Quebec City-based Point Laz has announced a new CA$3 million funding round. i4 Capital Fund, a Canadian seed-stage venture capital fund focused on breakthrough technologies, led the round. In addition, Fonds Impulsion, managed by Investissement Québec and financed by the Government of Québec, also participated in the same. The company says that the new financing will allow it to accelerate growth and expand the global footprint of its automated mine inspection technology and analytics platform.
Point Laz builds smart technologies by combining advanced scanning, analytics, and AI for automated mine inspection. It especially focuses on improving worker safety by eliminating the need for manual, high-risk inspections in underground environments. It offers a few core products for the same, including Lazaruss 3D Scanner. This is a proprietary, ruggedized, mobile scanner that creates high-resolution 360-degree images and 3D point clouds of mine shafts.
The company’s automated mining inspection technology further utilizes AI and machine learning to analyze structural integrity and provide predictive maintenance, identifying issues before they become critical. It claims that its solution reduces shaft inspection times from several hours per month to approximately one hour per week. As a result, it can significantly increase hoisting capacity, improve safety, reduce mine downtime, and cut costs associated with unplanned disruptions.
Point Laz deploys automated mine inspection tech in 50 locations
Alexandre Grenier, a mining engineer with experience in salt mines, founded the company in 2020. The company earlier raised CA$1.2M in 2024, which was also led by i4 Capital Fund. It has also participated in the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) and Vortex Journey accelerator programs.
“The involvement of strategic partners like i4 Capital Fund and Investissement Québec’s Fonds Impulsion is a strong endorsement of the value of our technology and our team’s vision to digitize and automate mine shaft inspections.
This new capital will allow us to standardize our operations, strengthen our global presence, and better support our clients and partners. It also sends a clear message to the industry: Point Laz is leading the next revolution in mine shaft technology.”
Alexandre Grenier, Founder and CEO of Point Laz
So far, Point Laz technology claims to have inspected more than 50 mine shafts worldwide using its automated mine inspection technology. It will use the capital to scale up the production of its advanced mine shaft scanner. Additionally, the company plans to expand its international rollout of analytics and AI capabilities for mining operations.
Development indicative of sustained Quebec government support
The lead investor in the round, i4 Capital Fund, focuses on seed-stage deep-tech ventures that aim to transform industrial workflows. Notably, the fund launched its CA$60M fund in 2023 with a first close of over CAD$40M. It won the Quebec Seed Fund Competition in May 2023, adding Investissement Québec as a major supporter of the fund.
“We’re proud to support Alexandre Grenier and the Point Laz team once again. Their unique approach to smart monitoring for the mining industry, along with their market potential, aligns perfectly with i4 Capital Fund’s investment strategy. We are confident that Point Laz is on track to become a key player in the mining sector.”
Jean-François Grenon, Partner and Co-founder of i4 Capital Fund
Fonds Impulsion is managed by Investissement Québec, and supports Quebec startups with pre-seed and seed capital and tailored assistance.
The provincial government shared confidence that these kinds of strategic investments will help build a stronger, future-focused economy. Samuel Poulin, Minister for the Economy and Small and Medium Enterprises, and Minister Responsible for Youth mentioned that offering ambitious financial support allows the development and commercialization of creative solutions in important industries for Quebec, like mining.
Alex Laverdière, Vice President, Venture Capital, Investissement Québec highlighted that this development is in line with their commitment to working in synergy with specialized funds to accelerate the growth of innovative businesses in the region.
The Tech Factor View
Now, mining safety and automation continue rising as priorities in heavy industry, as companies seek operational efficiency and risk reduction. Overall, research shows that global mining automation spending could exceed $12 billion by 2030. At the same time, Canadian governments and funds are increasingly backing solutions that modernize critical infrastructure and improve worker protection.
Together, these signals reinforce demand for automated inspection tools that reduce cost and risk, positioning Point Laz well in the sector. Mining technology companies have indeed seen some interest in recent times. MineSense Technologies raised $42M in Series E to scale sensor and AI tools for ore sorting. SightPower is another similar automated mine inspection company to Point Laz that has raised government grant money.
From our view, Point Laz’s funding highlights how automation and AI expand beyond digital services into physical industrial workflows. Mining faces persistent safety and maintenance challenges, and solutions that reduce risk while boosting uptime stand to gain traction. Quietly establishing global use cases and proving cost-savings will be key drivers for sustained growth for the company.
