Elevate has named Wealthsimple the 2026 CIX Innovator of the Year, recognizing the Toronto FinTech firm for its recent growth and product innovation.
Wealthsimple co-founder and CEO Michael Katchen will accept the award on stage and participate in a keynote fireside chat at Elevate’s CIX Summit on March 25. More than 600 entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and investors are expected to gather for the event, which is set to take place at Toronto’s Design Exchange.
“[Wealthsimple’s] commitment to using technology to democratize access to sophisticated financial tools is exactly the kind of innovation Canada needs more of.”
Elevate says the CIX Advisory Board chose Wealthsimple for its “exceptional performance and transformative impact on Canada’s financial services landscape over the past year.”
Wealthsimple had a busy 2025 punctuated by some major milestones. The company doubled both its total assets under administration and valuation to $100 billion CAD and $10-billion, respectively; announced an up to $750-million CAD Series E; and added 650,000 clients, bringing the size of its customer base to more than three million.
The FinTech firm also revealed new banking and investing offerings at its first two product showcases, and made a pair of strategic acquisitions, snapping up Fey and Plenty. Last month, Wealthsimple followed that up by adding cash deposits in partnership with Canada Post.
“Their commitment to using technology to democratize access to sophisticated financial tools is exactly the kind of innovation Canada needs more of,” Elevate CEO Lisa Zarzeczny said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to honour their achievements and hear from Mike at CIX Summit about how they’re continuing to push boundaries in an industry ripe for disruption.”
Past CIX Innovator of the Year winners have included Ottawa e-commerce giant Shopify, Toronto storytelling platform Wattpad, Montréal’s Lightspeed Commerce, and Burnaby, BC legaltech firm Clio, which took home the honour last year.
RELATED: Wealthsimple hits $10-billion valuation in new round backed by Dragoneer, GIC, CPP Investments
This announcement comes a week after Elevate shared its latest CIX Startup Awards winners, singling out 14 emerging, early-, and growth-stage companies from across Canada.
Recipients included Vancouver-based venture capital secondary marketplace Hiive, Calgary geothermal tech developer Eavor, Calgary- and Saskatoon-based soil remediation platform LioRA, Oakville aerial defence business Xubin Aerospace, Toronto-based sales automation company Loopio, Montréal cardiovascular ultrasound startup Sonaro, and Nova Scotia-based, birth control-focused Elle, MD Biotechnologies, among others.
Disclosure: Wealthsimple vice-president of payments strategy and chief compliance officer, Hanna Zaidi, sits on BetaKit’s board of directors.
Feature image courtesy Elevate.