CALGARY, ALBERTA – INVENTURE$ 2024 (Inventures) wrapped up for another year. The sixth year for Calgary’s premier innovation event came to a close on May 31st. Nearly 4,000 people attended the three-day conference. Delegates heard from over 400 speakers, panelists and presenters in over 200 sessions. Inventures 2024 ran from May 29 – May 31, covering six streams, including:

Blurring Boundaries: Tech at Work

Growing Up: Food Tech Farm to Fork

Earth Tech: Building Everything Better

Live Long, Live Well: Unveiling Health Data

Entrepreneurship: Accelerating Scale-up

Tech Triathlon: Quantum, AI, and IOT

Keynote Presentations:

Conference attendees heard from keynote presenters:

  • Marcus Collins, PhD, spoke on culture and its impact on innovation.
  • AMECA – the world’s most humanoid robot, engaged Alberta Innovates CEO, Laura Kilcrease in a discussion about artificial intelligence.
  • David Usher – former frontman of the band Moist – presented on his work in the field of artificial intelligence.
  • Poppy Crum – a neuroscientist who spoke about the intersection of humanity and technology.

Pitch Competitions:

Inventures hosts a pitch competition where companies come together to pitch themselves and their companies. At stake was $10,000 for each of the six conference themes. Almost 1,100 companies applied for a spot to pitch at Inventures. That number was narrowed down to 30 companies who were invited to pitch their best ideas and innovations to an expert panel, hoping to take home one of the $10,000 prizes. A team of judges made up of venture capitalists, selected this year’s winners.

Blurring Boundaries:

RESVR Inc.

Growing Up:

Cattle Scan

Earth Tech:

CO2BREW

Live Long, Live Well:

AIIMSENSE Inc.

Entrepreneurship:

Kredit Academy

Tech Triathalon:

UPROW

Concurrently, other pitch competitions were happening at Inventures, sponsored by agencies and organizations like Neurotech, Plug and Play, SVG Thrive and the University of Calgary. Winners of those pitch competitions included:

Inventures Neurotech Pitch Competition

Possibility Neurotechnologies

$25,000

Plug and Play AI in Energy Innovation Challenge

Verano AI

$10,000

SVG Ventures | Thrive & Alberta Innovates – Climate Challenge Pitch

Rimrock Renewables

$10,000

SVG Ventures | Thrive & Alberta Innovates – Climate Challenge Pitch (People’s Choice Award)

Solar Steam

$10,000

UCalgary & TC Energy Ingenuity Pitch Prize

Munitora Livestock Management

$50,000

A student pitch competition also took place during the conference with these three finalists participating in a Student Entrepreneur Showcase:

First Place Winner

INTERVIEWPAL

Second Place Winner

WORKFLOW

Third Place Winner

BEE SAFE

“Inventures 2024 was another stellar event. We drew a record number of attendees and speakers with 33 countries represented. We staged more networking and immersive sessions than ever. Inventures is where innovators connect, do business and pitch solutions. It’s where research and industry leaders bring breakthrough ideas that energize new, positive impacts. Be part of this at Inventures 2025 May 28-30.”

– Laura Kilcrease, CEO, Alberta Innovates

Inventures is a global innovation experience hosted by Alberta Innovates to bring together the world’s brightest minds, angel investors, venture capitalists and industry leaders. Launched in 2018, Inventures is the place to discover new technologies, talent, capital, customers and markets.

Get your Inventures 2025 tickets at a limited time only rate of $499 at inventurescanada.com/register/

MEDIA CONTACT

Dwayne Brunner

Senior Manager, Media & Strategic Community Relations