Downtown Edmonton was abuzz with founders, investors, innovators, and entrepreneurs this evening as the city gathered to officially kick off Edmonton Startup Week.
Spearheaded by Edmonton Unlimited, the annual celebration runs from Oct. 5 to 9. This year’s run of shows includes 30 events at Edmonton Unlimited’s headquarters, and an additional 49 events happening throughout the city.
Events include workshops on the fundamentals of building a startup, panels exploring everything from AI to defence to fundraising, an entire day platforming Edmonton’s burgeoning deep tech ecosystem, and a whole lot of networking.
Opening remarks honed in on the importance of Edmonton’s startups to the growing profile of the city’s entrepreneurial community.
Mayor Andrew Knack, who during his remarks issued an official proclamation from the City denoting this week as Edmonton Startup Week going forward, called the event an opportunity to work on some of the biggest problems facing the world.
“We know the days ahead will feature critical conversations about some of the most complex challenges we’re facing in our world,” he said before adding that the health and vitality of Edmonton’s entrepreneurial class is an indicator of the city’s vitality overall.
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“Ninety to 95 percent of businesses in Edmonton are small- and medium-sized businesses. If you’re not thriving, this city is not thriving,” he said.
Knack also teased the City’s upcoming four-year budget, telling a packed auditorium that it was poised to include support for entrepreneurs in the city.
“You will see for the first time in a long time that the city will be heavily invested in not through words, but actions,” Knack said to applause.
13th annual event
This year marks the 13th iteration of Edmonton Startup Week, with the event doubling down on last year’s theme of “step in, step up, step forward.” Over its tenure, Startup Week has grown into a cornerstone gathering for entrepreneurs and investors, with the event routinely drawing attendees from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and abroad.
This year’s kickoff featured a swath of local leaders, as well as a series of pitches from 10 companies chosen earlier this year as Edmonton Unlimited’s 10 companies to watch in 2026.
Edmonton Unlimited CEO Tom Viinikka touted a “big announcement” on Wednesday, Startup Week’s day showcasing deep tech. Viinikka also spoke to the growth the ecosystem has seen over the last year, telling the crowd that during the innovation corporation’s previous deep tech day last June, nearly 80 investors, including 66 from out of town, to local founders, connected with local founders, ultimately leading to investments into deep tech startups like Zero Point Cryogenics and Aqtiva.
“Investors are coming here, seeing what is being built, and investing,” he said.
Viinikka also cited critical milestones taken by companies moving through Edmonton Unlimited’s programming as indicative of the broader ecosystem’s accelerating momentum. A critical step is, according to Viinikka, a “milestone that must happen for a business to keep moving forward and to achieve specific goals.” Examples include benchmarks like creating a minimum viable product, developing a prototype, completing a first domestic sale, or receiving first patents and investment. Edmonton Unlimited has recorded 461 of those milestones this year.
“Collectively, they’re a measure of the entrepreneurial momentum of our ecosystem,” he said. “Imagine what we could do if we had 10 times those numbers … Startup Week is an opportunity to add to those numbers.”
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Feature image courtesy Jesse Cole for BetaKit.