DMZ

Startups aren’t 9–5. Neither are we. Winter applications open December 1.

Get to know our Top 10 Women Founders pitching today at the Women Innovation Summit ✨ Thanks to @canadian_sme and She & Success for being our community partners and helping amplify their work. canadiansme.ca/dmz-women-inno…

Kick off @TOtechweek with @RaquelUrtasun, @_cweedbrook, Jim Balsillie, and @EvanLSolomon. BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall will talk 🇨🇦 autonomy, security, and prosperity on May 25. Get your tickets: bit.ly/40wHvbj

I’m looking forward to speaking at @dmzhq’s Women Innovation Summit this week! As Canada invests heavily in cybersecurity, aerospace, and national security tech, we are seeing incredible opportunities emerge for startups. I will be sharing the stage with seasoned technology-sector veterans. We will explore how founders can break into these high-stakes sectors and the institutional support that is required to empower women entrepreneurs, in particular, to lead. Grab your tickets and join us! dmz.to/wis #WomenInTech #CanadianTech #Cybersecurity #FemaleFounders #NationalSecurity

I'm hosting a cafe event for student builders in Toronto (with @dmzhq) Pull up in April: luma.com/068vrsde

The Siakam EdTech Engine is back 🚀 Co-founded by NBA Champion @pskills43, his PS43 Foundation and powered by DMZ, this is a 12-week accelerator built for early-stage EdTech and youth-focused AI startups ready to move from pitch decks to real classrooms. Six startups will work alongside real education and community partners – culminating in a live Demo Day in July with $50,000 in grants on the line. Apply by March 13. dmz.to/edtech

Deeply proud to mark Tamil Heritage Month in Toronto Centre by bringing together Tamil tech leaders in AI, quantum, and innovation. An inspiring conversation with founders—discovering their stories, learning from their experiences, and discussing what’s next for Canada’s tech future. — Nous sommes très fiers de célébrer le Mois du patrimoine tamoul à Toronto Centre en réunissant des leaders tamouls dans les domaines de l'IA, de la technologie quantique et de l'innovation. Une conversation inspirante avec les fondateurs : découvrir leurs histoires, apprendre de leurs expériences et discuter de l'avenir technologique du Canada.

Toronto Tech Week returns May 25–29, 2026. Our new website just dropped, with 120+ hosts already confirmed. 🚀 Event Host Applications are officially open at torontotechweek.com This year also marks a new multi-year partnership with the @cityoftoronto and continued support from our founding sponsors @Shopify and @GoogleStartups . Built by Toronto, for the world. #TorontoTechWeek #CdnTech #TTW2026

Kitchener-Waterloo's Assetflo has closed a $2-million seed round to further develop its IoT-based tracking system for physical assets. The company has already deployed its product with "multiple" Fortune 500 firms. betakit.com/assetflo-close…

Meet DMZ’s Fall 2025 Cohort – eight companies building what’s next. From AI-native audience infrastructure to food-waste recovery, this cohort is engineered for scale and real-world impact. Incubator: @Access2PayNow • Zeroma • @kneadtech Pre-Incubator: Class Clown • Quotograph • Manela • @AeoVision • @trainwithtg These founders are building fast. We’re here to help them scale. Explore the full cohort → dmz.to/F25Release

Calgary-based DMZ startup Cashew Research was recently featured in @TechCrunch! 🚀

Startups are hard. Don’t build alone. Winter applications are now open.

Même après avoir quitté les Raptors, Pascal Siakam continue son engagement auprès de la communauté francophone @MikeLav_ONFRaps @Raptors @dmzhq @pskills43 #onfr #ontario #Toronto onfr.tfo.org/loin-des-rapto…

Cohort 2 of @pskills43's Edtech Engine is officially on the way. We brought NBA Champion Pascal Siakam, his PS43 Foundation, EdTech founders, educators and partners together in Toronto to announce the next chapter of the Siakam EdTech Engine. Alumni from our inaugural cohort shared how the program helped move their business solutions into the classroom, with multiple pilots now running across school boards. Shoutout to our panel Dakota Whyte (PS43 Foundation), James Hayes (CyberLegends), Erica Derrickson (English Islands), Lorraine Van Zon (TCDSB) and the legend himself Spicy P. With our momentum, we’re expanding the mission and inviting new partners to join us. Another thanks to Pascal and PS43 for spending time with our community and to our founders for showing what’s possible when innovation meets access. Read more to get involved: dmz.torontomu.ca/press-releases…

Back in Toronto to pick up where we left off with our EdTech Engine… This time in person 🙌🏽 Grateful for the chance to sit down, connect, and build with some brilliant minds. Big love to the @ps43foundation family, @dmzhq , and @google for making this all feel like more than just a moment. ❤️ #PS43 #EdTechEngine

Join us for The Next Chapter, an evening with NBA Champion @pskills43, DMZ and the PS43 Foundation as we celebrate Cohort 1 and unveil what’s coming for the Siakam EdTech Engine. Agenda highlights: • Cohort 1 founders rewriting the playbook for how we learn • Hear from Pascal himself on the success of the program • Early access to what’s new, what’s scaling and what’s next A night built for builders, educators and anyone curious about the future of learning. Apply to RSVP by November 20: luma.com/gtdpvqsd

Canada doesn’t have an innovation problem; we have a scaling problem. Founders have to go global to tap into bigger markets and often find it easier to expand down south than across provinces. They face more red tape at home than international markets. @dmzhq Founder @_KelseyHahn (@MonarkTech) and I dug into what that means with @therundowntvo's @JeyanTVO. Kelsey put it best – the “Canadian playbook” tells startups to build here but validate in the US. The result? Canadian startups expand with little incentive to stay anchored here, taking IP, jobs and businesses with them. It’s not a talent issue. It’s not a lack of ambition. It’s a lack of alignment – between policy, procurement and how we treat innovation as a national strategy. More here: youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ap1Y…

DMZ Toronto does amazing work to support talented entrepreneurs take their ideas to the next level. At the Black Innovation Summit, I had the chance to see some of their incredible pitches and reiterate our government's commitment to ensure that talent always has opportunity in Ontario.

Canada's new defence commitment - 5% of GDP by 2035 - could be the move that changes everything for our startup ecosystem. Here's what makes defence a game-changer: ➡️ Multiyear contracts in a tough VC market, giving founders stability to scale. ➡️ Dual-use tech with market potential. One investment, multiple payoffs. ➡️ Capital-heavy tech that builds real competitive advantages and stronger IP. Done right, this isn't just about defence commitments, it's about anchoring world-class innovation in Canada. More on why this matters and how we capitalize on it in my latest @Forbes piece. forbes.com/councils/forbe…

Big news ✈️ We’re teaming up with @TorontoPearson to bring startup innovation to one of the busiest airports in North America. Through the Toronto Pearson Innovation Program, DMZ will help connect the airport’s innovation team with founders building next-gen tech in areas like: ➡️ Passenger experience ➡️ Traffic and parking flow ➡️ Real-time data systems Startups will have the opportunity to pilot their technologies in a live airport environment – testing, scaling and solving real-world challenges for millions of travellers. This partnership marks a new chapter in how major infrastructure operators collaborate with Canada’s startup ecosystem to unlock efficiency and transform operations. Read more: dmz.torontomu.ca/press-releases…