The first day of ventureLAB’s 5th Annual HardTech Summit brought together more than 1,500 attendees at the Paramount Event Space in Vaughan, marking the first time the summit has been hosted in the city. The move signaled both growth and momentum for Canada’s leading hardtech gathering, which continues to attract founders, investors, and global partners shaping the nation’s innovation economy. Hosted by CBC technology columnist Manjula Selvarajah, the summit opened with welcoming remarks from ventureLAB CEO Hugh Chow, setting an inspiring tone for two days dedicated to advancing Canada’s position in the global hardtech landscape.
This year’s summit featured an outstanding lineup of panels, fireside chats, and technical sessions that reflected the growing strength and diversity of Canada’s hardware, semiconductor, MedTech, AI, and automobility ecosystems. The day’s programming began with a keynote address from Ted Graham, most recently Head of Open Innovation at General Motors, who shared insights on collaboration, leadership, and the future of mobility in a rapidly transforming industrial landscape. His message of cross-sector partnership resonated deeply across the audience of founders, investors, and policymakers.
.png)
Panels throughout the day tackled the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing Canada’s deep-tech and hardtech sectors. “From Lab to Global Market: Scaling Canadian MedTech” explored how domestic innovators can build global leadership while balancing cost, speed, and quality in manufacturing and commercialization. “The Talent Problem Holding Back Canadian Tech” confronted the leadership and hiring challenges that threaten to slow Canada’s innovation momentum, while offering actionable insights for founders and scale-ups determined to compete on a global stage.
Discussions on AI and semiconductors took center stage in the afternoon. “From Pioneer to Passenger? Canada’s AI Crossroads” brought together leaders from AMD, Solid State AI, and Toronto Global to examine how Canada can translate its world-leading AI research into commercial and industrial advantage. “AI Beyond the Hype: Implementation in Canada’s Core Industries”, sponsored by CIT, took a pragmatic view of how AI is reshaping manufacturing, mining, healthcare, and agriculture, spotlighting the real-world ROI of digital transformation. In “From Chip to Code: Who Owns the IP in AI Integration?”, experts unpacked the evolving legal and strategic questions surrounding innovation ownership in the era of AI-driven hardware.
Investors were a major focus throughout the day, with two high-profile sessions examining the shifting capital landscape. The “Chips on the Table” fireside chat, featuring the founders of Blumind and Hyperlume, offered a candid look at what it takes to raise capital in deep tech today and why investor confidence in Canadian hardware ventures is growing. Later, “The Deep Tech Bet: Why Hardware Is the Next Venture Frontier” gathered leaders from Quantacet, Ranovus, and Finalta Capital to discuss how venture funds are evolving to support long-term, high-impact innovation.
The HardTech MedTech Zone debuted as a dedicated showcase for emerging digital-health and medical-technology solutions, highlighting Canada’s leadership in patient-care innovation.
The Investor Zone continued to play a central role in facilitating one-on-one meetings between founders and investors, fostering meaningful connections that extended beyond the stage. Across the exhibition floor, attendees explored cutting-edge advancements in hardware, AI, and semiconductors, underscoring the summit’s role as the country’s premier platform for hardtech innovation.
The day also marked a significant announcement with the unveiling of York Region's 2025 Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund winners powered by ventureLAB . This initiative supports nonprofits that serve underrepresented communities and founders developing Agri-tech and Cleantech innovations. The fund encourages innovation by fully supporting promising early-stage startups, accelerators, incubators, and community partners. This years winner were for Stream 1 that supports non-profits were Founders Gap and Clear Waters Future and Stream 2 that supports entrepreneurs were Cropino, Pocket, Serenity Power, Radio Wires, Just Vertical, Nanodevice, and STEM Minds and Founders Gap and Clear Waters Future.
Adding to the day’s milestones, ventureLAB signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Technum Quebec and a coalition of leading Canadian and American semiconductor organizations to advance the development of the Northeast Semiconductor Manufacturing Corridor (NSMC). This first-of-its-kind cross-border alliance is designed to enhance innovation, economic resilience, and supply-chain integration across North America, reinforcing Canada’s strategic role in strengthening continental semiconductor capacity.
Day 1 of the HardTech Summit reaffirmed ventureLAB’s commitment to strengthening Canada’s innovation ecosystem through collaboration, investment, and global ambition. With more than 1,500 participants representing every corner of the hardtech landscape, the conversations and connections that began in Vaughan are already shaping the next wave of Canada’s industrial and technological leadership.
This year’s summit was made possible through the generous support of sponsors including Canada Foundation for Innovation, City of Markham, Destination Markham, ElevateIP c/o Communitech, Finalta Capital Inc., Mirror Mirror Activations, Ontario Brain Institute, Dell Technologies, Classic Juice Co, GL Chemtec, and Westcliff University along with media sponsors BetaKit, EE Times, EP&T, and Canadian Manufacturing, whose partnership underscores a shared commitment to building a globally competitive hardtech ecosystem in Canada.
