One of the reasons Waterloo, Canada has emerged as a haven for companies looking to scale, expand to the North American market, and grow their talent pipeline is our deep and growing community of industry support organizations.
From local universities and colleges to incubators, hubs and everything in between, Waterloo’s community is geared toward helping businesses succeed.
Want an overview? Check out our new video:
Who’s in the video?
Here’s a short description of each organization that appears in the video (in order of appearance):
Communitech
Founded in 1997, Communitech helps companies start, grow and succeed, no matter whether they’re global giants or the smallest startup. As a hub, Communitech provides space for startups of all sizes and a growing collection of corporate innovation outposts. This organization also delivers programs that help companies grow and innovate – you don’t have to set up shop in Hub to take advantage of their support. If you’re a business looking to make innovation a repeatable process, they can help.
Communitech Data Hub
Located a short distance from the main Hub, the Data Hub is the younger sibling in the Communitech family. Positioned as a gathering point for the regions data-driven tech community, it is home to corporate tenants and startups, alike.
Velocity
A leading entrepreneurship program at the University of Waterloo, the Velocity brand includes a residence, training centre, science lab and Canada’s most productive startup incubator. The main space, Velocity Garage, is housed in The Tannery – where you’ll find Communitech, too – and has helped establish fast-growing tech companies like Kik, Pebble, North, Vidyard and more.
Accelerator Centre
An award-winning startup accelerator, the Accelerator Centre is dedicated to building and scaling sustainable, globally competitive companies and giving startups the highest probability of long-term success. Recently named one of the world’s top-5 accelerator programs, their reputation is built on meaningful, one-to-one mentorship. Some program graduates include Axonify, Bonfire, Clearpath Robotics, Magnet Forensics and TextNow.
Catalyst137
The world’s largest Internet-of-Things (IoT) manufacturing space, Catalyst137 is a 475,000 sq ft campus with large and small office, lab, and manufacturing spaces. This hub hosts a number of service providers, including prototyping support, government funding support, marketing support and more. Companies calling Catalyst137 home include Miovision, BorgWarner, FleetCarma and more.
University of Waterloo
For 27 years, the University of Waterloo has claimed the title of “Canada’s most innovative university,” for good reason. It has Canada’s top computer science program, #2 engineering program and the world’s largest co-operative education program. It’s also home to leading research centres like the AI Institute, the Institute for Quantum Computing and WatCAR. So, whether you’re looking to supercharge your artificial intelligence capabilities or invent the future of automotive technology, the University of Waterloo can help.
Wilfrid Laurier University
A post-secondary institution with 20,000 students and the highest student satisfaction rating in Canada, Wilfrid Laurier University is producing the next generation of business and finance leaders through the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. One of the largest business schools in Canada, the Lazaridis School is also home to Canada’s largest business-specific co-operative education program. The Lazaridis Institute for the Management of Technology – a separate organization at Wilfrid Laurier University – was created to support growth-oriented Canadian technology companies.
Conestoga College
A leader in polytechnic education and one of Ontario’s fastest growing colleges, Conestoga College delivers a full range of career-focused education, training and applied research programs and hosts a number of centres that work directly with businesses, including the Centre for Smart Manufacturing and Digital Innovation, Skilled Trades Campus (CSTC) and the Institute of Food Processing Technology.
Perimeter Institute
The world’s largest independent theoretical physics research hub, Perimeter Institute was created to advance our understanding of the universe at the most fundamental level, stimulating breakthroughs that could transform the future. In recent years, Perimeter’s researchers have made important contributions to machine learning and our understanding of quantum materials.