With Montréal International's support - Motion Engine Invests In Greater Montréal Targeting Global Wearable Electronics Market

MONTREAL, Jan. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - Motion Engine, Inc. a specialist next-generation micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) motion sensing systems has announced its decision to invest in Greater Montréal to develop its technology and take on the North American and international markets.

"Greater Montréal is an ideal location to develop our technology and business. Over the past two years, the market for MEMS motion sensing in smart phones and tablets alone breached the $1 billion mark and by 2018 it is expected to increase at least three fold. The wearable electronics trend will boost the rate of growth exponentially over the next five years—particularly in areas like Gaming, Healthcare/Medical, Fitness and Sports," said Louis J. Ross, CEO of Motion Engine. The Montréal region maintains leading industrial clusters with internationally competitive large anchor companies for several of these market sectors. For example, the region did an excellent job nurturing a world-class game software development industry. As a result, there is also a great deal of talent to draw from here and from the surrounding areas including Ontario and the U.S. Northeast," added Ross.

Motion Engine plans to develop new cutting-edge systems for increasingly ubiquitous mainstream wearable and "quantified self" -oriented electronic devices including activity trackers that are more and more functional and fashionable. MEMs motion sensors for such applications must provide greater performance, lower cost and higher integration. The ability to produce high-grade inertial sensor systems at low cost is also advantageous for industries that demand greater reliability and higher performance specifications that are standard for the consumer electronics industry. These industries include healthcare/medical (patient monitoring and rehabilitation), industrial (robotics, logistics), automotive (next-generation electronic stability control system or ESC, which are now mandated in most countries) and "self-balancing" transportation vehicles.

The company is also partnered with the MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre (C2MI), a $218 M MEMS/microsystems R&D facility located right outside of Montréal. The center maintains a world-class facility that is expected to greatly contribute to the region's economic growth. The Centre founding member companies include IBM and Teledyne DALSA, the world's second-largest "open" MEMS foundry and an international leader in high performance digital imaging and semiconductors.

Mission to Japan
"I am delighted that Motion Engine has chosen Greater Montréal to develop their expertise even further," said Minister of International Relations, La Francophonie and External Trade, Mr. Jean-François Lisée. Motion Engine will be a member of the delegation accompanying the Minister on a multisectoral trade mission to Japan from January 19 to 24. "I am proud that our delegation will be made up of representatives from companies and organizations at the forefront of their respective sectors such as Motion Engine. Innovation is the trump card of our external economic development strategy, and Japan is one of the most successful countries in the world in this regard," said the Minister.

Wealth creation
Montréal International, which has the mandate to attract foreign direct investment, supported Motion Engine in setting up in the region. "Success attracts success! We welcome Motion Engine as it joins a solid ecosystem that is focused on innovation and collaboration and brings its expertise in enriching Greater Montréal's value chain in the highly sought-after Information and Communications Technology sector," said Dominique Anglade, President and CEO of Montréal International.

For more information on Greater Montréal's industrial clusters (including Information and Communications Technology, Aerospace, Life Sciences and Health Technologies): http://www.montrealinternational.com/en/foreign-investments/sectors/

About Motion Engine (www.motionengineinc.com)
Founded in Montréal in 2013, Motion Engine Inc. (MEI) is a fabless MEMS technology company specializing in the development and commercialization of motion sensing enabling systems, software and related applications. It is the only Canadian manufacturer of commercial-grade MEMS inertial sensors. MEI is also pioneering the next generation of MEMS packaging technology, which allows it to reduce the size and cost of current microsystems while increasing their performance.

About Montréal International (www.montrealinternational.com)
Created in 1996, Montréal International (MI) is the result of a private-public partnership. Its mission is to contribute to the economic development of Greater Montréal and enhance its international status. Its mandates include attracting foreign direct investments, international organizations and international strategic workers as well as promoting the competitive and international environment of Greater Montréal. Montréal International—a non-profit organization—is funded by the private sector, the governments of Canada and Québec, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (Montréal Metropolitan Community) and the City of Montréal.

SOURCE Montréal International