McMaster startups are driving innovation and making headlines, thanks to a new seed fund program made specifically for students.
In 2025, six student- and alumni-led startups were awarded $15,000 each as part of the inaugural McMaster Student Seed Fund (MSSF) program, funded by McMaster and facilitated by The Forge.
Their inventions range from AI-enabled reforestation to 3D-printed prosthetics. During the eight-month MSSF program, founders got to hone their business plan and get one-on-one mentorship from an experienced entrepreneur.
Founded by Engineering graduates Ali Hamdy, Jase Jin and Eddy Su, LIVESENS is transforming everyday road vehicles into a unified real-time network of sensors, providing insights for smarter city planning.
After joining the MSSF program, LIVESENS was awarded an additional $10,000 in funding from the Centre for Integrated Transportation and Mobility (CITM). CITM supports student entrepreneurs at The Forge who are developing mobility-related innovations.
LIVESENS is currently partnering with urban intelligence companies to map various parts of downtown Toronto, focusing on high-traffic corridors.
Co-founder Jase Jin says the MSSF was a game changer for the company.
“The funding helped us push product development forward and the mentorship gave us clear direction on go-to-market strategy and execution. It’s an awesome program that turns early momentum into real progress,” he says.
Among other milestones, program participants say that MSSF helped them validate market need for their products and services, develop a robust business model, create prototypes and test them with early users.
Neuroscience student Ahmed Ibrahim is co-founder of Better Bionics, a life sciences company developing AI models to design personalized, 3D-printable prosthetics.
Better Bionics is currently advancing clinical validation through pilot fitments with Hamilton Health Sciences and a collaboration with Sunnybrook. They’re also a finalist in the 2026 Synapse Life Science Pitch Competition.
Ibrahim says the MSSF creates a path from academia to the real world, helping founders build solutions that can improve lives.
“The funding helped, but what mattered just as much was the structure of the program, including clear milestones and hands-on mentorship. It kept us focused and helped us execute faster,” he says.
Laura Venier is a graduate of McMaster’s Master of Biomedical Innovation program and founder of ARCHE. The company’s smart sensor platform is co-designed with nurses and physicians to improve fluid monitoring accuracy and enhance patient care.
The MSSF support came at a pivotal time for the company, says Venier.
“Beyond the funding, the strategic guidance helped me navigate a range of complex business decisions with greater confidence and clarity,” she says.
ARCHE recently won the Audience Choice Award at the OBIO International Women’s Day Pitch Competition. Venier notes that the MSSF gave the company opportunities to refine their pitch and value proposition for different audiences.
“The sense of community fostered through the program provided motivation, perspective and encouragement, making the journey feel both more focused and more sustainable,” says Venier.
In addition to the MSSF award, ARCHE received $10,000 in funding through McMaster’s Department of Medicine and The Clinic.
A new cohort of innovators
The MSSF received applications from 22 student-founded companies in 2026, with innovations ranging from medical technologies and pathogen monitoring systems to food safety and data analytics platforms.
Applicants progress through an intensive pitch process. First, they’re evaluated by students in the Investor Analyst Fellowship program – another McMaster entrepreneurship program that teaches participants startup investment and venture capital (VC) fundamentals.
The first stage of pitches is now complete, and 12 companies have advanced to the second round, where they’ll be evaluated by professional investors. From there, up to ten will be awarded funding.
Daryl Sherman is lead mentor for the MSSF program, bringing over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience across MedTech, consumer packaged goods, and technology.
He says it’s been amazing to see how the first cohort of companies have progressed over a short eight-month timeframe.
“The creation and commercialization of something new and novel comes with a unique set of challenges and educational requirements. The ecosystem leadership at McMaster recognized these needs and created a program that meets the entrepreneur where they are, and helps set them up for long-term success,” he says.
This year’s MSSF winners will be announced at the Made at Mac Celebration on April 1. Join us to learn more about McMaster’s innovation ecosystem.