> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://upnext.world/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # SAAS NORTH AI 2026: DOUBL Wins PitchFest as 45 AI Startups Pitch Ottawa - URL: https://upnext.world/saas-north-ai-2026-pitchfest-winners/ - Published: 2026-11-06T18:31:11.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-06T18:42:55.000Z - Description: Forty-five AI startups pitched across four PitchFest qualifier rounds at SAAS NORTH AI in Ottawa. DOUBL took the $10,000 prize by audience vote, with miRoncol Health in second. Here is every company that pitched, what founders told us, and what investors said about Canada’s missing lead. - Author: Edwin J. Frondozo - Tags: UpNext World Tour, world-tour, SaaS North, Deploy SAAS NORTH returned to the Rogers Centre in Ottawa for its 11th edition, rebranded as SAAS NORTH AI, with more than 2,000 attendees from over 500 companies expected for a program built around the economics of AI software. PitchFest, now in its ninth year and presented by Osler, ran 45 AI startups through four qualifier rounds over two days before a finale decided by live audience vote for a $10,000 prize. The conference also launched DEPLOY, a defence and dual-use summit presented by Dominion Dynamics and organized around three founder barriers: build, fund and sell. Going in, [*our preview*](https://upnext.world/saas-north-ai-deploy-defence-summit-what-to-watch/) asked whether a software conference could become a defence-tech room. UpNext covered the event on the ground with a four-person team. SPONSORED · SLINGSHOT ****Founders came to DEPLOY to sell to government. The buyer still calls the number on your card.** Make it a real business line. Slingshot sets one up in two minutes, priced like a coffee, month to month. It leaves when you leave. [Get your business line → ](https://slingshot.tel/?utm%5Fsource=upnext&utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=saas-north-ai-2026-recap&utm%5Fcontent=ad-b-deploy) ## The PitchFest Winner [**DOUBL**](http://mydoubl.ca/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Consumer Tech\]** won PitchFest: AI Edition by audience vote at the Finale Throwdown, taking the $10,000 prize. The Kelowna company uses 3D body scans to match shoppers to pants and jeans by their measurements, with the aim of cutting apparel returns. Its fit technology has been live on the Smithery Style and Tall Size online stores since June 2026\. Bryn Davis Williams pitched. --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/bd/f7bd9425-660a-4347-a458-f5a607a098d3/content/images/2026/11/WhatsApp-Image-2026-11-06-at-09.43.35-1.jpeg) ## The Finalists [**miRoncol Health**](https://mironcol.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Biotech\]** placed second. The Ottawa company combines microRNA analysis and AI in a blood test that screens for multiple cancers. It reports strong results on more than 11,000 samples and launched its miCheckup test commercially in Ontario in October 2026 at $1,299, with LifeLabs collecting samples. Larger validation studies are still ahead. Victoria Xu pitched. [**Supercurve.ai**](https://supercurve.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI\]** reached the finale with an AI marketing teammate that learns a business, builds its go-to-market plan and prepares the work for approval. Elana Ostrega pitched. [**AllMind**](https://allmind.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Fintech\]** reached the finale with an AI research terminal for institutional investors that brings market data, document search and agents into one place. The Waterloo company is backed by Google for Startups. Anwaar Malik pitched. --- ## From the Investor's Seat Darryl Bandoro covered the investor side for UpNext, at SAAS NORTH AI and at the events around it. The word he heard most was sovereignty: sovereign AI, sovereign defence capability, and keeping Canadian founders and IP at home. Underneath it ran a harder message. The money behind that ambition still isn't reaching early-stage startups, because Canadian investors want a lead in the round and few will take that role themselves. Margaret Wu of Georgian put it this way: "I feel like a penguin and I see all the penguins lining up next to me to jump." Read Darryl's full report: [Sovereignty, Penguins and the Missing Lead: What I Heard at SaaS North](https://upnext.world/saas-north-2026-investor-trends-sovereignty/). [Sovereignty, Penguins and the Missing Lead: What I Heard at SaaS NorthSovereignty was the word of the week in Ottawa. Underneath it, investors kept describing the same problem: the money behind Canada’s ambition still isn’t reaching early-stage startups, because everyone wants a lead and few will take that role.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/bd/f7bd9425-660a-4347-a458-f5a607a098d3/content/images/icon/Facebook-IG-Profile-1080px-fdab5f24-6037-4cad-be37-81418ba1e8e0.png)UpNext GlobalDarryl Bandoro![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/bd/f7bd9425-660a-4347-a458-f5a607a098d3/content/images/thumbnail/WhatsApp-Image-2026-11-06-at-11.23.07-1-1-6c9ee52e-339c-4297-a45b-48e488ab249f.jpg)](https://upnext.world/saas-north-2026-investor-trends-sovereignty/) --- ## What Founders Told Us Between rounds, we asked founders what it takes to build in Canada. The answers came back to thinking beyond the obvious path, being willing to make bold bets, knowing your ideal customer precisely, and spending real time in San Francisco. Asked about their priority between now and year end, most said investors. Close behind were partners who believe in the vision and people who can make the right introductions. --- ## DEPLOY: Did Defence Show Up as a Buyer? The interest is real, and so is the money. Mike Peasgood, who built military drones in Waterloo two decades ago, remembered when "defence was