Entrepreneurship

Artificial intelligence has made protein design lightning fast, creating digital blueprints for cures to some of the most life-limiting ailments. While this means we now have thousands of new potential therapeutics, for these cures to be realized the designs need to be synthesized and validated in a laboratory environment, which can take a considerable amount of time.

On July 19th, the University of Waterloo community came together to support seven finalist teams as they pitched their business ideas for a chance at one of four $5,000 grants, and one $500 grant for People’s Choice Award. 

Dozens of Velocity founders showcased their innovative businesses and technologies to a global audience at the recent Collision conference in Toronto. 

The tech conference brings together investors, government and major brands, while giving startups global networking and business-building opportunities. 

From Gen Z to baby boomers, workspaces in Canada now span across four generations. Students engaging in work-integrated learning (WIL) and their employers need to learn from each other and how to effectively work together. As part of the World Association of Co-operative Education (WACE) 2023 World Conference hosted at the University of Waterloo, international leaders in industry, government and academia to share their collective wisdom on cultivating two-way learning opportunities. 

Autonomous airline Ribbit has signed a $1.3 million contract with Transport Canada to start testing its commercial cargo aircraft to deliver goods to northern Canada, starting in 2024. 

“Ribbit ultimately exists to help improve access to transportation,” said Jeremy Wang (PhD ’23), co-founder and COO. "Our dream would be a future where anybody can receive goods quickly and reliably no matter where they are located.” 

Wang said the company’s initial goal is to serve northern Canada, where about 120 million pounds of food gets delivered annually. 

Navigating the startup landscape takes confidence, speed and little help from friends. Those were a few of the key takeaways during a panel discussion with experts from Velocity, Waterloo’s startup incubator, on June 28 at the Collision tech conference in Toronto.

Here are four key takeaways:

1) Take advice, but remember you know your company best

Building ethical technology is “not a destination, it’s a journey,” said Jennifer Boger, professor in the Faculty of Engineering and chief science officer at ESG.AI. 

As tech evolves, so must our approach to its responsible development. But the increasing complexity and speed of innovation make it feel impossible to keep up. 

The University of Waterloo will become the first post-secondary institution in Canada to invest from its endowment into a venture capital (VC) fund launched by the team behind its affiliated startup incubator.  

Earlier this year, the Narwhal Project released their annual Narwhal List, which tracks Canadian technology companies that are on their way to unicorn status based on their billion-dollar annual revenues.    

The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) proudly announced the recipients of its prestigious Sustainable Future Competition funding during its Annual General Meeting. The competition, which attracted project proposals from small- to medium-sized enterprises in southern Ontario, aims to drive social, environmental and economic sustainability in the aviation or aerospace sectors.