Nrth 2026: Winners and Standouts From Toronto's Startup Stage

Elevate became Nrth, and its startup stage ran seven pitch sessions plus Tangerine's $50,000 elevator pitch. Moro Technologies, MoVA Realities and Cotriply took home the prizes. Here is every company that pitched and what they are building.

LiONS LAIR 2026: Health Founders Sweep the Podium

NewGen Health took the $30,000 top prize at Innovation Factory's 16th annual LiONS LAIR with an at-home urine screening device for early kidney disease. Seven of the ten finalists are building in health and life sciences, and every one came up through Founders Fast Track.

Top100 Swiss Startup Award 2026: Corintis Repeats

Corintis won the Top100 Swiss Startup Award for the second year in a row, with legal AI company DeepJudge second and space startup PAVE Space third. Six new special awards went to a newcomer, a biotech, a cleantech, a robotics company, the year's biggest raise and its biggest exit.

The Salmon Feed Additive That Activates Natural Immunity and Removes Antibiotic Dependency

Daniela Allerbon solved aquaculture’s antibiotic crisis by shifting from external additives to biological amplification. Her team uses a protein salmon naturally produce to boost immunity, eliminating antibiotic dependency and achieving industry-leading survival rates.

Canada Fintech Forum 2026: Fireraven Takes the Pitch Battle

Ten startups pitched to five of Canada's most active fintech investors in Montreal. Fireraven won with AI security for AI agents. But the real story was the thread running through the entire conference: what does speed cost in trust?

A Tech Founder's Question About Who Controls What You Think

Abhishek Dixit scaled a startup to $70M, then realized AI companies understand human psychology better than people do. His question led to CosmicSoul, a new architecture that proves frontier AI can run locally on any device with 3GB of RAM, no GPUs, no cloud, and no data leaving your device.

Elevate Festival Is Two Weeks Away: September 22–24

Elevate Festival brings more than 10,000 founders, investors, executives and tech leaders to Toronto from September 22 to 24. Here is what is worth your time, and how to walk in already knowing who to find.

AI-Powered Wearable Ultrasound Brings Cardiac Imaging Home

Sai Zhou discovered that cardiac ultrasound doesn't need specialist gatekeeping. It needs better technology. His AI-powered wearable device brings heart imaging home in minutes, not months, earning 1st place at the American Society of Echocardiography conference.

Aging in Place Without Being Watched

Pontosense discovered that seniors refuse the surveillance technology designed to protect them. Their platform uses invisible sensors to detect what is happening, giving families peace of mind without the cost of watching.

One Breath Test Reaches the Billions of Women Mammography Never Could

Jilma spent a decade in hospitals learning what doctors need and what patients fear. Then she built CanScan, a breath test detecting breast cancer with 95% accuracy for $20. It reaches the billions of women mammography never could, without radiation, without pain, without infrastructure.

What Hospitality Taught a Tech Founder About Healthcare

Luis Furtado’s hospitality-inspired hybrid model for medical clinics grew 4.7x in one year. HubMédica now serves 30 Brazilian clients, managing 463,000 patient messages by combining trained human teams with AI-driven software to improve patient communication.

Women in Tech Investment Prize Stole the Spotlight at Startupfest 2026 In Montreal

Women in Tech Investment Prize, funded by The Firehood and judged by a panel of women angel investors handed out $100,000 to a worthy team The top ten Startups spanned fertility diagnostics, hormone care, blockchain payments, and hive health.