kind of a bad word" and BDC couldn't invest in the sector. That has flipped. The question our preview raised, whether investors would back early dual-use companies or wait for contracts, stayed open. Investors talked about the opportunity but still described a market waiting for someone else to lead rounds. Established suppliers raised a different problem: long government payment cycles force them to finance work they have already delivered. The new Defence Industry Agency should help, but panellists put it one to two years from implementation. The deeper procurement conversation happened after hours. Once DEPLOY wrapped on Thursday, *Tech Thursday Ottawa* brought defence and dual-use founders to Gezellig in Westboro for dinner, sponsored by Ramp. Founders who have closed multiple rounds talked first-time raisers through fundraising, and those who have already won defence contracts shared what got them through procurement and what keeps slowing it down. Several left with new connections. Ottawa's defence tech community is growing, and evenings like this are where founders find the people who have already solved their problem. --- ## The Field The judging panel across the qualifiers included Stuart MacDonald (Narrative.Fund), Shambhavi Mishra (Antler), Moien Giashi (GreenSky Ventures), Chris Harvey (Storytime Capital), Katheleen Eva (GridBank) and Alex Norman (N49P Ventures, TechTO), with Patrick White of 1984 Pictures moderating. Six of these companies were on [our watch list](https://upnext.world/saas-north-ai-deploy-defence-summit-what-to-watch/) going in: Solana Networks, Lime Health, Mettara AI, miRoncol Health, Compose Health and Bidblox. miRoncol Health went furthest, placing second. Here is the rest of the field. [**Lime Health**](https://www.lime.health/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Healthtech\]** collects and analyzes patient-reported experience and outcome measures and feeds them into electronic medical records. CHU de Québec-Université Laval runs 70,000 patient surveys through the platform, and the company reports that 18 of Quebec's 34 health establishments use it. Lime Health was named e-Health Solution of the Year in 2023\. Francis Robichaud pitched. [**Ntangible**](https://ntangible.co/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Media / Talent\]** measures how athletes perform under pressure with an assessment it calls Clutch Factor. The Toronto company expanded its deal with The Alliance Fastpitch in 2026 to assess about 20,000 youth athletes a year, and it made the Top 20 of TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield. Dan Connerty pitched. [**Mettara AI**](https://mettara.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI / Enterprise\]** embeds AI agents inside complex SaaS products to guide users through onboarding and adoption. The bootstrapped Halifax company made its first sale in February 2026 and reports more than $70,000 in annual recurring revenue from three paying organizations. Yash Mehta pitched. [**Solana Networks**](https://www.solananetworks.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Cybersecurity\]** builds AI-based network analytics for mission-critical networks, including tools that classify encrypted traffic. Founded in Ottawa in 2003, it counts Public Safety Canada, Defence R&D Canada and Shared Services Canada among its clients, which made it the most established company in the field and a natural fit for the DEPLOY conversation. Nabil Seddigh pitched. [**Compose Health**](https://www.composehealth.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Healthtech / AI\]** is an Ottawa company that produces compliant health content for pharma teams, using AI agents that simulate medical reviewers and writers. Lundbeck is a named customer, and the company says it saves more than 70% of the time per workflow. Ryan Brotman pitched. [**Bidblox**](http://www.bidblox.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI / Industrial\]** uses multi-agent AI to automate construction preconstruction work such as bidding, scoping and procurement. The Markham company raised pre-seed funding from Antler and won the Upper Bound pitch competition. Lisa Mohapatra pitched. [**DistinctAI**](https://www.distinctplugins.io/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Consumer Tech\]** makes on-device AI image tools for creators. The Ottawa-area company says Microsoft and HP have featured its apps on new PCs, and it has donated $70,000 from sales to CHEO. Chris Pierce pitched. [**PragmaClin Research**](https://www.pragmaclin.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Healthtech\]** built PRIMS, a digital assessment system that lets clinicians monitor neurological conditions. The St. John's company says it has secured more than $2 million in funding. Eman Nishat pitched. [**Moon Trades Technologies**](https://www.moontrades.space/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI / Industrial\]** pairs AI with custom rovers for non-invasive critical-mineral exploration, with lunar use in its sights. It is running mining pilots in Sudbury and won the SmartTO Innovation Challenge. Wintta Ghebreiyesus pitched. [**ValidGrid AI**](https://www.validgridai.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Proptech\]** runs AI video walk-throughs at new-home handover and flags defects against Ontario's Tarion guidelines. The Kitchener company won The Canadian Tech Festival 2026 and has filed a Canadian patent application. Piyali Mukherjee pitched. [**AgenQ**](https://agenq.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI / Enterprise\]** trains insurance agency staff with an on-screen AI guide inside EZLynx and AMS360\. The company says one insurance software provider cut customer onboarding from about 90 minutes to 15\. Varun Mishra pitched. [**eezly**](https://www.eezly.