One year on from the inauguration of Montréal innovation hub Ax.c, the space has secured renewed funding from the city as it looks to help its startups expand internationally.
The news: Ax.c, an office and event space in Montréal’s business district operated by École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), announced on Tuesday evening a renewal of $1.5-million over three years from the city of Montréal, as well as a new partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University incubator DMZ.
Ax.c director Geneviève Leclerc told BetaKit that the funding and partnership will allow the hub to continue subsidizing office space for startups and connect them with commercialization opportunities in cities where DMZ operates.
From the source: If the first year of Ax.c was an experiment in event hosting and making the space attractive to entrepreneurs, the next year will be about building international connections. Leclerc said she sees the hub as a “reverse commercial mission.”
“We spend a lot of money to send our startups abroad to commercialize,” Leclerc said in an interview. “But when the international community comes to Montréal, I want to make sure Ax.c is the go-to.”
Following the thread: In the first year of Ax.c’s operations, Leclerc said she watched it transform from just a physical space to a community. That “if you build it, they will come” mentality seems to have worked out so far: she said it has hosted more than 250 events and hosted over 50 international delegations.
Preparing Québec startups for international expansion is in line with the ethos of provincially funded non-profit Québec Tech, which has been involved in the Ax.c project since its early days. The DMZ partnership will offer Ax.c startups in-kind access to working space in Toronto, New York City, and Toronto—facilitating their commercialization efforts outside of the province.
Final thought: The City of Montréal’s funding renewal, originally set out in the 2023 plan to build Ax.c, comes as new mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada is signalling warmth toward the startup ecosystem.
Alexandre Teodoresco, a city councillor and member of the executive committee responsible for AI, said in remarks at Ax.c on Tuesday that Montréal entrepreneurs now have a supporter in city hall.
“The mayor is an ally, I guarantee it,” Teodoresco said in French.
Feature image courtesy Louis Martin Leblanc for PixelBlanc Photo.