Canada
Toronto-Waterloo #17
"As new Canadians, we built ApplyBoard to democratize access to education for students worldwide. We chose the Toronto-Waterloo corridor because we could easily access a diverse and global community of talented people."



Highlights
With more than 300,000 tech workers, the Toronto-Waterloo corridor is home to North America’s third-largest and fastest-growing innovation ecosystem. Anchored by the cities of Toronto (recognized as one of the most multicultural on the planet) and Waterloo (home to the well-regarded University of Waterloo), the corridor boasts excellent transit connectivity and leading innovation hubs including MaRS and Communitech, as well as deep reservoirs of wealth. Nearly half of the venture capital deployed in Canada in 2021, a record CAD$7.7 billion, went to companies based in Toronto and Waterloo.
The corridor’s millennial population is growing at lightning speed — more than 21% per year — and the quality of talent based here ranks alongside the globe’s elite tech regions. More broadly, Canada’s favorable immigration policies, public institutions, and social-democratic values have attracted a steady influx of highly-skilled newcomers to the area. In 2021, the Toronto region ranked as the best city in the world for working women, second in the world for safety, and sixth in the world for remote workers.
Ecosystem by the Numbers
Amount ($)
Count (#)
Exits
Sub-Sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Life Sciences
Reasons to Move Your Startup to Toronto-Waterloo
Building for Humanity
From Lab to Market
Global Community
Selected Startup Organizations
Startup Genome Members
Key Ecosystem Players
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