What's UpNext
What’s UpNext: Signals from the Global Startup Circuit
The F1 Circuit of the Startup Ecosystem. Tracking founders, momentum, and signals as they emerge.
Latest
UpNext Ecosystem
AccelerateOTT 2026: Ottawa's Founders Take a Global Stage
Ten Eastern Ontario startups competed at the Startup World Cup Ottawa Regional on June 11. Kavodax took first place and advances to San Francisco for the Global Grand Finale. Here's who was on stage.
Flashpoint POV
No Network. No VC. No Permission. That's the Point.
Samim Safaei spent ten years building startups without insider access. Then he built siift, an AI operating system that gives every founder the operational intelligence that was inaccessible to 99% of founders.
UpNext World Tour
Web Summit Rio 2026: Dalton Lab Wins the PITCH on a Record Stage
The 2026 edition was Web Summit Rio's biggest — 40,287 attendees, 1,572 startups, 688 investors. All three startups in the PITCH final on Center Stage were Brazilian. Dalton Lab, an UpNext founder, took the win. Here's the full cohort.
UpNext World Tour
Hello Tomorrow 2026: Deep Tech Reports From the Field
The 11th edition of the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge came to Amsterdam for the first time. The 26 finalists weren't pitching moonshots, they were reporting from the field.
Flashpoint POV
A New Fit Standard to Replace 80 Years of Outdated Fashion Sizing
Cricket Lee's 26 years of research revealed something the fashion industry ignored: the fit standard running global apparel was designed around production efficiency, not the human body. BodyCodes replaces it with a fit-by-shape architecture that evolves with women through their lives.
UpNext World Tour
South Summit Madrid 2026: Mitiga Solutions Wins, Plus the Standouts
Mitiga Solutions took the Global Winner title as Madrid's most international edition pushed AI into health, capital markets, water, and defense.
What's UpNext
What’s UpNext: Signals from the Global Startup Circuit
The F1 Circuit of the Startup Ecosystem. Tracking founders, momentum, and signals as they emerge.
Flashpoint POV
Nobody Was Reading the Data Underground. Until Now.
Large multinational clients of LiORA can carry up to $64 billion in AROs, roughly half of which is tied to soil and groundwater contamination. Nick Gray left B2B tech to join LiORA, replacing grab samples with live AI-powered data that finally makes site closure possible.
What's UpNext
What’s UpNext: Signals from the Global Startup Circuit
The F1 Circuit of the Startup Ecosystem. Tracking founders, momentum, and signals as they emerge.
UpNext Ecosystem
Google for Startups Accelerator Canada 2026
Canada's AI ecosystem has moved from research credibility to deployment infrastructure. The 2026 Google Accelerator cohort signals the shift — 14 startups building for enterprise buyers, not labs, with technical stacks vetted for scale.
Flashpoint POV
Building the Hormone-Free Contraceptive Her Patients Couldn’t Find
The possible link between long-term use of hormonal contraception and autoimmune disease led Jennifer Johnston to build a better option for patients. Elle MD’s copper vaginal ring is a once-monthly, hormone-free contraceptive that women can use themselves, without surgery or a prescription routine.