The world is increasingly subjected to challenging events, both natural and human-caused, many of which have no precedent in history. Communities require new strategies for responding to emerging trends such as, decarbonization, population growth, and climate events in ways that ensure sustainability, equity, and resiliency. 

RUNWITHIT Synthetics (RWI) Synthetic City Platform helps city decision-makers measure the outcomes and impacts of policy choices using forecasting,advanced simulations, data management, synthetic modelling, synthetic data generation, and virtual reality visualization. Synthetic Cities can be used to inform integrated urban (re)development strategies while accelerating meaningful climate action with innovative plans, pilots, and programs.  

Founded by chief executive officer Myrna Bittner and chief technology officer Dean Bittner, RWI brings together data from diverse sources and generates synthetic data about the world of today and tomorrow. This includes generating synthetic populations that demonstrate the impact of policy choices on people, along with social and environmental implications.  

RWI can create any city in the world in digital environments, filling in missing data with synthetic data that mirrors reality. As well as population, RWI can synthesize businesses, technologies, infrastructure, investments, and policies. Different scenarios can then be created and evaluated, allowing decision-makers to understand what will happen as the result of specific choices. 

The technology is being used to scale global, live targeted media systems, support new designs of buildings and public transportation infrastructure, validate technology that supports energy grids, and develop response systems for disasters such as earthquakes. Its city environments are focused on disaster response, mitigation, resilience, energy transition and electrification, and all forms of mobility. The goal is to design better futures for all so humanity can reimagine the biggest challenges we face. 

Located in Edmonton, RWI is a women-led, Certified Aboriginal Business, and every team member has been Gender-Based Analysis Plus Certified. To date, they've supported their platform development through high-value applications of their synthetics for industry and, most recently, 21 municipalities. The company is revenue-funded with additional support through the NRC IRAP, CanExport, the Women's Economic Fund, Alberta Innovates, and PrairiesCan Business Scale Up program. 

RWI has numerous awards including the 2021 United Nation's Global Call win for "Decarbonizing Growing Urban Environments," the 2021 YEG "Most Edmonton" Startup, and the 2021 Alberta Business of Distinction Emerging Technologies award. RWI was also one of 10 finalists for the Net-Zero Mobility Challenge at the AIRBUS & World Economic Forum and it completed the NATO Innovation Challenge. The company was also SET100 Certified in the EU (Top 100 companies in Energy Transition and Mobility) two years in a row from 2021 to 2022. 

As decarbonization technology, infrastructure, and policy shift, there is an opportunity to ensure that choices help to solve challenges related to affordability, equity, security, and resilience. RWI continues to synthesize cities and regions, engage with industry, government, and community stakeholders, and accelerate future-ready decision-making by pioneering new visualization, analytics, and synthetic data techniques and technology. The company has doubled in team and revenue in the last 12 months and looks forward to continuing to grow.