Stories of Innovation

INNOVATION Quebec

CHAIRE DIAMENT

HUMANISER L’INNOVATION NUMÉRIQUE EN SANTÉ MENTALE

La Chaire Diament est la Chaire de recherche stratégique de l’UQAM en design pour la cybersanté mentale. Son titulaire est le professeur Stéphane Vial. Mission et visionCréée en janvier 2020, la Chaire Diament est hébergée à l’École de design de l’Université du Québec à Montréal, et rattachée au Centre de...

INNOVATION Quebec

CRIAQ

AU CŒUR DE L’INNOVATION EN AÉROSPATIALE

Le CRIAQ joue un rôle clé pour assurer le développement de nouvelles technologies en aérospatiale qui permettent à l’ensemble de l’écosystème de prospérer. Le Québec est l’un des 3 principaux pôles en aérospatiale dans le monde et l’effervescence de ses industriels et ses centres de recherche en font un lieu...

INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath

Babbasa

Babbasa - A Bristol-Based Nonprofit Which Supports Young People From Less Advantaged Backgrounds to Achieve Their Professional Ambitions

A Bristol-Based Nonprofit Which Supports Young People From Less Advantaged Backgrounds to Achieve Their Professional Ambitions

The Challenge While Bristol continues to have one of the UK’s fastest growing economies, not all of Bristol’s citizens have been sharing in the city’s success. Sixty per cent of Bristol’s ethnic minority population live in areas of economic disadvantage; two-thirds of whom live in Bristol’s most disadvantaged inner-city wards....

INNOVATE® Seattle

Madrona

A Partner and Backer of Founders at the Innovation, Early and Acceleration Stages

Madrona starts working with leadership teams before the first investment, supporting them with capital and hard work. We have been doing this since 1995 and actively invest in AI, enterprise technology, marketplaces and more. As the tech footprint in Seattle has grown, so have we. Madrona opened a Silicon Valley...

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

Ideawake

REVOLUTIONIZING CORPORATE INNOVATION FROM MILWAUKEE

REVOLUTIONIZING CORPORATE INNOVATION FROM MILWAUKEE In a world where ideas hold immense value, Ideawake is on a mission to empower companies to mine their most valuable resource: their employees’ creativity and insights. Founded in 2013 by Coby Skonord and Trae Tessmann, Ideawake began with a vision to make innovation accessible...

INNOVATION Quebec

CINDERELLA'S

ELEVATING CLEANING STANDARDS FOR A PRISTINE SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The dynamic husband and wife team of Mark and Tracey Ferdinands, set out to disrupt the cleaning industry with their innovative Territory Management System. Armed with a strong hospitality background and a team of highly trained and caring professionals, the Cinderella’s team consistently delivers exceptional results. Larger organisations are flocking...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

NOVELYEAST

SUPERIOR YEAST AS A TARGET AND A TOOL

NovelYeast is an R&D company with world-leading expertise in the design and development of superior industrial yeast strains. Our superior yeast strains for bioethanol and isobutanol production support the transition to a more sustainable bio-based economy in the sectors of automobile and aviation transport. Superior yeast strains for production of...

INNOVATE™ Colombia

ALIVE VENTURES

PIONEERING A NEW WAY TO INVEST & TACKLE SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN COLOMBIA AND BEYOND

Despite significant progress in the fight against poverty in Latin America, inequality remains stubbornly high. In 2018, Santiago Alvarez and Virgilio Barco created impact fund manager ALIVE Ventures to channel investment to innovative companies tackling some of the most pressing challenges facing low-income communities in Latam, helping to reduce inequality....

Global Innovation Spotlight

Explainable Is Too Soft:

in 2026 We Need Forensic Audit Trails in Medical AI

The epiphany didn’t come from a breakthrough in model architecture or a surge in accuracy metrics. It came from watching a physiotherapist from Lviv stare blankly at a screen. Dmytro Grybeniuk and Oleh Ivchenko, specialists in machine learning infrastructure, were attending the MedAI hackathon at Odesa National Polytechnic University not...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

UIQ

THE BOLD STEP TOWARDS INNOVATION

University Innovation Quarter (UIQ) is a 76-acres destination that is currently being revitalized to become a world-class innovation district. Imagine UIQ as a driving force for the future of innovation in Calgary. The outcome is unmatched. A dense destination where research and discoveries are made and talent clusters. A place...

