Stories of Innovation

ELEVATOR PITCHOUR STORYIn 2006, Brian Breslin saw untapped potential in South Florida’s fledgling startup ecosystem and quickly realized there lacked a support system for the tech and startup community. From this idea, Refresh Miami was founded. Its mission: to educate, inspire, connect, and grow South Florida’s tech and startup ecosystem....

READY PLAYER ONE“What if I actually owned my digital games and in-game items?” That’s been the question on most gamers’ minds.   With limited solutions and some gamers resorting to the shady secondhand grey market to make use of their content outside of the game, David Hanson and Nicolas Gilot,...

The Flux research methodology falls under six pillars T.R.E.N.D.S. - Technology, Retail & Marketing, Economy, Natural world, Diplomacy and Sociocultural. These six pillars encapsulate all the business and consumer trends that companies need to be cognisant of....

As a woodworking and furniture innovation centre, Inovem has been supporting Quebec businesses since 1983. A true catalyst for innovation, our CCTT has become the benchmark for sustainable technologies in the woodworking, furniture and appearance wood products industry. Furniture, woodworking and appearance wood products businesses can count on Inovem’s expertise...

“No somos un banco: ponemos el interés de nuestro cliente por encima de todo, sin comisiones ocultas ni letra pequeña. Nuestro círculo de éxito consiste en ofrecer más rentabilidad potencial gracias a las comisiones bajas y así crecer en número de clientes satisfechos que nos recomienden” destaca François Derbaix. Unai...

With the AMA platform, this traditional logic is broken because residents of socially relevant areas start taking care of their territory. The local leader, who would already take care of the neighborhood, now has the opportunity for paid collaboration. The service is georeferenced and constantly evaluated by neighbors and the...

L’industrie de la transformation métallique revêt une importance majeure dans l’économie du Québec. Avec de multiples défis à relever en matière de main-d’œuvre, de compétitivité mondiale, de productivité, d’énergie et d’empreinte environnementale, les entreprises doivent se démarquer et innover constamment. C’est en 2014, pour répondre à ses enjeux, que le...

VITO is a leading international research centre. We focus on applied research and advice, bridging the gap between fundamental research and the industry.   We accelerate the transition to a sustainable world; we provide knowledge and technological innovations that facilitate this transition to a more sustainable society. We de-risk innovation...

From Taguspark, AQVA MORE develops a water saving system for homes and services. AQVA MORE, a startup based at the Taguspark Incubator, has developed a technological system, intuitive and easy to install in any home, which allows for considerable water savings. For example, in a household of four people, the...

Many online users face a similar dilemma: they love supporting local but are too tempted by the ease of filling up their Big Box Store online shopping cart and pressing “Order.” If only there was another option—one that could effortlessly help users find and buy from local businesses instead. Good...

Polycade is the gaming platform for in-person play. The Polycade software powers PC-based consoles and arcade machines, including their proprietary commercial-grade two and four-player arcade machines. The software features are designed to support in-person and location-based gaming, while connecting these physical communities with their digital counterparts — features like small-pond...

The IRCM is a love story that has endured for over half a century between Quebec and Canada on the one hand, and high-level research and the most advanced clinical care on the other. Founded in 1967 by the great researcher and humanist, Dr. Jacques Genest, the IRCM became the...

Bank Zero is a unique and powerful App-based bank with Zero fees and a patented secure card. It caters for both individuals and businesses. Digital, social and financial connectedness is a reality and it’s also a very human trait. Bank Zero supports this directly in its innovative design. By friending...

ISEQ-THE PÔLE D’EXCELLENCE DEL’INDUSTRIE DES SYSTÈMES ÉLECTRONIQUES DU QUÉBEC(ISEQ It acts as a vehicle for collaboration to foster innovation, industry recognition, expanded opportunities, commercialization, and business competitiveness. Promote the export of electronics goods, services, and innovations to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the North American restructuring of electronic...

It was late 2011 when Nashville Software School (NSS) Founder and CEO, John Wark set out to find a solution to a challenge he frequently heard about in Nashville’s business community – the persistent shortage of trained tech talent such as software developers. The tech skills gap was (and is)...

Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón® (AD&V®) is the largest Architecture and Interior Design Firm in Puerto Rico. The firm is dedicated to sustainable design that enhances people’s experience and improves their lives. Cristina Villalón, Co-Founder | Ricardo Álvarez-Díaz, Co-Founder | Monique Lugo López, President Throughout AD&V’s ® history, they have been reinventing...

When Michelin star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen first laid eyes on Boscia House, a one-hundred-year-old farmhouse situated at the beautiful Tswalu Kalahari in the Northern Cape, he saw the vastness of the region as a canvas on which to create something special. Worlds away from the beautiful waters...

From the very beginning we knew that our virtual hiring event platform was ahead of its time, and that employers would have to be ‘Future Focused’ in order to embrace it. Founder and President of Premier Virtual, Steve Edwards saw the shift to digital firsthand as he hosted in-person job...

QUEBEC ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INSTITUTE IS THE EPICENTRE OF CANADA’S EXPERTISE IN DEEP LEARNING Led by Professor Yoshua Bengio, co-recipient of the 2018 A.M. Turing Award for his groundbreaking work on deep learning, Mila is a community of over 1,000 of some of the world’s best AI researchers. This concentration of...

The conjuncture of healthcare and AI is an amazing place to be, and is what brought MUUTAA’s team together. Our combined industry knowledge in clinical workflows, medical supplies and medication management, emerging technologies, traceability and logistics are applied to drive operational optimization through the application of artificial intelligence. We are...

Son leadership au niveau national contribue grandement à l’essor scientifique et économique des technologies de l’optique et de la photonique au Québec. Depuis 1989, le COPL facilite les collaborations entre des équipes de recherche multidisciplinaires et favorise la mise en commun d’infrastructures et d’expertises de recherche. Sa contribution a permis...

OMERS Ventures has been backing early-stage technology companies for more than a decade.   Currently managing CAD$2 billion, with close to 60 investments in disruptive technology companies across North America and Europe, we are proud to support some of the world’s biggest thinkers and builders.   Spanning three countries, OMERS...

The need for companies to innovate is no longer to be demonstrated in a world where product development is happening on increasingly shorter cycles and where competition is more intense and less predictable. Innovation, whether it is related to the company’s products or its processes and equipment, is essential. Recognizing...

ROZVELT is a bold new force in Canadian outdoor innovation — a Quebec-based startup rewriting the rules of scent control in hunting and wildlife observation. Founded in 2024 by Nicholas Monette (CEO) and George Korkejian (COO), Rozvelt was born from a simple but overlooked truth: while most scent-masking gear focuses...