Dear ventureLAB Community,
As we reflect on 2024, I am proud of how ventureLAB has advanced its mission of empowering hardtech founders to build and scale globally competitive ventures that strengthen Canada's knowledge-based economy. Our dedication to serving Canada's best interests remains unwavering as we drive innovation across our key pillars: semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and MedTech. These sectors are not just our own strategic choices, they are Canada’s strengths, where we hold unique advantages and tremendous opportunities for growth.
Growing Networks and Partnerships
ventureLAB expanded its reach nationally and internationally, creating meaningful networks and connections for founders, partners, and stakeholders. With strong partnerships across 19 countries and growing, we are building a collaborative ecosystem that amplifies Canada’s leadership on the world stage.
We also formalized an agreement with Serbia's Science, Technology, and Innovation Department to advance biotechnology and AI, following our participation in the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Summit in Serbia.
During our global missions, the team proudly shared our story—and our iconic ventureLAB pins. On our inaugural Asia mission, we carried 300 pins and returned with only the seven we wore, a powerful symbol of the lasting connections and transformative partnerships we’ve forged.
Strengthening Our Business Model
We continued to leverage public funding to attract additional investments, demonstrating our value to ecosystem partners and accelerating our path forward with our mission. As part of Canada’s Tech Network, we visited policy makers in Ottawa in April and October to advocate for Canadian founders and showcase our ecosystem’s accomplishments. We entered substantive partnerships with Hudson Valley FastFab, EPOCH, CMC Microsystems and others. ventureLAB was a leading sponsor for Canada’s first-ever CHIPS Month, a semi-celebration of Canada’s semiconductor sector. These efforts highlight the importance of investing in these critical industries to benefit founders, investors, and Canadians alike.
At the 4th Annual HardTech Summit—our largest yet—we welcomed over 1,100 participants, 30 exhibitors, and 38 dynamic speakers. During the HardTech Pitch Gala, we replaced applause with hundreds of custom loud cups, a small but powerful reflection of how our work is making noises figuratively.
Evolving Our Inclusive RIVIR Culture
Our culture is at the heart of everything we do. Guided by Team RIVIR, we prioritized transparency, openness, and inclusivity to strengthen our community and serve our founders. This year, we were proud to achieve Great Place to Work certification and be recognized with Canada’s Most Admired Award for the fourth year in a row—testaments to the strength and resilience of our team and mission-driven culture.
Looking Ahead to 2025
ventureLAB will continue to be a leading partner in some of the most critical sectors in Canada, including AI, MedTech, and semiconductors, for founders, investors, academia and other ecosystem stakeholders in commercialization while fostering responsible, ethical, and sustainable innovation.
Thank you for being part of our journey. Here’s to an inspiring and impactful 2025!
Yours Sincerely,
Hugh Chow
CEO of ventureLAB
Our Impact - Our Highlights Q1 - Q3
Highlights
2024: A Year of Impact and Innovation for ventureLAB
As we reflect on another transformative year, 2024 has been a landmark period for ventureLAB and our incredible community of founders, innovators, and partners. Together, we’ve pushed boundaries, fostered innovative collaborations, and reached new milestones.
We started the year with FedDev Ontario announcing a $4.5 million investment in ventureLAB to support the next phase of the Hardware Catalyst Initiative , enabling 30 technology companies and while creating over 170 jobs in southern Ontario. ventureLAB welcomed more than 19 startups to the Hardware Catalyst Initiative program, 21 to the Accelerate AI program and serviced 55 companies in the Capital Investment Programs.
Expanding Global Collaborations
In 2024, ventureLAB expanded its global presence through strategic missions across Asia, Europe and North America. Highlights included participation in the Smart Cities Expo in Taipei and missions to Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, Seoul, the Electronica trade fair in Munich, Germany, Chicago, and Boston. These initiatives fostered valuable partnerships, knowledge exchange, and cross-border innovation.
ventureLAB's Chief AI Advisor, Garry Chan was invited to speak on collaborative innovation and fostering a responsible, scalable ecosystem for AI startups at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Summit in Serbia. Following the summit ventureLAB signed an agreement with Serbia's Science, Technology, and Innovation Department to advance biotechnology and AI.
Additionally, ventureLAB strengthened MedTech and hardware innovation through new agreements with CMC Microsystems and Sterling Industries. Closing the year, we signed an MOU with Hudson Valley FastFab to bolster Canada-U.S. collaboration in essential node technology, further expanding the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing ecosystem.
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ventureLAB Chats Podcast Launch
We debuted ventureLAB Chats, our first podcast highlighting inspiring stories from founders and industry leaders shaping the future of technology. Tune into the episodes here.
Celebrating HardTech
ventureLAB celebrated the one-year anniversary of the HardTech Investor Network with HardTech Night, held after the annual Collision event in downtown Toronto. This special event brought together industry leaders to network and discuss the future of hardware innovation.
As a leading sponsor of the first-ever CHIPS Month (Oct. 7–Nov. 7), ventureLAB showcased the transformative impact of the CHIPS Act on Canada’s semiconductor and hardware industries. The month concluded with our 4th Annual HardTech Summit and sold-out HardTech Pitch Gala, where eight companies competed for $50,000 in cash prizes, generously sponsored by Sterling Industries and Tech Bridge.
As we step into 2025, ventureLAB remains dedicated to powering hardtech founders to build and scale globally competitive ventures that advance Canada's knowledge-based economy. We look forward to another successful year together!
Top Stories
- ventureLAB and Serbia’s Science and Technology Parks Sign MOU: Advancing Global Innovation in Hardware and Software
- Mosaic Manufacturing: A company securing $28 Million of funding to scale homegrown 3D printing infrastructure.
- Blumind: Paving the way as a top 10 finalist (out of 5500) at the global startup competition, Slingshot, organized by Enterprise Singapore.
- Qscire: How a Chilean quantum tech startup entered into the Canadian market.
- MedAssist: Building community pharmacies in Canada and the U.S. to leverage Uber's workforce and offer delivery with the help of Uber Direct.
Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest tech news in your inbox every week. Read more ventureLAB stories here.
A Community of Culture
At ventureLAB, our values are what drive our work. Our RIVIR team grew this year and we now have 59 team members across Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec. The team continued to perform exceptionally well and for the fourth time, ventureLAB was named one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures and is Great Place to Work certified.
Holiday Closure
We're closing the ventureLAB office for a few days over the holidays to give our team some much-needed R&R. The ventureLAB office will be closed for the holidays beginning Tuesday, December 24, 2024 and will reopen on Wednesday, January 2, 2025.
Happy holidays from the ventureLAB team!