INNOVATION Quebec

2 DEGRÉS

IS A CLEANTECH SPECIALIZED INCUBATOR IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC

2 Degres supports early-stage startups that propose an innovative solution showing a strong potential for growth and impact in the energy, waste and water sectors. Based in Quebec City, 2 Degres was cofounded in 2019 by young business people driven by a strong desire to have a concrete impact and...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

TELUS STORYHIVE

SUPPORTING NEW AND EMERGING CONTENT CREATORS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALBERTA

10 years-  Established in 2013$52M+ in production funding provided1,100+ projects funded Since 2013, TELUS STORYHIVE has supported a community of thousands of local content creators across British Columbia and Alberta, providing over $52 million in production funding and over 10,000 hours of robust training and one on one mentorship. STORYHIVE...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

HEY LISTEN GAMES

HEY LISTEN GAMES-Teaching With Video Games

Teaching With Video Games

Hey Listen Games was born out of my passion for gaming and my desire to find ways to best teach my students. I teach at Ellis Preparatory Academy, a public high school in New York City dedicated to a one hundred percent immigrant and ENL (English as a New Language)...

INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1

WHITE LABEL FRAGRANCES

WHITE LABEL FRAGRANCES-DISCOVER & OWN YOUR TRUE SCENT

DISCOVER & OWN YOUR TRUE SCENT

White Label Fragrances is a 100% Botswana citizen-owned company. We are an African luxury Niche-Fragrance brand that curates and blends bespoke fragrances, with specially selected raw materials to suit various tastes. We strive to consistently create fragrances and fragranced products that are elegant, luxurious and timeless. All White Label fragrances...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

UNIONWEAR

USA MADE BASEBALL CAPS AND TOTE BAGS: DESIGNED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MANUFACTURED BY ROBOTS.

Unionwear manufactures – from scratch—100% made in USA baseball hats, backpacks, messenger bags, portfolios, and binders, with 160 union sewers in Newark, NJ. Mitch Cahn founded Unionwear in 1992 with six sewers and a contract to make baseball hats for Ralph Lauren, and has evolved by buying legacy manufacturers of...

INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2

SAM

SAM-SENSORY-FRIENDLY CLOTHING THAT LOWERS STRESS

SENSORY - FRIENDLY CLOTHING THAT LOWERS STRESS

Every day we experience an overload of sensory stimuli: we see, hear, feel, smell, and taste a lot. Whenever our brain has a hard time filtering and processing all those stimuli, this can lead to overstimulation. Children who are highly sensitive, have ASD, ADHD, mental limitations, or brain injuries are...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

CarpeDM

Innovating the Dating Experience for Professional Black Women

“CarpeDM can have a massive positive impact on the collective economic and health status of the Black community.” Swiping right and superficial connections often dominate the realm of online dating. Naza Shelley founded CarpeDM to revolutionize how professional Black women find love in Washington, D.C., and beyond. This exclusive, member-only...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

HEALTHCARE INSTITUTE OF NEW JERSEY

Supports a robust innovation ecosystem for life sciences companies, patient access to their discoveries, and New Jersey as a leading life sciences hub

HEALTHCARE INSTITUTE OF NEW JERSEY (HINJ): LEADING MEDICAL INNOVATION, ADVANCING GLOBAL HEALTH, DRIVING NEW JERSEY’S ECONOMY New Jersey is widely known as the “Medicine Chest of the World,” not only for its concentration of life sciences companies, but also for their historic commitment to innovation and improving global health. Founded...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

HEALTH CITIES

HEALTH CITIES-IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF ALBERTANS THROUGH INNOVATION

IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF ALBERTANS THROUGH INNOVATION

Globally, healthcare is being disrupted, akin to the disruption we witnessed in media and transportation, and digital health is leading the charge. While Canada lags its peers in health outcomes and health system performance, Alberta’s areas of strength – artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and immersive technologies – can be...

