Kitchener's North Inc. gets $24M from federal government for job creation

North Inc., formerly known as Thalmic Labs, has received $24-million from the federal government.

The funding was announced Tuesday at the company's Kitchener offices by Navdeep Bains, Canada's minister of innovation, science and economic development.

Bains said the money would help the company create 230 new jobs, most of which would be in Kitchener.

"That sends a positive signal to the employees here that there's more opportunities and it also demonstrates that a Canadian company has the ability to compete against some of the big players like Apple and Google and Facebook as well," he said.

"We're really excited about the fact that North is now considered in that league when it comes to specific eyewear technology."

The funding is a repayable contribution, which means the company will eventually have to pay it back.

The announcement came the same day North Inc., unveiled its digital glasses at its Toronto showroom.