Located in the heart of Waterloo Region, the City of Waterloo is home to globally recognized technology, business and finance leaders.
Waterloo is famous for its thriving tech ecosystem, world-class universities, outstanding research institutes, highly skilled workforce and most recently Generation Park, its new zero-carbon industrial park. It’s no surprise that big names in tech, manufacturing, automotive and other sectors find Waterloo to be an attractive location for expansion or relocation.
Join us as we explore what makes Waterloo an innovation powerhouse and why so many big brands have ended up here.
About the City of Waterloo
Waterloo is the northernmost city in the region, sharing borders with the city of Kitchener and the townships of Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich. With the city of Cambridge and the township of North Dumfries, these seven communities make up Waterloo Region.
The city’s roots trace back to the early 1800s when Abraham Erb, a Mennonite settler from Pennsylvania, founded the original Village of Waterloo to construct saw and grist mills. From those humble beginnings, Waterloo has grown to a culturally rich and diverse city of over 140,000 people.
Waterloo is conveniently located, with easy transit options by land, air and train. Highway 401 connects Waterloo to major metropolitan areas via Highway 85, which allows for a quick commute from Waterloo to other areas within the region.
The nearby Region of Waterloo International Airport offers international and domestic flights, while commuter and train services through GO Transit and VIA Rail facilitate easy travel to Toronto and beyond.
Waterloo has grown to a culturally rich and diverse city of over 140,000 people.
Big Brands
Waterloo’s reputation for skilled talent has made the city a magnet for Foreign Direct Investment. The University of Waterloo’s (UWaterloo) innovative IP ownership policy has created a rich startup ecosystem that attracts international businesses to the city.
SAP, the German enterprise, has its SAP Lab in the David Johnston Research + Technology Park at the UWaterloo. The company came to Waterloo through a series of acquisitions starting in 1981 and the founding of Watcom by professors Wes Graham and Ian McPhee.
Arctic Wolf, a cybersecurity leader, also chose Waterloo for its Canadian headquarters. The Minnesota-based company has had a long history in Waterloo with its engineering, product and marketing teams located here.
International aerospace leader Airbus entered Waterloo’s ecosystem in 2016 with the acquisition of Navtech. Now operating as NAVBLUE in Waterloo, the company develops software for flight planning, aircraft performance and data analysis.
Bosch, a global leader in mobility and technology services, has been expanding in Waterloo
since the establishment of ETAS in 2016. Bosch recently expanded its local team to develop innovative solutions in AI, autonomous driving and connected living.
Homegrown Companies
While Waterloo attracts big brands, the city is also the birthplace of some of the biggest names in tech.
Smartphone pioneer BlackBerry was founded in Waterloo in 1985 by Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin. Known then as Research in Motion (RIM), the company has continued to evolve and now develops embedded systems, IoT and cybersecurity tools for its global customers.
Founded in 1991, OpenText is one of Canada’s top five software companies. It started out of a UWaterloo project designed to index the Oxford English Dictionary, which eventually led to the development of the first internet search engine. Today, OpenText offers data management solutions to construction, finance, legal and other industries with over 23,000 employees across 70 global offices.
eSentire is a homegrown leader in Waterloo’s rich cybersecurity cluster. The company is a recognized leader in Managed Detection and Response (MDR), helping businesses protect their sensitive data worldwide.
E-commerce wholesale leader Faire chose Waterloo as its engineering headquarters, owing its continued growth to Waterloo’s top tech talent. Since its founding, Faire has raised over $1.7B, reaching a valuation of over $10B.
Teledyne DALSA is another international leader founded by a UWaterloo graduate. The company develops specialized electronic imaging components for industrial and medical applications. Its high-performance image sensors have also made their way to the space where they power NASA’s missions to Mars.
Magnet Forensics, which develops state-of-the-art digital forensics and investigation tools, is also headquartered in Waterloo, with five global offices that support police forces worldwide.
RideCo is another local success story. It started as a ridesharing platform but pivoted to support municipal transit systems with on-demand transportation planning and operation tools. In 2023, RideCo announced partnership with Uber to provide transit overflow support as part of its platform.
For a longer list of businesses in the region, visit our Business Directory.
Innovation & Learning Hubs
The City of Waterloo is a hub for computer science, AI, quantum computing and engineering talent and research.
From producing ground-breaking research to game-changing startups, the University of Waterloo is a tech powerhouse. Consistently ranked among the top-25 computer science schools in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings and one of the best-known engineering schools in the world, UWaterloo continues to generate top talent, research and academic programs.
The future of quantum comes alive on the university’s campus at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC). The institute brings world-class researchers, postdoctoral fellows and undergraduate students to Canada to drive innovation in AI, cybersecurity and computing.
Located in the David Johnston Research + Technology Park, the Accelerator Centre (AC) supports startups and scale-ups with programming, mentorship and funding support. The AC has been ranked one of the World’s Top-5 Private Business Accelerators since 2017 with alumni like Miovision, Axonify, Clearpath Robotics and Intellijoint Surgical.
Wilfrid Laurier University is known for its business and economics programs, with 20,000 students, 10 faculties, 23 research centres and over 80 undergraduate programs. Wilfrid Laurier University’s Laurier’s Lazaridis School of Business is one of Canada’s top-ranked business schools with several C-suite alumni across the globe.
The John W. Tibbits campus of Conestoga College in Waterloo provides programs in skilled hospitality and culinary arts training, trades and information and communications technology. Also, the college’s Esports Hub offers esports management and production courses.
Founded in 1999, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is one of the world’s leading centres of research and discovery. Famed physicist Stephen Hawking spent time at the centre (and was known to frequent local pubs). In 2022, theoretical cosmologist Katie Mack joined the institute as the inaugural Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication.
Attractions & Amenities
Beyond being a thriving tech hub, the City of Waterloo is a great place to call home.
Uptown Waterloo offers year-round shopping, dining, entertainment and more. Waterloo Town Square is a public space hosting markets, festivals, art installations and live music.
In the winter, the square transforms into an outdoor ice rink for public skating, while in the summer it hosts the Lumen Festival of Light, Sun Life Waterloo Busker Carnival and other family-friendly events.
Waterloo Park is a 111-acre park with a recently renovated beach and boardwalk featuring a splash pad, skate park and sports fields. It connects to the Laurel and Trans Canada trails for walking, running and cycling.
The city also has three golf courses, offering tournaments and social events for golf enthusiasts throughout the year.
The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, one of the world’s leading centres of research and discovery, is located in Waterloo.
Discover the City of Waterloo
Waterloo earns high praise for its world-class tech ecosystem, innovation and learning hubs and future growth potential. And it’s only one of the several exciting possible destinations to grow your business.
Waterloo Region is made up of three cities and four townships, all of which offer unique benefits for business expansion. Conveniently located along Canada’s 401 superhighway, it’s an ideal destination for manufacturing, automotive and technology companies that are looking for room to grow.
Contact us to learn more about how to locate, relocate or expand your business in Waterloo.