INNOVATE® South Florida

CORAL GABLES - THE CITY BEAUTIFUL

RECOGNIZED NATIONWIDE AS A LEADING SMART CITY

Coral Gables was founded on innovation, being one of the very first planned communities in the United States. Today, we’re known internationally as a Smart City, leveraging information and communication technologies and intelligent connected infrastructure to benefit our residents, employees, businesses, and visitors, as well as make our city more...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

THE AGENCY

HELPING CALGARY INNOVATORS TELL THEIR STORY

“When I started The Agency in 2009 as a boutique firm servicing the tech sector in Calgary, I heard the same thing over and over: What tech sector?” — Arleigh Vasconcellos, CEO/Founder, The Agency Communications Inc Calgary is one of the fastest growing tech centres in North America, and The...

INNOVATION Quebec

INO

FAIRE LA LUMIÈRE ET CONCRÉTISER L’INNOVATION

INO est le plus important centre d’expertise en optique-photonique au Canada et compte parmi les meilleurs centres d’innovation industrielle au monde. Depuis 35 ans, l’organisation crée et développe des solutions innovantes et pertinentes pour répondre aux besoins d’entreprises québécoises et canadiennes. Grâce à des applications multiples de la lumière, du...

INNOVATE™ Toronto

SENSO

SENSO-TRANSFORMING THE BORROWER EXPERIENCE FROM REACTIVE TO PROACTIVE

TRANSFORMING THE BORROWER EXPERIENCE FROM REACTIVE TO PROACTIVE

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...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

SOLDIERFIT

IS A FUNCTIONAL FITNESS WORKOUT PROGRAM INSPIRED BY THE UNITED STATES MILITARY VOTED “BEST BOOTCAMP

We have revolutionized Bootcamp fitness by delivering results for all fitness levels through military structured, camaraderie based training while giving people a place of belonging. All while giving back to a greater purpose – Our Veterans. With every workout and drop of sweat we honor and remember those who paid...

INNOVATION Quebec

CHAIRE DIAMENT

HUMANISER L’INNOVATION NUMÉRIQUE EN SANTÉ MENTALE

La Chaire Diament est la Chaire de recherche stratégique de l’UQAM en design pour la cybersanté mentale. Son titulaire est le professeur Stéphane Vial. Mission et visionCréée en janvier 2020, la Chaire Diament est hébergée à l’École de design de l’Université du Québec à Montréal, et rattachée au Centre de...

INNOVATION Quebec

CRIAQ

AU CŒUR DE L’INNOVATION EN AÉROSPATIALE

Le CRIAQ joue un rôle clé pour assurer le développement de nouvelles technologies en aérospatiale qui permettent à l’ensemble de l’écosystème de prospérer. Le Québec est l’un des 3 principaux pôles en aérospatiale dans le monde et l’effervescence de ses industriels et ses centres de recherche en font un lieu...

INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath

Babbasa

Babbasa - A Bristol-Based Nonprofit Which Supports Young People From Less Advantaged Backgrounds to Achieve Their Professional Ambitions

A Bristol-Based Nonprofit Which Supports Young People From Less Advantaged Backgrounds to Achieve Their Professional Ambitions

The Challenge While Bristol continues to have one of the UK’s fastest growing economies, not all of Bristol’s citizens have been sharing in the city’s success. Sixty per cent of Bristol’s ethnic minority population live in areas of economic disadvantage; two-thirds of whom live in Bristol’s most disadvantaged inner-city wards....

INNOVATE® Seattle

Madrona

A Partner and Backer of Founders at the Innovation, Early and Acceleration Stages

Madrona starts working with leadership teams before the first investment, supporting them with capital and hard work. We have been doing this since 1995 and actively invest in AI, enterprise technology, marketplaces and more. As the tech footprint in Seattle has grown, so have we. Madrona opened a Silicon Valley...

