ventureLAB, York Region, City of Markham and CIX Join Forces to Spotlight Canada’s HardTech Innovators

ventureLAB, York Region, City of Markham and CIX Join Forces to Spotlight Canada's HardTech Innovators

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Markham, ON- ventureLAB, in collaboration with the Canadian Innovation Exchange Summit (CIX) and with the support of The Regional Municipality of York and the City of Markham, is excited to announce its participation in the upcoming CIX Summit, scheduled to take place from March 26-27 in downtown Toronto. As a key annual event in the Canadian tech landscape, CIX serves as a platform to spotlight the nation's most promising startups, from early-stage ventures to those in the scaling phase.

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“As home to Canada’s largest concentration of semiconductor companies in Canada and the country’s only hardware accelerator, ventureLAB, the City of Markham is excited to partner with CIX to spotlight hardtech innovators,” shared Chris Rickett, Director of Economic Growth and Culture at City of Markham. “ventureLAB may call Markham home, but it provides a platform for hardtech founders from across the country to take their companies to the next level.”

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In line with ventureLAB’s mission to power hardtech founders to build and scale globally competitive ventures that advance Canada’s knowledge-based economy, this partnership is an opportunity to foster growth and success within Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

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The HardTech Investor Network (HIN) is a deep-tech focused investor network backing up Canadian pre-seed and seed stage startups. ventureLAB offers vetted and curated select investment opportunities of high potential to support foundational companies that aim to improve our world. 

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“As a thriving hub for talent and opportunity, York Region prioritizes economic prosperity in an ongoing partnership with ventureLAB,” said Jonathan Wheatle, Director, York Region Economic Strategy. “This collaboration continues to focus on innovation in York Region while showcasing entrepreneurship in the technology sector.” 

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In addition to partnering with CIX for the first time, is the inaugural RocketPitch session at the summit. RocketPitch provides a unique platform for hardware founders to showcase their innovations to over 100 investors from across the ecosystem. This tailored session, spanning 30 minutes, grants each company five minutes to present their groundbreaking ideas. 

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The five founders have been selected from ventureLAB’s Hardware Catalyst Initiative (HCI) program representing diverse sectors from healthcare to automotive. These founders are Luke Begley and Travis Dunn from CircuitIQ, Dave Iwankow of CleanBands, Rubens Mendrone of LINDA Lifetech, George Yin and Huayi Gao from Vcycene, and Mark Donaldson of Quantuity Analytics, exemplify exceptional innovation and dedication to advancing Canada's tech landscape. HCI is Canada’s only lab and incubator fothat is helping Canadian hardware and semiconductor-focused companies grow and scale up to become globally competitive.

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“We’re thrilled to join forces with CIX to elevate Canada’s innovative and dynamic startup scene,” said Sep Assadian, VP of Founder Success at ventureLAB. “As the industry continues to thrive, we're eager to showcase our team's dedication and expertise, while spotlighting initiatives like our HardTech Investor Network, which sets us apart in the industry."

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As we move forward, this partnership will only strengthen, with plans to introduce the HardTech Startup of the Year award at the CIX Summit in 2025. This initiative aims to recognize and celebrate the most outstanding and impactful hardtech startups, further fueling Canada's entrepreneurial landscape. 

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To sign up for this year’s summit please visit https://cixsummit.com/tickets/

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About ventureLAB

ventureLAB is a leading global founder community for hardware technology and enterprise software companies in Canada. Located at the heart of Ontario’s innovation corridor in York Region, ventureLAB is part of one of the biggest and most diverse tech communities in Canada. Our initiatives focused on raising capital, talent retention, commercializing technology and IP, and customer acquisition have enabled thousands of companies to create over 6,800 jobs and raise more than $420 million in investment capital. ventureLAB is powering hardtech founders to build and scale globally competitive ventures that advance Canada's knowledge-based economy.

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About the HardTech Investor Network

The HardTech Investor Network is a deep-tech focused investor network backing up Canadian pre-seed and seed stage startups. We offer vetted and curated select investment opportunities of high potential to support foundational companies that aim to improve our world.

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