Toronto, March 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Canada’s innovation ecosystem gathered in Toronto this week for DMZ’s fourth annual Girls Innovation Summit, bringing collectively founders, buyers and trade leaders to highlight women-led corporations constructing the way forward for know-how. The Summit supplies founders with the instruments to grow to be investor-ready, a nationwide platform to showcase their work and direct entry to an ecosystem invested of their success.
On the centre of this yr’s Summit, in partnership with Elevate, was a stay pitch competitors the place 10 women-led startups from throughout Canada took the stage to current their corporations. Chosen by way of a nationwide software course of, this yr’s finalists — Knead Applied sciences, ClassClown, Haibu Well being, Daybreak Vitality, Athel AI, Quip Medical, Drawbridge, TalentIQ Applied sciences, Coraltalk and July Well being — span sectors together with AI-powered readiness intelligence for defence leaders, ladies’s reproductive well being know-how and local weather tech, underscoring the breadth of affect ladies founders are driving throughout Canada’s startup ecosystem.
Launched this yr, chosen founders participated in a fundraising bootcamp within the weeks main as much as the Summit, designed to assist them grow to be investor-ready, strengthening their narratives, monetary fashions and total readiness for due diligence and investor conversations.
DMZ Ventures led this yr’s investments and is now continuing to finalize funding phrases.
July Well being, a digital reproductive well being clinic offering early analysis and preventative care, acquired $100,000 in funding commitments. Knead Applied sciences, an all-in-one platform that helps organizations scale back meals waste, acquired $50,000 in funding commitments. ClassClown, a voice-based AI studying platform that delivers customized studying at scale, acquired $50,000 in funding commitments. In a shock announcement, Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO of BDC, offered a $10,000 grant to Haibu Well being — named probably the most brave firm of the occasion, a mirrored image of one in every of BDC’s core values.
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“Coming into this, I really felt like an underdog. I have no business background and we hadn’t won a pitch competition before. But I believed in what we’re trying to do, said Julie Mai Founder and CEO of July Health. For the last two years we’ve been bootstrapping, doing the best we could, and now we know our business works. This investment means we can help more Canadians get there a lot faster. It feels exciting, but also relieving that this is finally being recognized.”
“Women founders across Canada are building in some of the most important and fast-moving sectors right now,” mentioned Abdullah Snobar, Government Director of DMZ and CEO of DMZ Ventures. “The Women Innovation Summit is designed to be a national platform that brings that work to the forefront, connecting founders to the capital, networks and insights they need to scale. As areas like AI, cybersecurity and defence quickly evolve, there is a real opportunity for founders to step in and lead. Our goal this year was to not only spotlight that opportunity, but to help founders understand where they fit and how to move.”
A spotlight of the occasion was a hearth chat with Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO of BDC, who was named DMZ’s 2026 Lady of the Yr in recognition of her management and her ongoing dedication to increasing entry and alternative for entrepreneurs throughout Canada. In dialog, Hudon provided a front-row perspective on the second Canada’s innovation economic system is in, talking about capital flows, shifting world priorities and the rise of sectors like AI and defence as main alternatives for founders. The Summit additionally featured a panel dialogue with ladies executives exploring how shifting world priorities — together with elevated funding in cybersecurity, house applied sciences and techniques tied to defence and dual-use applied sciences — are opening new entry factors for startups.
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This yr’s theme, All In, referred to as for transferring past dialogue and into motion, highlighting a shared accountability throughout founders, buyers, operators, policymakers and allies to construct a extra inclusive innovation economic system. As Canada enters a brand new section of financial and technological progress, the Summit emphasised making certain ladies entrepreneurs usually are not simply included, however positioned to guide within the sectors shaping what comes subsequent.
Now in its fourth yr, the Girls Innovation Summit has grow to be one in every of Canada’s main gatherings devoted to advancing ladies in innovation. Since launching in 2023, the occasion has welcomed greater than 2,000 attendees, with 40 ladies founders pitching their corporations on the Summit stage.
Past the occasion itself, DMZ’s Girls Innovation Applications proceed to help ladies entrepreneurs throughout Canada. Thus far, greater than 4,200 ladies founders have been supported by way of these initiatives, with corporations collectively elevating over $522 million in capital.
Girls founders searching for hands-on, tailor-made help to take their companies to the following stage can study extra about DMZ’s Girls Innovation Applications at dmz.to/wip.
About DMZ
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DMZ is a tech incubator and startup ecosystem that fuels entrepreneurship in Canada and past. By its award-winning packages, DMZ empowers founders to scale high-impact ventures, helps college students develop entrepreneurial mindsets and equips professionals to thrive in as we speak’s fast-moving economic system. By providing tailor-made help, world-class sources and expansive networks, DMZ nurtures daring concepts, drives enterprise progress and creates world financial affect.
Thus far, DMZ has supported 2630+ startups in elevating $3.08 billion in capital and has created over 25,400 jobs. Headquartered in Toronto, DMZ operates a worldwide community of hubs spanning 15+ nations, enabling entrepreneurs to entry various markets, collaborate internationally and drive world innovation.
DMZ’s Girls Innovation Summit backs ladies founders with $210,000 in funding as new sectors come into focus