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

Ideawake

REVOLUTIONIZING CORPORATE INNOVATION FROM MILWAUKEE

REVOLUTIONIZING CORPORATE INNOVATION FROM MILWAUKEE In a world where ideas hold immense value, Ideawake is on a mission to empower companies to mine their most valuable resource: their employees’ creativity and insights. Founded in 2013 by Coby Skonord and Trae Tessmann, Ideawake began with a vision to make innovation accessible...

INNOVATION Quebec

CINDERELLA'S

ELEVATING CLEANING STANDARDS FOR A PRISTINE SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The dynamic husband and wife team of Mark and Tracey Ferdinands, set out to disrupt the cleaning industry with their innovative Territory Management System. Armed with a strong hospitality background and a team of highly trained and caring professionals, the Cinderella’s team consistently delivers exceptional results. Larger organisations are flocking...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

NOVELYEAST

SUPERIOR YEAST AS A TARGET AND A TOOL

NovelYeast is an R&D company with world-leading expertise in the design and development of superior industrial yeast strains. Our superior yeast strains for bioethanol and isobutanol production support the transition to a more sustainable bio-based economy in the sectors of automobile and aviation transport. Superior yeast strains for production of...

INNOVATE™ Colombia

ALIVE VENTURES

PIONEERING A NEW WAY TO INVEST & TACKLE SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN COLOMBIA AND BEYOND

Despite significant progress in the fight against poverty in Latin America, inequality remains stubbornly high. In 2018, Santiago Alvarez and Virgilio Barco created impact fund manager ALIVE Ventures to channel investment to innovative companies tackling some of the most pressing challenges facing low-income communities in Latam, helping to reduce inequality....

Global Innovation Spotlight

Explainable Is Too Soft:

in 2026 We Need Forensic Audit Trails in Medical AI

The epiphany didn’t come from a breakthrough in model architecture or a surge in accuracy metrics. It came from watching a physiotherapist from Lviv stare blankly at a screen. Dmytro Grybeniuk and Oleh Ivchenko, specialists in machine learning infrastructure, were attending the MedAI hackathon at Odesa National Polytechnic University not...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

UIQ

THE BOLD STEP TOWARDS INNOVATION

University Innovation Quarter (UIQ) is a 76-acres destination that is currently being revitalized to become a world-class innovation district. Imagine UIQ as a driving force for the future of innovation in Calgary. The outcome is unmatched. A dense destination where research and discoveries are made and talent clusters. A place...

INNOVATION Quebec

2 DEGRÉS

IS A CLEANTECH SPECIALIZED INCUBATOR IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC

2 Degres supports early-stage startups that propose an innovative solution showing a strong potential for growth and impact in the energy, waste and water sectors. Based in Quebec City, 2 Degres was cofounded in 2019 by young business people driven by a strong desire to have a concrete impact and...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

TELUS STORYHIVE

SUPPORTING NEW AND EMERGING CONTENT CREATORS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALBERTA

10 years-  Established in 2013$52M+ in production funding provided1,100+ projects funded Since 2013, TELUS STORYHIVE has supported a community of thousands of local content creators across British Columbia and Alberta, providing over $52 million in production funding and over 10,000 hours of robust training and one on one mentorship. STORYHIVE...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

HEY LISTEN GAMES

HEY LISTEN GAMES-Teaching With Video Games

Teaching With Video Games

Hey Listen Games was born out of my passion for gaming and my desire to find ways to best teach my students. I teach at Ellis Preparatory Academy, a public high school in New York City dedicated to a one hundred percent immigrant and ENL (English as a New Language)...

INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1

WHITE LABEL FRAGRANCES

WHITE LABEL FRAGRANCES-DISCOVER & OWN YOUR TRUE SCENT

DISCOVER & OWN YOUR TRUE SCENT

White Label Fragrances is a 100% Botswana citizen-owned company. We are an African luxury Niche-Fragrance brand that curates and blends bespoke fragrances, with specially selected raw materials to suit various tastes. We strive to consistently create fragrances and fragranced products that are elegant, luxurious and timeless. All White Label fragrances...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

UNIONWEAR

USA MADE BASEBALL CAPS AND TOTE BAGS: DESIGNED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MANUFACTURED BY ROBOTS.

