INNOVATE™ Toronto

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...

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...

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...

OTI Lumionics develops advanced materials—by design—using quantum simulations, machine learning and in-house automated testing in pilot production. OTI works with the largest mobile device and display manufacturers in the world to enable materials for OLED displays used in next-generation consumer electronics and automotive applications. Their advanced electrode materials, and associated...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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,...

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...

MaRS helps promising ventures become world-leading companies. The anchor of Canada’s tech ecosystem, MaRS connects all players in the innovation economy to turn breakthrough ideas into products and services with global impact. MaRS was founded on the philosophy that innovators require more than labs and offices. They need a platform...

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...

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...

Balance is Canada’s largest digital asset custodian. Our solution powers financial services companies such as over-the-counter trading desks, exchanges, lenders, and ATM networks. The assets are kept secure on specialized hardware, kept fully offline in geographically distributed bank grade vaults that are access controlled, monitored, and guarded 24/7. Our internal...

Senso is a leading intelligence and engagement platform designed to help mortgage lenders increase interest income growth and lifetime value by proactively engaging borrowers leading up to their next home purchase or refinance transaction. How It All Came Together Founded in the heart of Toronto’s innovation ecosystem in 2017, founders...

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...

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....

A national, bilingual, not-for-profit organization, Mitacs empowers Canadian innovation through effective partnerships that deliver solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. This effort is supported by the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and other provincial and territorial governments. By driving economic growth and productivity, Mitacs creates meaningful change...

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...

INNOVATORS, SCHOLARS & EXPERTSCIFAR is a global leader in the research community, bringing together top researchers across disciplines to advance our understanding of the most complex and far-reaching questions. Our researchers establish new fields of inquiry — reimagining our health, our understanding of the Universe, the prosperity of our societies,...

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...