INNOVATE™ Toronto

Located at the commercial centre of Canada, Ryerson University’s 10-incubator network provides Toronto’s ecosystem with an accessible first step for early-stage startups and entrepreneurs, as well as support for the growth of their ventures. At any time of year, you’ll find more than 300 startups on campus, and each incubator,...

Accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis, families are in dire need of home care, but labour shortages make accessible home care a challenge for most people in Canada and many suffer in silence. Take for example Mr. Jones*, who sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident. After spending several...

The transportation industry is amid one of the most important revolutions since 1886, when Karl Benz invented the first automobile powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE). 135 years later, electric vehicles (EV) are now the leading focus of automotive engineering and innovation around the world. As with any new...

At BlueRock, our mission is to create authentic cellular medicines to reverse devastating diseases, with the vision of improving the human condition.   Built on the research of some of the world’s foremost experts in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) biology, BlueRock has revolutionized and scaled methods for creating authentic...

WE ARE ON A MISSION TO BUILD THE INTERNET OUTSIDE OF EARTH Kepler Communications was founded in 2015 by a group of University of Toronto graduate students who met in the University of Toronto Aerospace Team, also known as UTAT. They noticed a massive renewal of interest and activity in...

The Foundation awards the annual Canada Gairdner Awards to leading scientists from around the world whose discoveries have had a major impact on scientific progress and human health. The awards are Canada’s only globally recognized international scientific prize. Since 1959, more than 400 scientists from 40 countries have received a...

Today, as Toronto strives to be a model of wellness and sustainability, the city looks to learn from Indigenous communities, combining many traditional practices with contemporary medicine, design and green technologies....

Like Benjamin Franklin knotting a key to a kite in a lightning storm, today’s AI researchers are unlocking technology that is reshaping our world. From quantum neural networks and natural language processing, to AI for drug discovery, the path to future innovations and commercialization is charted by a small subset...

York University is a leading international teaching and research University, and a driving force for positive change. Located in Toronto, Canada, York University is home to one of the largest and most diverse student bodies in Canada with 59,000 students from 178 countries. International partners are collaborating with VISTA to...

Currently amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we are witnessing unprecedented technological change triggered by a multitude of disruptive forces. These changes have shaken Canada’s business ecosystem, causing new players to rise and existing leaders to fall.   Consequently, incumbents are faced with a harsh reality where constant innovation and technological...

Toronto is the driving force behind Canada’s tech, finance, manufacturing, creative and service sectors. It’s also a cultural powerhouse. The most diverse city on the planet, Toronto is a place to convene, create, play, do business and launch the next great idea that could change the world.   Top of...

For the company now known as GoBolt (formerly Bolt Logistics), what originally began in Toronto in 2017 as a small, but mighty team of three focused on providing concierge-esque consumer storage, quickly and organically evolved into a much larger nation-wide operation providing fulfillment and last-mile  logistics for local ecommerce merchants...

You know how to lend. But, to whom do you lend, when you don’t have the right data? Too many business lenders are constrained by partial data and manual processes. And, speed is paramount. Keren Moynihan, CEOBoss Insights empowers fintechs and lenders to respond faster, make underwriting decisions more quickly,...

Cancer is not just one disease. Each tumour is unique, and each person will experience cancer differently, requiring tailored therapies matched to the unique drivers of their disease.   To address this tremendous challenge effectively, it takes a diverse range of people working together in multidisciplinary networks on innovations in...

NRStor Incorporated is an industry-leading Canadian energy storage developer, owner and operator with experience deploying energy storage across the energy supply chain. Our vision is to deploy energy storage projects at scale in order to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon energy system. NRStor has successfully deployed numerous first-of-a-kind energy...

Portage Ventures (“Portage”) is a venture investor that partners with some of the world’s most innovative financial technology companies. Portage is the venture capital arm of multi-asset class alternative investment firm Sagard. It was cofounded in 2016 by Paul Desmarais III (Executive Chairman and CEO of Sagard) and Adam Felesky...

Fresh City is an award-winning urban farm and omnichannel retailer. With the recent addition of Mama Earth to our family of brands that includes Mabel’s Bakery and The Healthy Butcher, Fresh City is now the largest organic online retailer in Ontario. After a decade, the impact and belief in our...

Over 33,000 Canadians have died of Covid-19, most of whom were alone in the hospital or in long-term care homes known for poor conditions and mistreatment of residents. Against the backdrop of a long-existing labour shortage, health care workers’ resilience and compassion are being tested, and many are quitting. It’s...

OriginsFrom its Silicon Valley origins, Co-founders Adeo Ressi and Jonathan Greechan have built an unparalleled global network of over 5,000 Portfolio Companies, across 200 cities with the largest mentor network in the world of 21,000 Mentors, innovators, investors and ecosystem builders. With chapters on every continent except Antarctica and $30B...

Docsie has one simple mission: helping businesses everywhere to write better documentation using reader insights, and removing barriers around web publishing and team collaboration.   Docsie brings product, support and development teams together, alongside their tools, in one AIpowered knowledge management system. Docsie breaks down silos and creates a fluid,...

Layla’s mission is to empower Canadians to take control of their mental health....

Amplify Capital is a Canadian-based investment fund that provides early-stage companies long-term equity solutions and strategic support to develop their business to solve challenges affecting our future. Led by veteran private equity executive Kathryn Wortsman, Amplify Capital invests exclusively in impact ventures that demonstrate significant, measurable impact alongside market-rate returns....

“Regenerative medicine is the future, and not only is it the future, it’s a branch of medicine that Canada and the province of Ontario are actually quite good at.” – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau When it launched onto the scene in 2011, there was nothing else like it. Even today, ten years...

How salmon & sangria started a green revolution.Some of the most inspiring inventions come at the most innocuous times. In 2017, Just Vertical co-founders Conner Tidd and Kevin Jakiela were completing their Masters of Science at the University of Toronto. Bright eyed and full of enthusiasm, they hoped to equip...