Unionwear manufactures – from scratch—100% made in USA baseball hats, backpacks, messenger bags, portfolios, and binders, with 160 union sewers in Newark, NJ. Mitch Cahn founded Unionwear in 1992 with six sewers and a contract to make baseball hats for Ralph Lauren, and has evolved by buying legacy manufacturers of...

INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2

SAM

SAM-SENSORY-FRIENDLY CLOTHING THAT LOWERS STRESS

SENSORY - FRIENDLY CLOTHING THAT LOWERS STRESS

Every day we experience an overload of sensory stimuli: we see, hear, feel, smell, and taste a lot. Whenever our brain has a hard time filtering and processing all those stimuli, this can lead to overstimulation. Children who are highly sensitive, have ASD, ADHD, mental limitations, or brain injuries are...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

CarpeDM

Innovating the Dating Experience for Professional Black Women

“CarpeDM can have a massive positive impact on the collective economic and health status of the Black community.” Swiping right and superficial connections often dominate the realm of online dating. Naza Shelley founded CarpeDM to revolutionize how professional Black women find love in Washington, D.C., and beyond. This exclusive, member-only...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

HEALTHCARE INSTITUTE OF NEW JERSEY

Supports a robust innovation ecosystem for life sciences companies, patient access to their discoveries, and New Jersey as a leading life sciences hub

HEALTHCARE INSTITUTE OF NEW JERSEY (HINJ): LEADING MEDICAL INNOVATION, ADVANCING GLOBAL HEALTH, DRIVING NEW JERSEY’S ECONOMY New Jersey is widely known as the “Medicine Chest of the World,” not only for its concentration of life sciences companies, but also for their historic commitment to innovation and improving global health. Founded...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

HEALTH CITIES

HEALTH CITIES-IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF ALBERTANS THROUGH INNOVATION

IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF ALBERTANS THROUGH INNOVATION

Globally, healthcare is being disrupted, akin to the disruption we witnessed in media and transportation, and digital health is leading the charge. While Canada lags its peers in health outcomes and health system performance, Alberta’s areas of strength – artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and immersive technologies – can be...

INNOVATE® South Florida

CORAL GABLES - THE CITY BEAUTIFUL

RECOGNIZED NATIONWIDE AS A LEADING SMART CITY

Coral Gables was founded on innovation, being one of the very first planned communities in the United States. Today, we’re known internationally as a Smart City, leveraging information and communication technologies and intelligent connected infrastructure to benefit our residents, employees, businesses, and visitors, as well as make our city more...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

THE AGENCY

HELPING CALGARY INNOVATORS TELL THEIR STORY

“When I started The Agency in 2009 as a boutique firm servicing the tech sector in Calgary, I heard the same thing over and over: What tech sector?” — Arleigh Vasconcellos, CEO/Founder, The Agency Communications Inc Calgary is one of the fastest growing tech centres in North America, and The...

INNOVATION Quebec

INO

FAIRE LA LUMIÈRE ET CONCRÉTISER L’INNOVATION

INO est le plus important centre d’expertise en optique-photonique au Canada et compte parmi les meilleurs centres d’innovation industrielle au monde. Depuis 35 ans, l’organisation crée et développe des solutions innovantes et pertinentes pour répondre aux besoins d’entreprises québécoises et canadiennes. Grâce à des applications multiples de la lumière, du...

INNOVATE™ Toronto

SENSO

SENSO-TRANSFORMING THE BORROWER EXPERIENCE FROM REACTIVE TO PROACTIVE

TRANSFORMING THE BORROWER EXPERIENCE FROM REACTIVE TO PROACTIVE

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...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

SOLDIERFIT

IS A FUNCTIONAL FITNESS WORKOUT PROGRAM INSPIRED BY THE UNITED STATES MILITARY VOTED “BEST BOOTCAMP

We have revolutionized Bootcamp fitness by delivering results for all fitness levels through military structured, camaraderie based training while giving people a place of belonging. All while giving back to a greater purpose – Our Veterans. With every workout and drop of sweat we honor and remember those who paid...

Ecosystems