DMZ is an organization that equips founders and learners with tools for long-term success in business growth and tech skills. DMZ provides programming, expert access, connections, and a community to support startups and individuals seeking in-demand jobs.

DMZ is a world-leading startup incubator based at Toronto Metropolitan University that equips the next generation of tech entrepreneurs with the tools needed to build, launch, and scale highly impactful startups. 

By providing connections to customers, coaching, capital, and a community, DMZ’s customized approach helps innovators reach the next milestone in their entrepreneurial journey – whatever that might be. 

Through its award-winning programming, DMZ has helped more than 800 startups raise $2.5 billion in capital and create 5000+ jobs. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada with globally-accessible programming, 

DMZ has a widely-recognized international presence with offices in Vietnam, India, and the U.S., and partnerships across North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia. #BeGreat 🚀

Yesterday, we hosted Basecamp Demo Day, a historical conclusion to our largest student entrepreneurship program to date. 

55 student businesses joined DMZ’s global startup ecosystem for the 4-week Basecamp Sprint program, followed by the 8-week Basecamp Voyage experience. Throughout the Summer, these students received expert 1-on-1 mentoring, customized coaching, and networking opportunities.

$50,000 in grants were awarded to the top four student businesses thanks to our sponsors Embark Student Corp. and the George & Helen Vari Foundation.

Congratulations to:

GlucoSense, a HealthTech startup founded by Justin Allen and Tenzin Dhonyoe from Toronto Metropolitan University, was named the first-place winner and took home $20,000 CAD.

PNYX, an Entertainment startup founded by Asar Qadir from Metalworks Institute/Yorkville University, was named the second-place winner and took home $15,000 CAD, as well as the People’s Choice award, voted by the audience.

Summina, a HealthTech startup founded by Sylvia Gehring from Toronto Metropolitan University, was named the third-place winner and took home $10,000 CAD.

FreshAI, a RetailTech startup founded by Krish Bhoopati from Wilfrid Laurier University, was named the fourth-place winner and took home $5,000 CAD.

Stay tuned for next year’s programming, open to ALL secondary and post-secondary students. 

(Rose Ghamari, Andrew Lo, Sherif El Tawil, Abdullah Snobar, ICD.D, Myles C., Deyana Attia, Adeana Ching-A-Sue, merziya hussain, Jamelia Allen, Pouria Daliri, Daniel Babalola, Polina Valiakhmetova,Lakshya Kawatra, Stevan Japundzic, Omar Azmy, Imam Khalid, Ayana Farooq, Nazar Ponochevnyi, Atulya Bhatnagar, Alex Shibu, Jose Bonicelli Nagaki)

Join us for the Italia360 Demo Day, on Wednesday, September 4th, from 5 to 8 pm, at the DMZ Sandbox, for a celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship!

This special day will showcase the significant strides made by our student entrepreneurs as they pitch their innovative businesses.

The winner will be awarded with a trip to Italy!

To register, please visit: https://lnkd.in/ggu7qZMZ

Special thanks to our partners:

DMZ, Deloitte, RBC, Pace Law Firm, City of Markham, Talent Garden, OMERS, YSpace, York University, Longo's, Sorbara Group of Companies, COSTI, Turkish Airlines, OMNI Television.

Under the auspices of:
The Consulate General of Italy in Toronto

Our Experts-in-Residence (EiRs) and Mentors provide tailored 1-on-1 support to our founders. 

These experts help answer tough questions like ⤵️
➡️ How can we scale our technology to handle increased user demand effectively?
➡️ What are the key security practices we should implement to protect our product and user data, and how can we ensure compliance with relevant regulations?
➡️ How can we effectively prioritize feature development to balance immediate user needs with long-term product vision?

Learn more about the incredible in-house coaches available for our startups’ Product and Technology needs ⬇️

Andrew Ricchetti, Balaji Gopalan (MedStack), Berceste (Berjesty) Kozanoglu, Shawn Compton, Tali Remennik (Granularity), Eropa Stein (@Hyre), Adrian Bulzacki, PhD (ARB Labs Inc.), Kumar Erramilli (ACTO), Alnur Ismail (Fourwalls Digital), Anthony Ilukwe, Anthony Lau, Hackim Farrell (SentinelOne).

