This week, Y Combinator (YC) is holding its Winter 2021 Demo Day, the 32nd for the Silicon Valley incubator. Thirteen Canadian startups were part of this YC cohort.
The demo day is being hosted virtually, with 11 Canadian startups presenting on the record. BetaKit has agreed to keep two of the startups off the record. Here are 11 Canadian or Canadian-founded startups that are participating in YC’s demo day this season.
401 Labs
401 Labs has created tech intended to support the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) systems for safety-critical systems, allowing trucks to operate on highways in all weather conditions. The startup was founded in 2019 in Toronto.
MedMe Health
MedMe Health has developed software that aims to shift pharmacies from dispensaries to healthcare hubs. The startup’s product allows pharmacies to streamline their workflows, build patient relationships and diversify revenue through clinic services management tools. MedMe Health’s team consists of pharmacists, product designers, health informatics strategists, and software engineers based in Toronto.
Anomaly Innovations
Anomaly Innovations is a software company that aims to build the future of “serverless” computing. Serverless computing is a cloud computing execution model in which the cloud provider allocates machine resources on-demand, taking care of the servers on behalf of their customers.
Anomaly offers three products: SST, a framework aimed to make it easy to build serverless apps; SEED, a way for teams to deploy and manage serverless apps; and a Serverless Stack Guide. The startup was founded in 2019 in Toronto but is now based in San Francisco.
Aviron
Aviron has developed a connected rowing machine that offers short, high-intensity workouts, allowing users to include strength training along with their cardio workout. Each stroke is three times the resistance of a typical rowing machine.
YC called Aviron the “high-intensity version of Peloton for rowing.” Aviron was founded in Toronto in 2015 and is led by CEO Andy Hoang.
ContentFly
Toronto-based ContentFly offers an on-demand platform for creating content for businesses. The platform comprises blog posts, social posts, and email copy. The startup was founded in 2018.
Feroot Inspector
Feroot Inspector aims to make it easier for security engineers, CTO’s and CISO’s to closely monitor vulnerabilities from third parties.
The company’s product combines behavioural analysis AI with automation to help cybersecurity, data governance, and privacy compliance teams proactively defend against cyber threats.
In 2018, Feroot won the NextAI Top Venture Award for its work in helping companies comply with data privacy regulations. The Toronto-based startup was founded in 2018 and is led by CEO Ivan Tsarynny.
Phoenix
Phoenix is Canada’s digital health platform for men with sensitive lifestyle conditions, such as hair loss. The startup ships medication to users every month in discreet packaging from a pharmacy partner.
Curvenote
Curvenote develops collaborative writing tools for scientists and engineers, with a goal of modernizing how researchers collaborate and share their work.
The startup was founded by CEO Rowan Cockett, who started and sold a web-based 3D visualization startup before running the cloud team at Seequent, a geoscience technology firm.
Jetdocs
Jetdocs aims to be the “Zendesk for internal requests.” Its solution is an information management application that integrates directly with Microsoft Teams, allowing employees to send asynchronous requests, receive automatic reminders, and track outstanding tasks.
The Toronto-based startup is looking to play a role in the future of work, as many teams have opted to move remote permanently in recent months.
Oxio
Québec-based Oxio is building what it calls “the first global digital internet service provider.” The startup uses the Videotron network to provide internet, television and telephone services, with a fibre optic infrastructure.
SBX Robotics
SBX Robotics aims to accelerate the design of intelligent robots through simulation. The startup, based in Toronto, currently develops computer vision models for industrial applications.
There were also several US-based companies in this year’s winter batch that have notable Canadian connections:
Moonshot Brands
Moonshot Brands acquires and grows e-commerce businesses based on their profitability, product focus, and scalability. The startup’s leadership includes CEO and founder Allan Fisch, a Torontonian and former business partner of Alex Norman of TechTO.
Sivo
Sivo is a debt-as-a-service startup with an API that allows companies to risk score their users and lend them money. Though the company is US-based, it has a Vancouver office and its co-founders Kate Hiscox and Dani Conejo are both Vancouverites.
