With more than 1,200 venture capital-backed startups, 17,000 jobs created and $12 billion in funding raised over the past five years - the impact of the University of Toronto's entrepreneurship community continues to grow.
The innovation engine that is one of the top global institutions for research-based startups will be on full display during U of T's annual tri-campus Entrepreneurship Week from March 3 to 7.
With more than 18 events across three campuses, attendees will have the opportunity to watch startups pitch their ideas, take part in workshops and hear from inspiring speakers including the "godfather of AI" and 2024 Nobel Prize-winner Geoffrey Hinton.
"Entrepreneurship Week offers a front row seat to the people and startups that are quite literally changing our world," says Jon French, director of U of T Entrepreneurship.
"It's about bringing together the entire University of Toronto startup ecosystem - researchers, entrepreneurs, accelerators, investors, corporate partners and community organizations - and shining a light on all the incredible innovations that are taking place.
"It's also an opportunity to showcase the supports available to community members who are keen to turn their innovative idea into a game-changing venture."
One of the most-anticipated events is the True Blue Expo on March 6, featuring the founders of more than 50 U of T startups followed by the 2025 Desjardins Startup Prize Pitch Competition and Hinton's talk, part of the Desjardins Speakers Series .
An opportunity for founders to demo their products and network with attendees, the expo takes place on the second, seventh and 10th floors of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus - a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship not only for U of T, but the city and country at large. More than a dozen of U of T's campus accelerators, including the Black Founders Network and several innovation ecosystem community partners, will also be on hand.
"Engagement in entrepreneurship has continued to grow across the university's three campuses and beyond," says French. "When I started, we supported about 390 entrepreneurial teams a year. That number is now almost 1,000."
Here are four things to look forward to at this year's Entrepreneurship Week:
The "godfather of AI"
In what is sure to be a full house, U of T University Professor Emeritus and Nobel Prize-winner Geoffrey Hinton - known to many as the "godfather of AI" will take part in a March 6 conversation in U of T's Convocation Hall with Jordan Jacobs, managing partner of Radical Ventures, which he co-founded along with the Vector Institute .
The conversation, part of the Desjardins Speakers Series , will be moderated by Globe and Mail journalist Ivan Semeniuk. It will touch on Canada's place in the AI revolution, the risks posed by rapid AI development and Hinton's reasons for optimism - all through an innovation and entrepreneurial lens.
French calls the event a "full-circle moment," as Hinton previously spoke at Entrepreneurship Week nearly a decade ago.
The event will be live streamed for those who cannot attend in person and pre-registration is available.
Pitch competition
Eleven shortlisted startups will compete in the 2025 Desjardins Startup Prize Pitch Competition on March 6 for more than $100,000 in prize money. First place for an early-stage startup garners $15,000, while the award for the later-stage prize offers $40,000.
Several past participants have said the competition served as a springboard in their development.
"We see companies that win relatively modest prizes in this pitch competition that go on to raise $2 million or even $20 million dollars," says French. "This is an opportunity for investors and partners in our ecosystem to discover the next big thing before it becomes the next big thing."
Women take centre stage
This year, Entrepreneurship Week kicks off March 3 at the Catalyst Centre on the U of T Scarborough campus with a talk from Entrepreneur-in-Residence and U of T alumna Elina Chow-Clark, a retired mining executive who will be speaking on the importance of self-awareness, building meaningful relationships, breaking barriers and professional growth.
The following day, the final fireside chat of the winter FemSTEM series concludes at the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus with an interactive conversation featuring alumna Joella Almeida, co-founder and CEO of MedEssist.
Pitch With a Twist , now in its sixth year and hosted at the Innovation Complex at U of T Mississauga by ICUBE on March 5, is a startup pitch competition that features both a panel and presenters who are women or identify as women.
The week concludes with the Be Her Summit on March 7 to celebrate International Women's Day the following day. The event spotlights the success of Black women in entrepreneurship and venture capital thought a curated exhibition of female-led businesses, keynote speakers and fireside chats.
'Deep Tech Download'
On March 5, investors and startups will be rubbing shoulders at the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus during Deep Tech Download Live!
French says the mixer event is the live extension of the newsletter Deep Tech Download , a quarterly investor-facing publication by U of T's Innovation & Partnerships Office that highlights investment-ready startup news.
"We want to facilitate these startup-investor introductions," says French. "We've seen a tremendous increase in interest in startup investment, not just in the GTA but from investors in other parts of the world such as the Bay Area and London where VCs want to plug into the university's ecosystem."