Congratulations to our visiting Qatari students on completing our Basecamp program, an 8-week experience for student entrepreneurs looking to grow their business.

Today, every student had the opportunity to pitch their startup ideas to founders and staff, including Executive Director Abdullah Snobar, ICD.D.

DMZ extends its best wishes to:

faisal Alyafei, founder of Equipped
MOHAMMED ABDUL RAB, founder of Tera-4
Laiba Rashid, founder of Vision Aid
Nadatalia Mir, co-founder of Junior
Wahed Shaik, founder of Shark Band

University of Doha for Science & Technology

LAST CHANCE ⤵️

Apply to our PropTech stream by August 25 to join founders like Lizaveta Akhvledziani, CFA of Chexy. As part of our global ecosystem, get access to resources, networks, and more for your real estate startup.

The PropTech stream is presented in partnership with GroundBreak Ventures. 

MORE: https://lnkd.in/g6QECrnQ

Earlier today, Innovation Building Group launched IBG Designs, a game-changing platform to help smaller communities and organizations address the affordable housing supply crisis across Canada.

Designing new buildings can be complicated and expensive. IBG Designs offers a collection of building designs that are already proven to be reliable, affordable, and environmentally friendly. 

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀:
𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: Pre-approved designs mean less red tape and faster project timelines.
𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: High-performance, eco-friendly buildings that are also cost-efficient 
𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Smaller towns can take charge of their housing challenges with proven, professional designs.

DMZ, in partnership with GroundBreak Ventures, is providing IBG with access to expert-led mentorship, business coaching, peer-to-peer support, and networking opportunities to help the company scale IBG Designs and transform the way Canada delivers housing.

Learn More: https://lnkd.in/gN3xcMX9

Happy #InternationalYouthDay! Check out photos from DMZ's summit for the next generation of Black tech leaders. 

With funding from the Ontario government’s Black Youth Action Plan (BYAP), DMZ is connecting Black entrepreneurs to networking, capital and mentorship opportunities to improve equity in the start-up space. We look forward to the exciting innovations these young leaders will bring to Ontario!
 
Learn more about the Black Youth Action Plan: https://lnkd.in/et4FD6Rb

Toronto Metropolitan University

Join The University of Tokyo at the WE AT Challenge for a chance to win ¥10,000,000 and a trip to Japan!

Apply to the global pitch competition by August 31st. Final pitches will be completed on November 27th in Tokyo, with travel expenses for finalists covered.

Applicants must be startups, individuals belonging to a company, researchers, or students. 

For information on the challenge’s focus areas and to apply: https://lnkd.in/gJqwaRAK 

Toshiya Watanabe - Tokyo University Japan, JETRO - Japan External Trade Organization , The University of Tokyo

Across the ecosystem, we’re seeing more and more AI startups being acqui-hired.

So what’s happening? Promising AI startups like Inflection AI and Adept are turning to big tech for support so they can continue bringing their vision to life.

The reality is, AI startups can be very capital-intensive and hard to sustain, so founders are getting increasingly creative to make it work by any means necessary.

Is this a slippery slope? Absolutely. We risk creating an environment where competition is cut off at the legs. Check out my latest interview with Alexander Pigman for more perspective on this trend.

https://lnkd.in/gBzKtisT

The best thing we can do as an innovation ecosystem is take note of where we stand and DMZ is committed to fueling research to learn how Canada can level-up. 

As part of the Canadian Centre for the Innovation Economy, DMZ helped create Canada’s 2024 Innovation Report Card which —unfortunately— gave us a C.

Although we didn’t ace it, knowing where our shortcomings lie is the first step. Check out our four key takeaways in our recap blog below. 

READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/e9u2Pj8R 

The Conference Board of Canada

TORO

CA:TORONTOMU:DMZ

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