That's a wrap on Collision in Toronto, one of the biggest tech conferences in North America. Here are a few of the local trailblazers that made an appearance.
Collision, one of the world’s biggest tech conferences, has been called the “Olympics of tech,” attracting more than 40,000 attendees from over 130 countries each year. And it makes sense that Toronto, the largest tech hub in Canada, played host since 2019. Named North America’s fastest-growing tech market by CBRE, Toronto is not only home to more than 50 tech-focused business accelerators and incubators, it has the third-largest tech talent pool in Canada and the U.S. Here are nine noteworthy Toronto-based tech start-ups and thought-leaders to watch from this year’s Collision at Exhibition Place.
Raquel Urtasun is driving autonomous vehicles into the future
A renowned expert in self-driving vehicles, Raquel Urtasun is pioneering the next generation of autonomous trucking powered by generative AI. As founder and CEO of Toronto-based Waabi, she’s aiming to change the world of logistics. The former Canada Research Chair in Machine Learning and Computer Vision has won a host of awards for her work, including an NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Award, two NVIDIA Pioneers of AI Awards and three Google Faculty Research Awards—to name just a few.
Geoffrey Hinton a.k.a. “Godfather of AI” pioneered the field of deep learning
Geoffrey Hinton is a global pioneer in the field of deep learning and is widely regarded as the Godfather of AI for his revolutionary work that has earned him a Turing Award. The British-Canadian computer scientist started researching neural networks at the University of Toronto in 1987, when it was largely considered fringe science. Later, his theories were proven correct, and his work has since provided foundational breakthroughs in AI. Today, he’s a University Professor Emeritus at U of T and chief scientific advisor of the Vector Institute in Toronto.
Emma Todd is solving real-world problems with blockchain
As CEO of MMH Technology Group, board member of the Canadian Blockchain Consortium and member of the Crypto Sustainability Coalition at the World Economic Forum, Emma Todd is a force in the world of blockchain. As an advocate for the use of blockchain to solve real-world problems, transform industries and improve people’s lives, her company specializes in creating enterprise-level blockchain solutions—including solutions for some of the world’s largest banks, such as JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and HSBC.
Hydrostor is drawing on clean energy even when wind or sun isn’t in ample supply
Renewable energy can help to address climate change, but what happens when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine? Hydrostor came up with a solution: technology that delivers energy storage of eight hours or more to reliably power grids around the world. The Toronto-based company aims to cut pollution at scale, allowing grid operators to draw on clean energy even when wind or sun isn’t in ample supply. Co-founded by Curtis VanWalleghem, Hydrostor has an extensive pipeline of projects in North America, Australia and beyond.
Borrowell is helping Canadians take control of their finances
An EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award winner, Eva Wong is co-founder and COO of Borrowell, a Toronto-based fintech with a single goal: to make financial prosperity possible for all Canadians by providing access to credit education and innovative digital tools. As one of the largest consumer fintech companies in Canada, Borrowell is using next-gen artificial intelligence to transform the industry and empower consumers—from automating financial services to enabling more personalized customer experiences through tools like an AI-powered credit coach.
1Password is making password management a breeze
Weak and reused passwords are a leading cause of cybersecurity breaches. So, Toronto-based 1Password has come up with a security and privacy solution that serves as a password manager, digital vault and secure digital wallet—earning the company recognition on Forbes’ The Cloud 100 list. Since its inception, CEO Jeff Shiner has grown the company from 20 people to a 420-employee global organization with a US$6.8 billion valuation, supporting millions of consumers and 100,000-plus businesses.
Xanadu brings quantum computing to the masses
Xanadu is on a mission to build quantum computers that are available to everyone, everywhere. The Toronto-based company is racing to build the world’s first photonic-based quantum computer, which has the potential to solve complex data problems—from fighting climate change to making advancements in health care. Helmed by founder and CEO Christian Weedbrook, the company also leads the development of PennyLane, an open-source software library for quantum computing and application development.
Untether AI is powering up AI
AI applications are exploding, but the vast amount of data they require is creating bottlenecks for systems that use classic architecture. Enter Toronto-based Untether AI, which was created to address these bottlenecks with an architecture that’s untethered to traditional approaches—reducing power consumption and dramatically improving performance. The company’s CPO Bob Beachler, is a Silicon Valley Veteran.
Cohere is revolutionizing the language of AI
Cohere is changing the game when it comes to the language of AI, with a platform designed to build production-ready, AI-powered applications. Founded by CEO Aidan Gomez, the Toronto-based company’s language models are built on Cohere’s architecture and trained on supercomputers, providing natural language processing solutions that don’t require costly development. The goal? To augment and elevate the global workforce so businesses can stay competitive in the AI era.
The number of tech businesses in Toronto is growing at an exponential rate. As Canada’s hub of innovation, it’s the ideal place for the tech industry to convene, create and do business—and to launch the next great idea. Learn more at this year’s Collision from June 17–20, 2024.
