With over 500 new startup companies in the last 10 years, the University of Toronto is one of the top 10 university-managed incubators in the world (Ranked #1 in Canada). During U of T's Entrepreneurship week, incubator and accelerator programs hosted a variety of events culminating in the 2020 RBC Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition. Here are some of the best startups that pitched during U of T Entrepreneurship Week 2020:
INTELIGEX
Inteligex is working to develop novel stem cell and drug-based therapies for the treatment of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI). Traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCIs) that often result from falls or road accidents have devastating long-term impacts (physical, social, financial, etc.) on patients and their families. The cervical spinal cord is the most frequent location of the injury. Damage to this part of the neck results in the loss of cells needed for sending signals from the brain to the rest of the body. Without these signals the ability to perform everyday activities such as walking, holding and bladder function becomes compromised. Currently, there are no effective drug or regenerative therapies available and treatment is limited to surgical decompression of the spinal cord and rehabilitative therapy.
UnityOR
UnityOR wants to simplify the complicated nature of the surgery process by unifying the operating team so that they can perform efficient procedures and focus on the patient. They have developed a digital assistant for the operating room to mitigate team miscommunication errors that occur during surgery. The solution provides intelligent reminders during critical and error-prone steps of the surgery. It also allows surgical staff to annotate the surgery as it progresses. By improving workflows, UnityOR’s solution can reduce time delays, readmissions and litigations.
AEROFLUX
Commercial aircraft brakes wear out very quickly and usually need to be replaced once a year. Worldwide, airlines spend about $1.2 billion annually on new brakes and $3.7 billion on brake replacements. To make matters worse, they lose about $5.5 billion as a result of brake related aircraft down time. To resolve this problem, Aeroflux is developing magnetic aircraft brakes for frictionless and potentially wear-free braking.
ENSO CONNECT
Enso Connect provides a home management solution that allows seamless control of your property by leveraging smart home devices and AI communication. It is a one-stop shop where home owners can automate their short-term rentals with powerful, easy-to-use tools. These include: multi-channel bookings, automated messaging, unified inbox, AI powered communications, one-tap lock access, dashboards, financial reports, access management notifications, etc.
NIGHTINGALE.AI
Nightingale.ai is helping clinicians by providing AI powered physical function assessments. Their solution will allow users to capture the whole assessment process through their mobile device. Their software will then analyze the data automatically and generate assessment results. The results include important indicators of the patient’s performance in the assessment.
LIFE SCIENCE KEY TECHNOLOGIES
Life Science Key Technologies provides decentralized lab capacity globally, to the point of need. This allows for traditionally lab-based tests to be conducted outside of the lab.
REEDDI
Reeddi provides portable electricity to households and businesses in energy-poor regions of the world. Using renewable energy sources with their novel energy generation and distribution system, Reeddi can deliver clean, reliable and portable electricity.
ROLL TECHNOLOGIES
Roll technologies is a Canadian start-up that is focusing on the last-mile transportation market. Roll is offering smart mobility solutions by providing electric scooters and bike share services to cities, businesses and campuses. Among the emerging electric scooter operators, Roll differentiates itself by putting top priority on safety. Roll is at the cutting edge of the micro-mobility movement, helping to lead the way to a more eco-friendly and pedestrian-focused future.
MAZLITE
Mazlite is an instrument company that provides real-time AI-driven, QA/QC solutions for industries that require accurate measurement of particles. DropSizer is a device which is used to image and size droplets, particles, and bubbles and to characterize multi-phase systems. The device has a built-in processing unit, which makes it independent of PCs and software installation. It can operate in extreme and hazardous environments making it useful for industries such as automotive, agriculture, pharmaceutical, food, aerospace, etc. DropSizer is compact, flexible, robust and easy to use.