Record number of startups apply to pitch at Inventures

NEWS RELEASE 

CALGARY, ALBERTA – May 8, 2024 – Thousands of dollars are on the line along with exposure to a global audience and technology investors for 30 companies that have made the final cut for the Inventures Startup Pitch Competition.

Inventures 2024 is fast approaching, and a select group of companies have been identified as the finalists for this year’s pitch competition. There are six competitions, each with a $10,000 prize and five finalists who will pitch live on stage. The six competitions mirror the program tracks of this year’s conference.

Pitch competition themes are:

• Growing Up: Food Tech Farm to Fork 
• Tech Triathlon: Quantum + AI + Iot 
• Blurring Boundaries: Tech At Work 
• Entrepreneurship: Accelerating Scaleup 
• Live Long Live Well: Unveiling Health Data 
• Earth Tech: Building Everything Better 

 Interest in this year’s pitch competition resulted in more than double the applicants from the prior year. The field of 1,097 was screened to 477 before being narrowed to the 30 finalists. As western Canada’s leading innovation and investment conference, Inventures continues to attract a global following with 178 applications evaluated belonging to companies from outside of Canada. A further 212 applications came from Alberta companies with the remaining 87 coming from other provinces. Of the 30 finalists selected, eight are from the United States, nine from across Canada and 13 from within Alberta.  

“Inventures is where business gets done and in 2023 between $164M-$256M in transactions took place. If you’re an investor looking for your next opportunity, Inventures is your place. If you’re a startup company aiming to get noticed, Inventures is your stage to stand out from the crowd. If you are a large corporation, come see the technology of the future.” 

– Laura Kilcrease, CEO Alberta Innovates 

“Pitching at Inventures in 2023 was a great experience for Kello Inclusive and led to opportunities that have helped our agency continue to grow and succeed. I’ll be watching this year to see what great ideas emerge from the competition.” 

– Katie McMillan, Founder Kello Inclusive, Inventures 2023 pitch winner 

Pitch finalists will be judged on five critical elements: 

• Creativity – the originality and uniqueness of the idea 
• Potential – the longevity, actualization, and profitability of the idea 
• Goodness – how does the product or service impact/improve the world? 
• Traction – sales, users, marketing exposure, etc. 
• Team / People – how will the team help the startup succeed? 

In addition to the formal Inventures competition, several other pitch competitions will take place, hosted by partner groups including venture capital funds.  

The additional pitch competitions are: 

• Plug and Play AI in Energy Innovation Challenge  
• UCalgary x TC Energy Ingenuity Pitch Prize   
• SVG Ventures | THRIVE & Alberta Innovates Climate Challenge Pitch Showcase 
• Ontario Brain Institute Neurotech Pitch Competition  

Partner groups are encouraged to use Inventures as a platform to capitalize on the global audience drawn to Alberta. For more information on the pitch competitions visit Inventurescanada.com.  

About Inventures 

Inventures is a global innovation experience powered by Alberta Innovates to bring together the world’s brightest minds, angels, venture capitalists and industry leaders. Launched in 2018, Inventures is gaining global interest as the place to discover new technologies, talent, capital, customers and markets. Tickets are available at Inventurescanada.com. 

Background 

Pitch finalists by competition theme