Startup Montréal, in partnership with Silicon Valley accelerator for late-stage businesses Apexe Global, has unveiled the first cohort of their Hypercroissance Québec (Hypergrowth Québec) program comprising 11 companies.
Joining the inaugural edition of Hypercroissance Québec include healthtech firm 360Medlink, grocery store app FoodHero, and SaaS startup Zetane Systems.
Hypercroissance Québec was initially announced in February, shortly after Montréal Inc.’s merger with Bonjour Startup Montréal to create Startup Montréal. Through the Hypercroissance Québec program, Startup Montréal aims to support up to 80 businesses over the next two years.
Desjardins Group is investing $1 million over five years into the program, in addition to the $6.5 million already promised by the Government of Québec, and an undisclosed amount of contribution from BDC Capital.
At launch, Startup Montréal identified some of the program’s core goals such as: tripling the number of Québec startups with over $100 million in sales over the next five years, quadrupling the exports generated by participating businesses by 2025, creating nearly 15,000 new jobs, and generating close to $1 billion in revenue in additional exports per year by 2025.
Startup Montréal touts Hypercroissance Québec as the first Québec program dedicated to high-growth and high-potential companies. The nine-month program will center around executive development through coaching, mentoring, and sales missions. The 11 companies comprising its first cohort were selected among 150 applicants.
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The final selection panel included Sandeep Mathrani (CEO of WeWork), Jeff Hoffman (serial entrepreneur including Priceline.com, Booking.com, Ubid), Pascale Audette (president of Startup Montréal’s board of directors), and David Dufresne (angel investor and advisor, and former venture partner at Panache Ventures).
A spokesperson for Startup Montréal told BetaKit that its collaboration with Apexe Global provides a direct link to expertise dedicated to supporting hypergrowth among startups, which the spokesperson noted doesn’t currently exist in Québec.
The spokesperson also added that Startup Montréal is considering having three cohorts per year, with a varying number of participants per group.
“It is not the quantity of participating companies that is important but the judicious choice of the right companies allowing us to ensure an optimal impact,” they said.
Here are the 11 companies in the inaugural Hypercroissance Québec cohort:
- 360Medlink
- Language Research Development Group
- Alfred Technologies
- MYNI Inc.
- Diffusion Solutions Intégrée
- Spiria Digital
- Empower Social
- Viridis Terra International
- FoodHero
- Zetane Systems
- Intelia
Zetane previously secured a $181,000 CAD ($150,000 USD) grant from Epic Games to connect its software to Epic’s Unreal Engine, a video game design platform. It also received $350,000 from the Québec government through Investissement Québec.
Zetane has also received support from Startup Montréal, prior to Montréal Inc. and Bonjour Startup Montréal’s consolidation. In July last year, Zetane received a $10,000 grant from Montréal Inc. through its Revelations program.
Revelations is the new version of Grant+, which was Montréal Inc.’s flagship program. In April, Startup Montréal revealed the list of 20 companies taking part in its Revelations 2022 cohort, representing Startup Montréal’s goal to have a greater impact on the Montréal tech ecosystem as a newly formed entity.
Featured image from Adrien Olichon via Unsplash.
