When it comes to innovation hotbeds in the electric vehicle space, Atlantic Canada is usually not among the first that come to mind. However, Potential Motors, a New Brunswick-based start-up, is looking to challenge that by becoming Canada's next unicorn, or a start-up valued at over $1 billion. Founded by Sam Poirier in 2018, Potential Motors focuses on the electrification of off-road vehicles, including the integration of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and other technologies.

Sam Poirier, Founder of Potential Motors
Sam Poirier, Founder of Potential Motors Sam Poirier

According to Poirier, he was inspired to develop Potential Motors after spending his childhood in West Africa and the Middle East, before moving to Canada. The harsh environments in these areas helped him develop an appreciation for off-road driving, which he later combined with the push toward sustainability with electric vehicles.

"Atlantic Canada has some really tough weather conditions, and electric vehicles give motorists much more capability in terms of control. What we set out to do is to create software that makes it possible to adapt electric vehicles to the challenging off-road conditions in Canada," Poirier says. "Off-roading has been quite lacking when it comes to sustainability, and we also want to help more people to get into off-roading by creating features that increase safety and performance."

Poirier began tinkering with old gasoline-powered vehicles, converting them to electric. But he later realized that the real potential for innovation in electric vehicles lay in the software side. This led to the development of Potential's Off-Road OS, which brings various ADAS features to off-road driving. These include live terrain adaptation, proactive suspension, terrain perception, and torque distribution.

With more people living in cities, Poirier says that they are more interested in driving vehicles that are focused on taking away as much from the driver as possible, such as autonomous driving.

"This is good in a way, because most accidents are caused by driver error. But it's also a huge disconnect from what vehicles originally inspired in people, which is freedom – the ability to go and explore various places. We want people to purchase vehicles that do more than bring them from point A to point B, so we are creating technology that doesn't take away from the driving experience, but helps enable it and make people feel more confident driving in off-road conditions."

Interest in Potential Motors is growing, with the company attracting top-tier talent from all over the globe. Two of the company's advisors, Chris Newton and Marcel Lebrun, have prior unicorn experience at Radian6, which was also based in New Brunswick.

"Marcel is our chairperson, and Chris is a member of our board of directors. Both of them were our first angel investors in the company and have since been providing valuable advice for our growth. In fact, I consider them more than advisors, as they've been very involved in strategy since the beginning. Marcel brings expertise in building a successful startup. He's been CEO of multiple companies and guides us in raising capital and setting ourselves up to execute properly. Meanwhile, Chris is our ideas guy. He is really good at taking in tons of disconnected information and pooling those together into big ideas. He's done that in both of his previous companies, which were involved in cybersecurity and social media monitoring."

According to Poirier, having a high caliber of talent backing the company gives it the capability to disrupt the off-road and electric vehicle industries. Poirier himself has received several business accolades, including Atlantic Business Magazine's 30 under 30 in 2019 and The Globe and Mail's 2021 Changemakers Award.

"In 2019, there was lots of excitement about what we've been doing. We were starting to show that electrification is coming to Atlantic Canada, and we can build sustainable solutions here. It was then that we started the snowball rolling downhill, so to speak. In 2021, we started showing off some more of the work that we are doing, including a prototype. We were pushing the envelope, especially with a product that people can see, touch, and experience. This created even more excitement around Potential Motors."

Poirier credits much of Potential Motors' success to building an experienced and competent team and, as the company's name suggests, by harnessing each person's potential.

"I think it's a really great reflection of the work of the team. It's great that I get recognized for these things, but, the reality is it's because of the incredible work that the team is doing, which showcases what's possible out here. Despite not being well-known as a start-up hub, there are a lot of benefits to being here. We have incredible talent, including some of the best software talent in the world. Canada is also incredibly supportive of research and development. So I believe there's a lot of good reasons to be doing this in Canada."