Loop Insights receives validation with major TELUS, University of Houston deals and $412,000 R&D award

Loop Insights Inc (CVE:MTRX) (OCTMKTS:VRZPF), a provider of contact tracing and artificial intelligence to drive automated marketing, provided shareholders on Tuesday with a corporate update highlighting a slew of “significant business wins” and near term opportunities and catalysts. In a statement, Loop CEO Rob Anson said: "We have long known that our artificial intelligence-driven technology stack could have a major impact on the real-world operations of enterprise-level customers, so it has been an incredible experience for Loop and its shareholders to begin seeing the third-party validation as we secure deals with great partners such as Telus, University of Houston and others.” He added: “My message to shareholders is this is only the beginning, with Loop receiving significant inquiries, conducting online demonstrations and entering contract discussions on a daily basis.” READ: Loop Insights inks deal with University of Houston Athletics for its contactless platform for tracing and cashless commerce The Loop Insights boss said the advanced technology company will remain “laser focussed on maximizing” its potential through Tier-1 channel resellers to help the company “grow even faster.” “I can say with great confidence that Loop is extremely well-positioned to anticipate a very strong and successful run for the remainder of 2020,” emphasized Anson. Loop recently struck a formal agreement with TELUS Corporation (TSX:T) (NYSE:TU) to carry out a 90-day proof of concept pilot across the Canadian telecom giant’s three flagship corporate retail locations in British Columbia. The Canadian telecom giant has deployed Loop's Internet of Things product Fobi to test and leverage its automated marketing capabilities. “This pilot program of our real-time, AI-driven marketing platform launched in August, and upon successful completion, sees expansion into Telus 550+ corporate locations, as well as their 2,000+ B2B reseller channel,” Loop revealed in the corporate update. Significantly, the Vancouver-based advanced tech company said it is “already engaged in discussions with several similar telecom providers” in the US, Australia, and other regions. University of Houston deal sparks inquiries The company said contact tracing continues to be “a huge focus” and is gaining traction throughout North America in several verticals. According to Loop, inquiries have been pouring in from the provincial and federal governments. “Now that schools and sports teams are starting back up, contact tracing needs have never been as important,” noted the company. On September 16, Loop said it secured a major contract to provide contact tracing and cashless commerce solutions to the University of Houston Athletics (UH). Loop’s technologies will help the NCAA Division 1 college reopen safely, allowing fans and guests to attend games at university’s iconic TDECU American football stadium. “Securing UH was a huge milestone and has sparked interest throughout schools across the US looking to restart and have a safe return of fans to their sporting facilities,” said the company, while adding that “final negotiations are underway” and the company hopes to announce the “next roll out in the near future.” Loop’s contactless solution integrates its Fobi technology with mobile wallet pass technology to create a platform that is reliable, and highly scalable to support large adoption rates. Wins government award  Separately, the company announced that it has been awarded $412,000 from its 2019 Scientific Research & Experimental Development application. “This additional injection of funds further strengthens the company's strong cash position, which positions the Company well for future M&A opportunities,” it said in the update. Meanwhile, the company has submitted applications to the necessary regulatory bodies and is “hopeful for final approval as early as this week to trade on the OTCQB. In another major milestone, Loop said its partnership with global point of sale supplier Vend has yielded “immediate results” with new customers. After completing the technology integration with Vend which has a presence in over 25,000 locations in over 142 companies, Loop has already signed several Vend retailers including Your CBD Store, the largest CBD brick and mortar retailer in the United States with over 650 locations. “The company is now in discussions on a distribution strategy with Vend's leadership team to become a global reseller of the Loop products which will help accelerate Loop's potential adoption throughout Vends global network of retailers,” said the company. As next steps in leveraging the success with Vend, Loop has also begun an integration roll out with one of the largest e-commerce platforms. Point of sale partners continue to be “a large focus” as Loop has identified them as the “quickest path to scale” while allowing the company to remain lean and agile. Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive -- Adds details about R&D grant award, Vend partnership --