Three Tech Companies from Waterloo Region Chosen to Pilot Solutions with the City of Kitchener

This summer, the City of Kitchener is partnering with three tech startups from the Waterloo Region—ConeLabs, Real Life Robotics, and TextGenetic AI—as part of its Pitch Kitchener program. This initiative aims to leverage innovative technologies to enhance municipal services such as infrastructure inspections, golf course operations, and vehicle fleet maintenance. Through this program, $100,000 in pilot funding is allocated to help these companies test their solutions in real-world scenarios, effectively connecting Canadian tech entrepreneurs with municipal and enterprise partners to tackle local challenges.

ConeLabs is a Kitchener-based startup founded by Albert Mansour and Ahmed Mahmoud. The company specializes in AI-powered drones designed to perform inspections of the city’s bridges and roadways. This technology aims to streamline the inspection process by providing quicker, safer aerial scans, thereby minimizing the need for labor-intensive inspections that often require scaffolding and road closures. ConeLabs has already garnered recognition, recently receiving the 2025 CIX Startup Awards and winning a $25,000 prize along with an audience choice award at a Communitech Fast Track Cities showcase in November.

Real Life Robotics, another participating startup located in Waterloo, is introducing its autonomous robot platform to enhance operations at the Doon Valley Golf Course. Their technology focuses on monitoring course operations and providing valuable insights to improve customer experience, staffing, and operational flow. Renowned for its customizable delivery robot named BUBS, Real Life Robotics has previously conducted a last-mile delivery pilot at the Toronto Zoo to optimize food delivery to animal habitats, demonstrating its potential for improving local business delivery services.

TextGenetic AI, based in Kitchener, will utilize its AI-driven platform to aid the management of the city’s vehicle fleet. The company’s system employs real-time predictive analytics to identify potential maintenance issues before they escalate into significant repairs, aiming to reduce vehicle downtime, extend operational lifespan, and lower overall costs. By improving fleet efficiency, TextGenetic AI seeks to make city services more reliable.

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic emphasized the city’s commitment to nurturing local technology companies as a means to bolster economic resilience and prosperity. He praised initiatives like Pitch Kitchener and the Support Local campaign for helping to fortify the local economy and prepare it for future challenges. Carleigh Johnston, Senior Program Manager for Communitech Fast Track Cities, echoed these sentiments by highlighting the competitive nature of this program, noting that this round had the largest number of applications yet.

The selected startups were chosen from a pool of ten innovators who pitched at the Fast Track Cities showcase in November 2024, making it a highly competitive selection process. If successful, the initiatives tested over the summer could lead to long-term implementation within Kitchener’s municipal operations, illustrating the potential benefits of collaboration between local government and homegrown tech enterprises. This partnership positions Kitchener at the forefront of integrating advanced technologies into public services, showcasing how local innovation can contribute to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of municipal operations.