Deadline: 12-Sep-22
VentureLAB’s HardTech Pitch Competition is now open for small and medium enterprises incorporated in Canada developing hardware products and innovations.
Finalists will have the opportunity to showcase their technology to a broad audience including industry, investors, government, media, and more!
The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund encourages innovation towards business continuity and business recovery efforts by supporting promising early stage start-ups, accelerators, incubators, and community partners.
Company innovations can impact, but are not limited to, the following industries:
- Cleantech
- Electric Vehicles, Smart Vehicles, and Mobility (inclusive design)
- MedTech and Wearables (Smart Glasses, etc.)
- Smart Agriculture and Industrial Solutions
- Drones
- Smart Retail and Fintech hardware
- 5G and Next Gen Communications
- Smart City and Smart Factory applications deploying sensor systems, IOT and IIOT, and accelerated AI hardware
Funding Information
- Up to eight companies pitch for their chance to take home a collective $50,000 in cash.
- You have 99 or fewer employees, and earned less than $5M in revenue in the last 12 months
Eligibility Criteria
Companies must meet the following criteria to be eligible to participate in the HardTech Pitch Competition:
- Developed or are developing a novel semiconductor, sensor, silicon-based IP or embedded system hardware product
- You are an incorporated company in Canada
- You have a business number (CRA)
- If you are not already located in York Region, you are committed to co-locate to York Region or at ventureLAB’s innovation hub for at least six months upon winning the prize (dependent on public health regulations). Note that this can be fulfilled through a ventureLAB membership, which will be provided free of charge to the winners
- You are not a winner of a previous ventureLAB pitch competition (Made in York Region 2019 or 2020; HardTech 2021)
- All finalists must be available to participate on the date which is given in the website.
Evaluation Criteria
Eligible applications will be evaluated and scored based on criteria aligned with the challenge statement, which include:
- Alignment with ventureLAB’s goals and priorities to develop embedded hardware products and/or chip innovations to enable the economic sustainability of the Canadian semiconductor industry and its broader ecosystem
- Innovation: How novel, creative and/or improved the product/technology is, relevant to technological and economic growth
- Feasibility: A clear vision of the product or service being built and application of a sound business model that has a compelling mission to grow a commercially viable business
- Scalability and Market Opportunity: Demonstrates a potential for sustainability, scalability and growth of their product or technology
- Financial Stability: A feasible plan to finance the product development and launch of their innovation
For more information, visit Pitch Competition.
For more information, visit https://www.venturelab.ca/pitch-competition
