McMaster entrepreneurs showcased their groundbreaking Made-at-Mac startups at the first-ever Investor Showcase.
Held at McMaster Innovation Park, Investor Showcase brought together McMaster entrepreneurs and venture capital partners to celebrate high-impact startups founded by McMaster students, faculty and alumni, and inspire opportunities for collaboration and investment.
The event was designed to deepen connections between researchers, aspiring entrepreneurs, founders and investors, said Gianni Parise, McMaster’s Vice-President, Research.
“McMaster is committed to ensuring that research and talent fostered across the university are translated into real world impact. Investor Showcase is a powerful networking opportunity for McMaster startup companies and the capital partners that can help them take their ventures further faster,” he said.
McMaster Chancellor Nicholas Brathwaite shared insights on Canada’s investment landscape during a fireside chat with McMaster President, Susan Tighe. The two discussed the importance of starting and scaling companies in Canada.
McMaster President, Susan Tighe and Chancellor, Nicholas Brathwaite have a fireside chat at Investor Showcase.
“Canada has many advantages in the startup and deep tech space, including access to incredible talent,” said Brathwaite, who is also the Founder and Managing Partner at deep tech venture capital firm, Celesta Capital.
Brathwaite shared advice for founders: “Finding investors should be a parallel effort to working on your pitch. Develop your story so that you’re ready when the time comes to seek investment. And start to target the kinds of investors you want early on,” he said.
Tighe spoke about the support available for entrepreneurs at McMaster, including programs hosted through The Forge, The Clinic, the McMaster Industry Liaison Office (MILO) and the DeGroote Heersink Hub.
“Universities play a very important role in economic development, now more than ever. McMaster students and faculty are not only leading world-class research, they’re translating that research into products that benefit Canadians. McMaster is deeply committed to continuing to grow our innovation ecosystem here in Hamilton,” she said.
Investors heard compelling pitches from nine McMaster startups: A.I. VALI, Block Biosciences, Harvest Systems, Insight Medbotics, LIVESENS, Neuro-Mod Inc., NodeAI, Tessella Biosciences and MesoMat.
Paul Fowler presents his pitch for tire intelligence company, MesoMat.
Paul Fowler, co-founder of MesoMat shared how the company is “turning tire data into economic value.”
MesoMat’s tire management platform pulls data from tires on transport vehicles to monitor tire leaks, mileage, temperature and more, helping improve efficiency and reduce costs. The company has accumulated over 100 million miles of tire data since launching in 2023.
In the Demo Zone, twenty McMaster companies presented their products and innovations, including groundbreaking diagnostic technologies and cancer therapies, wearable medical devices, data analytics platforms and green materials solutions.
The following prizes were awarded at the Showcase.
Advanced Technology Solutions Pitch Excellence Award
Neuro-Mod, founded by Stevie Foglia
Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and the Ontario Centre for Innovation, this award recognizes the most compelling pitch presented in the Advanced Technology category.
Stevie Foglia, founder of Neuro-Mod, took home the Advanced Technology Solutions Pitch Excellence Award.
Life Sciences Pitch Excellence Award
A.I. VALI, founded by Azar Azad
Sponsored by Smart & Biggar and OBIO, this award recognizes the most compelling pitch in the Life Sciences category.
Garima Ghale, Associate Director, Programs & Strategic Partnerships at OBIO presents the Life Science Pitch Excellence Award to Azar Azad, founder of A.I. VALI.
Product Readiness Assessment & Roadmap Evaluation
ROZOR, SOLAS Innovations, Neuro-Mod, Nexion Technologies and CorLibra
Sponsored by FYELABS, this award was presented to five startup companies to support their product development.
Catherine Demers, founder of CorLibra, with Erin Skimson, director of MACcelerate.
Over 200 members of McMaster’s entrepreneurship ecosystem attended the event.
“Investor Showcase was an impressive display of the talent and spirit of innovation McMaster has cultivated over the years,” said Gay Yuyitung, Executive Director of the McMaster Industry Liaison Office.
“The ventures we showcased reflect not only the entrepreneurial spirit of our community but also their commitment to solving real world challenges across industries and communities.”
Want to learn more about McMaster’s innovation ecosystem? Visit entrepreneurship.mcmaster.ca.