Kitchener-Waterloo innovation hub Communitech has revealed six new Canadian tech companies that have the potential to reach $1 billion in revenue by 2030.
Launched in 2022, Communitech uses a variety of criteria to identify private tech companies from across Canada that have the potential to reach $1 billion in revenue by 2030. Through the initiative, Communitech aims to provide members with greater access to talent, sales and networking opportunities, and growth capital.
The six new entrants join 59 companies that are also on track to meet the $1-billion revenue milestone by 2030.
Among the new companies to join the group are Toronto-based delivery startup GoBolt; HR software startup Humi; health data company Smile Digital Health; electric vehicle charging startup SWTCH; Calgary-based FinTech startup ZayZoon; and hardware design company Connect Tech.
To be considered, companies must meet specific criteria for year-over-year revenue growth and annual revenue. For example, companies with at least $20 million in annual revenue must have 60 percent year-over-year growth, and companies with at least $80 million in revenue should have a minimum year-over-year growth rate of 20 percent.
Since private companies are not required to publicly disclose their revenue figures, Communitech previously used data for its group from Silicon Valley Bank, which shuttered in 2023 and was later acquired by National Bank.
Now, Communitech said it gathers these data points from a number of ecosystem partners, including the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program, the Business Development Bank of Canada, and Export Development Canada, among others.
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These six companies have claimed to have grown significantly in recent years. Humi, for example, has been focused on scaling its platform since raising $31 million in Series B financing in 2022. Humi has raised over $50 million in funding to date, and at the time of its last raise, the startup claimed to have grown the number of employees using its platform fivefold.
Toronto-based health data company Smile Digital Health, closed $30 million in Series B financing in 2023, and the startup claimed it has grown rapidly since its inception. GoBolt, which offers an end-to-end fulfillment and last-mile logistics solution for businesses, has raised over $200 million in financing to date.
Calgary-based FinTech startup ZayZoon, which helps small to medium-sized businesses access earned money faster, secured $34.5 million in Series B financing in September. At the time, the startup claimed to have tracked 400 percent growth in payouts year-over-year. In 2022, SWTCH closed $16.5 million in Series A funding to expand to the United States.
Though many of these startups have seen rapid growth, they have not been immune from current macroeconomic conditions. Posts on LinkedIn indicated that Smile Digital Health shed staff in late 2022, though the company declined to provide comment to BetaKit at the time. In October 2023, GoBolt reportedly laid off approximately 20 staff to meet “the evolving quality and scalability needs of” its business, according to a statement from CEO Mark Ang, who also said claims the terminations were related to staff unionizing were “unfounded.”
The six new entrants join 59 companies that are also on track to meet the $1-billion revenue milestone by 2030, including AlayaCare, Borrowell, Dapper Labs, Hopper, Koho, Miovision, and Neo Financial.