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Consumer Tech\]** is a free Quebec grocery app that compares more than 10,000 products across chains and builds the cheapest shopping list. It received an offer on Dans l'Oeil du Dragon. Phil Dallaire pitched. [**Koddian**](https://koddian.io/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Cybersecurity\]** tracks software dependencies, vulnerabilities and licences, and produces software bills of materials for audits and M&A due diligence. It spun out of the Quebec development firm Kumojin. Lukasz Kokot pitched. [**Ulysses Climate Intelligence**](https://www.ulyssesclimate.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Climate Tech\]** gives organizations early warnings of extreme climate events tied to their own supply chains. The University of Waterloo spinout counts Canada Research Chair Sarah Burch among its co-founders. Jose DiBella pitched. [**5GCX**](https://5gcx.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI / Industrial\]** is building an AI training platform for fifth-generation fighter pilots, timed to Canada's F-35 purchase. Former TECHNATION CEO Angela Mondou co-founded it with F-35 test pilot Billie Flynn, and Mondou pitched. [**AiVALON Health Technologies**](https://tedrogersresearch.ca/2025/09/echo-spotlight-series-aivalon/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Healthtech / AI\]** screens for early heart disease with a two-minute guided-breathing test on a smartphone, built on McGill research. It is preparing a clinical pilot with a Latin American cardiovascular foundation. Mahya Khaki pitched. [**Romancy**](https://romancy.co/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Consumer Tech\]** matches romance readers with books through private "vibe reviews" and in-store scans. The Ottawa app's first beta event drew more than 30 readers. Natasha Tardioli pitched. [**Carbon Saver**](https://carbon-saver.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Climate Tech\]** reads architects' floorplans and suggests lower-carbon design changes. Nurra Barry pitched. [**Cognitai**](https://cognitai.org/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Healthtech / AI\]** gives mental health clinicians a clinical intelligence platform with dashboards and a client app. Fora Fereydouni pitched. [**FlowBeacon**](https://flowbeacon.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Cybersecurity\]** inventories and policy-checks the AI agents and automations running inside a company. Justin Javorek pitched. [**IA Medica**](https://iamedica.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Healthtech / AI\]** answers clinicians' questions with citations from Canadian and Quebec guidelines. Vincent Montminy-Linteau pitched. [**Interpret-Ô**](https://interpret-o.com/en?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI\]** provides AI simultaneous interpretation in more than 20 languages from Québec City. Joel Gallant pitched. [**Momenta Analytics**](https://www.momentaanalytics.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI / Enterprise\]** reads a company's SQL query history to give AI and analytics tools the right business context. Omnya El Massad pitched. [**NeuraVue**](https://www.neuravue.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Healthtech / AI\]** adds fall and wandering detection to the existing cameras in senior-care homes, processed on-site. Afshan Ahmad pitched. [**Pillarix**](https://pillarix.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI / Industrial\]** manages construction change orders and claims with AI. Kevin Kuang pitched. [**Pricenaux Analytics**](https://pricenaux.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI\]** gives Shopify and Amazon sellers explainable pricing recommendations. Atif Mumtaz pitched. [**Quotograph**](https://www.quotograph.io/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI / Industrial\]** turns site photos, drone footage and blueprints into construction takeoffs and estimates. Taj Brah pitched. [**SyncraSys**](https://syncrasys.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Cybersecurity\]** automates multi-camera subject tracking and incident reports for security operations centres. Paul Phillips pitched. [**WorkCore AI**](https://www.workcore.ai/?ref=upnext.world) **\[Proptech\]** gives property managers an AI workspace for tenant communications, leasing and maintenance. Ali Nafarieh pitched. [**GeoLapis**](https://www.geolapis.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI / Industrial\]** turns subsurface and environmental data into decision-ready insight. Nnaemeka Ezema pitched. [**YGeoscience**](https://ygeoscience.com/?ref=upnext.world) **\[AI / Industrial\]** provides geoscience exploration services to mining companies. Urnaa Yondon pitched. *Also in the field: Aleph One, Evalyze, Inscend, Luna, Novo Cognition, QuanTAVI, RetOps, STRATA Flight, Tahr and TEMACORE.* ****Running a pitch competition, accelerator or demo day?** UpNext produces editorial showcases for innovation centres, accelerators and trade agencies, putting your cohort in front of a network of 150,000+ founders, investors and innovation leaders, with a direct introduction channel to every company. Talk to us about your next cohort. ## Why It Matters for the UpNext Network Sovereign AI and defence gave Canadian founders a reason to build at home, and the PitchFest field was full of AI built for demanding buyers: hospitals, pharma teams, construction sites and government networks. The gap sits at the first cheque. Founders told us their top priority before year end is more investors, and investors told Darryl they are waiting for someone else to lead. One founder's advice to the room fits the winner: capital is fuel, but you need a fire first. DOUBL had retailers live on its technology before it took the stage.