AI startups dominate Canada’s newest Google for Startups Accelerator cohort

Google has announced the 14 startups that will join the 2024 cohort of its Canadian accelerator program. Artificial intelligence (AI) takes center stage among this year’s participants.

Now in its fifth year, the Canadian version of Google for Startups Accelerator offers startups a combination of remote and in-person learning over 10 weeks. Founders will also have the opportunity to connect with mentors and experts who provide guidance on technical and business topics such as product design, customer acquisition and leadership development for founders.

This year’s group represents four Canadian provinces, with half coming from Ontario.

This year’s group of startups represents four Canadian provinces: Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, with half of the companies coming from Ontario.

In addition to AI, the group represents sectors such as digital health, legal technology, software tools, and FinTech.

Ten of the 14 startups say they use AI or machine learning as part of their core offering. Toronto-based Aya Care, which develops payment solutions and program administration for employee benefits packages, is one of the startups joining this year’s group. Founded in 2018, Aya came out of stealth in 2020 with $3.7 million in seed funding.

Montreal-based Deeplite offers a software engine designed to optimize AI models by refining their design constraints. This allows users to improve deep neural networks, making them faster, lighter, and more energy efficient. Deeplite raised $7.5 million in seed funding in 2021.

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Also joining the cohort is Edmonton-based PulseMedica. The startup is developing a noninvasive platform to diagnose and treat vitreoretinal diseases, including floaters, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. PulseMedica gained traction in 2021 after securing investment from Startup TNT’s Investment Summit IV and closing $12 million in funding in May 2024.

Another entrant is Vancouver-based Defang, which offers a platform that lets developers develop, deploy, and debug cloud applications. Defang says its platform can help developers deploy cloud applications in less than five minutes.

The other 10 startups that joined the 2024 group are:

• BioTwin (Quebec City, QB)
• Envision.ai (Montréal, playmaker)
• EZee Assist (Toronto, Ontario)
• Handy.ai (Toronto, Ontario)
• OkRx (Mississauga, Ontario)
• OPTT Health (Toronto and Kingston, Ontario)
• runQL (Waterloo, Ontario)
• Streamline (Kitchener, Ontario)
• Transitional forms (Toronto, Ont.)
• Vaultie (Toronto, Ontario)

According to Google, more than 100 Canadian companies have participated in the program since it launched its equity-free program in February 2020. Google says these startups have collectively raised C$395 million in funding to date.

The initiative is just one of several Google accelerator programs available to Canadian startups. Earlier this year, three Canadian companies joined Google’s Women Founders accelerator. Google has also opened several of its North American programs to Canadian startups, including ones focused on climate change and Black founders.

The Google program will officially begin in October. A demo day and graduation ceremony will conclude the 2024 cohort in December.

Main photo courtesy of NOPwhip. Photo: Paweł Czerwiński.