INNOVATE™ Toronto

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...

MERIC S. GERTLER PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ” INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE ” “U of T’s remarkable diversity provides both a springboard to social mobility and a superb environment for education, research and innovation.” – MERIC S. GERTLER, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO The strength of Toronto’s higher education, research and innovation enterprise...

Established in 2017, Parkdale Centre is an incubator & accelerator that supports entrepreneurs to start and grow their business, with a focus on equity, accessibility, and inclusion for underrepresented people, namely women, Black, Indigenous, people of colour, and newcomers to Canada. As an organization, Parkdale Centre works to support entrepreneurs...

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...

Since 2013, Ecopia AI has been on a mission to create a digital twin of the world using artificial intelligence (AI). Originally spun out of a Ph.D project at the University of Waterloo, Ecopia’s maps have grown from detailing a single small city to mapping entire continents while evolving from...

Owning one of Canada’s most successful Healthcare Recruiting Agencies, Workwolf’s Cofounder and CEO, Erik Simins, spent years working with enterprise companies to help establish more efficient ways to identify, attract and hire talent. Overseeing thousands of hiring cycles, one thing was very clear; resumes were the prominent source of data...

Innovation is about harnessing change, testing boundaries, and deciding to lead instead of follow. True, the process is rarely simple (let alone straightforward), but those who take the risk get a chance to write their futures. There’s no “right” path to innovation. As our experiences at KPMG’s Ignition Center reveal...

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...

Influitive helps the world’s leading brands engage with their customers to drive business value across multiple dimensions. Customer referrals, references and reviews are now recognized as the most effective way to drive business growth and Influitive enables this at scale. Since 2010, Influitive has pioneered advocate marketing and built an...

Edesa Biotech, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on commercializing latestage, research-validated assets. In 2020, the Markham-based company positioned itself on the frontline of the Covid-19 treatment race when one of its leading drug candidates showed great promise as a “rescue therapy” for hospitalized patients with a life-threatening form of...

FoundersBoost Toronto is the city’s only 100% free, not-for-profit preaccelerator program for early-stage founders. We are a volunteer-only organization that runs six-week boot camps that prepare founders for accelerators, investment, and revenue. We take no equity and charge no fees from any of our startups. FoundersBoost Toronto is led by...

Guided by a vision of a world powered by ambitious entrepreneurs, the DMZ is a world-leading incubator on a mission to change the lives of founders both in Canada and around the globe. By equipping the next generation of leading tech entrepreneurs with the tools needed to build, launch, and...

There’s never been a greater need for innovative thinkers to share ideas on how we can address the issues — environmental, political and social — facing our modern world. We need an event that unites world leaders, entrepreneurs, tech developers, journalists and talented people the world over; something to give...

Global Village World Publishing is extremely proud to announce that MaRS Discovery District will be the lead sponsor of our next exciting Canadian initiative: INNOVATE™ Toronto. After the great success of INNOVATE™ Montreal, INNOVATE™ Ottawa, and our just-published AI Quebec, INNOVATE™ Toronto is sure to be another exquisitely produced high-quality coffee-table book and augmented reality video series celebrating Canada’s...

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,...

Chronic pain affects approximately 1 in 5 people and is one of the most difficult to treat chronic conditions. It’s a leading reason people seek healthcare, use opioid medication, and go on disability. Often referred to as the silent epidemic, the burden of chronic pain carries immense costs to individuals,...

Diabetes affects more than 422 million people worldwide, and according to the World Health Organization, the disease will be the seventh leading cause of death in 2030. Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes use insulin therapy to control hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels). Unfortunately, the most significant side effect of insulin therapy...

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...

Real Ventures is one of Canada’s most active early-stage venture capital firms, dedicated to serving entrepreneurs and nurturing the communities in which they thrive. In 2007, we questioned why brilliant Canadian founders should have to fly to San Francisco to raise seed capital. Since then, we have dedicated ourselves to...

U of T consistently ranks as one of the world’s Top 25 universities, and it’s the hub of Toronto’s innovation ecosystem. For nearly 200 years, some of society’s most daring thinkers have gathered here to unlock human potential and bring about positive change. It’s where Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James...

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....

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...

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

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...