on defense, they spend a similar amount on innovation spending.”

This investment in innovation infrastructure has helped Canadian companies like MistyWest access the resources they need to develop cutting-edge technology without giving up equity, allowing them to maintain control while scaling their operations.

Building Community Through Events

Beyond engineering excellence, MistyWest has become known for community building within the tech ecosystem. They’re responsible for the legendary CES Founders and Friends party in Las Vegas (now in its tenth year) and the HardTech Awards in Vancouver during Web Summit.

These events reflect Christie’s philosophy that the innovation ecosystem works best when companies collaborate rather than compete in silos. “Nothing pleases me more when you get a bunch of really smart engineers together, product creators, and you really embark on a new journey together on a big new product introduction,” he explains.