Google has revealed the 14 startups joining the 2024 cohort of its Canadian accelerator program, and artificial intelligence (AI) is front and centre in this year’s lineup of participants.
Now in its fifth year, the Canadian iteration of the Google for Startups Accelerator offers startups a mix of remote and in-person learning over 10 weeks. Founders will also get the chance to connect with mentors and experts who provide guidance on technical and business topics like product design, customer acquisition, and leadership development for founders.
This year’s cohort represents four Canadian provinces, with half hailing from Ontario.
This year’s cohort of startups represents four Canadian provinces: Ontario, Québec, British Columbia, and Alberta, with half of the companies hailing from Ontario.
In addition to AI, the cohort spans sectors like digital health, legaltech, developer tools, and FinTech.
Ten of the 14 startups claim to be using AI or machine learning as part of their core offering.Toronto-based Aya Care, which develops payment solutions and program administration for employee benefits packages, is one of the startups joining this year’s cohort. Founded in 2018, Aya launched out of stealth in 2020 with $3.7 million CAD in seed funding.
Joining from Montréal, Deeplite offers a software engine designed to optimize AI models by refining their design constraints. This allows users to enhance deep neural networks, making them faster, lighter, and more energy-efficient. Deeplite raised $7.5 million in seed funding in 2021.
RELATED: Three Canadian startups earn spots in Google’s latest Women Founders accelerator cohort
Also joining the cohort is PulseMedica, based in Edmonton. The startup is developing a non-invasive platform to diagnose and treat vitreoretinal diseases, including eye floaters, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. PulseMedica gained traction in 2021 after securing investment from Startup TNT’s Investment Summit IV and closed $12 million CAD in funding in May 2024.
Vancouver-based Defang is another participant, offering a platform that enables programmers to develop, deploy, and debug cloud applications. Defang claims its platform can help developers deploy cloud applications in under five minutes.
The other 10 startups joining the 2024 cohort include:
- BioTwin (Québec City, QB)
- Envision.ai (Montréal, QB)
- EZee Assist (Toronto, Ont.)
- Handy.ai (Toronto, Ont.)
- OkRx (Mississauga, Ont.)
- OPTT Health (Toronto and Kingston, Ont.)
- runQL (Waterloo, Ont.)
- Streamline (Kitchener, Ont.)
- Transitional Forms (Toronto, Ont.)
- Vaultie (Toronto, Ont.)
According to Google, more than 100 Canadian companies have participated in the equity-free program since its launch in February 2020. Google claimed those startups have collectively raised $395 million CAD in funding to date.
The initiative is just one of several Google accelerator programs available to Canadian startups. Earlier this year, three Canadian companies joined Google’s Women Founders accelerator. Google has also opened several of its North American programs to Canadian startups, including those focused on climate change and Black founders.
Google’s program officially begins in October. A demo day and graduation ceremony will cap off the 2024 cohort in December.