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My team and I were part of the action at the Collision event earlier this month, and we’re here to share some of our learnings and hot takes from a few steamy days in TO.
Without surprise, it was all things AI across Alpha and Beta start-ups, growth-stage companies and larger tech enterprises. Stages were stacked with talks of responsible AI, governance and how a variety of industries are leveraging the tech as it enters a phase of market acceptance. Also a big thanks to the folks at Goodlawyer, for a most excellent yacht party!
While there were hundreds of early-stage businesses (very promising), we heard from investors and attendees that the calibre of start-ups was hit and miss. And the lack of early-stage financing over the past years was evident, with fewer growth-stage companies in a position to take off.
That said, investors and pundits on the stages were cautiously optimistic. The overarching opinion was that we’d returned to something resembling ‘normal’, with high investor expectations for real customer traction and valuations that reflect realistic growth goals.
We did leave the week feeling inspired. Canadian founders and innovators showed up and were impressed. As a community, we continue to innovate in ways that will drive meaningful impact and there are some great companies poised for growth.
Some of the most impressive start-ups were leveraging AI for advances in Healthcare and Medical research:
Hero AI Applying AI insights to optimize hospital wait times and patient care.
Ability Biologics Using generative AI to discover and develop antibody therapeutics for cancer and immune-system disorders,
Voxcel Creating 3D-printed human-like tissue models for research, and
MedMe Technology to support the delivery of clinical care by pharmacists.
Others showcase how AI can make the world more accessible, like real-time translation tool creators Vosyn. Demonstrating innovations in food development and distribution were companies like Biofect Innovations, a developer of sustainable proteins, and Relocalize with their micro-factories for hyper-local production
There were more inspiring founders, funders and partners at Collision than any one human could connect with, so we’re excited about the conversations we started and eager to meet at the next event if we missed you!
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Artemis Canada is a boutique executive search firm specializing in placing top talent in the tech sector across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Our team of experienced recruiters has a proven track record of finding exceptional candidates for a variety of roles, from C-suite positions to high-demand individual contributors. For more information on our services, please visit our website at https://www.artemiscanada.com/
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