Canada’s most promising early-stage companies officially unveiled today following a closed-door showcase at the NACO Summit, with ventures spanning AI, cleantech, healthtech, and space.
OTTAWA, Ontario, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) today unveiled Canada’s Top 20 Moonshot Ventures™ of 2025—emerging companies led by bold entrepreneurs building transformative solutions across sectors.
These ventures were selected through a rigorous, member-driven process. NACO invited its 100 member organizations—Canada’s leading angel groups, incubators, accelerators and early-stage venture capital funds—to each nominate one high-potential company. From this curated pool, 23 ventures were selected by NACO’s investment committee to take the Moonshots Stage™ at a closed-door NACO showcase held at the National Arts Centre during NACO Summit 2025. The audience featured top-tier angel investors, venture capitalists, and senior corporate leaders.
“Ontario's future depends on entrepreneurs, risk takers, and the investors who believe in them” said Premier Doug Ford, “That's what makes events like this so important. As we face global economic uncertainty, Ontario's innovators are leading the way, building new companies and creating jobs.”
Collectively, the selected Moonshots companies have raised over $190 million to date. They represent the future of Canadian innovation—driving breakthroughs in AI, cleantech, healthtech, space, deeptech, consumer products, and more. Founders hailed from across the country, with companies based in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia. The 2025 Moonshots cohort includes founders from diverse backgrounds, sectors, and regions—reflecting the inclusive strength and geographic breadth of Canada’s innovation economy.
“These founders represent the bold ideas, entrepreneurial drive, and global ambition within Canada’s innovation economy,” said Claudio Rojas, CEO of NACO. “The Moonshots Venture Showcase is designed to elevate the country’s most promising ventures by connecting them with the capital and networks they need to scale. We are proud to spotlight these exceptional companies as they take bold steps toward transformative growth and impact.”
- Photo available for download with caption (Julie Angus, Founder and CEO, Open Ocean Robotics on Moonshots Stage at NACO Summit): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BVPYiQInTDRQhS0-K1eeAayW6kKrPyFB/view?usp=sharing
Top 20 Moonshots Stage™ Ventures of 2025
Organized by sector and listed alphabetically
AI & Next Gen Computing
- Dreamwell AI — Co-Founder and CEO Kazzy Khazaal (Nominated by Panache Ventures)
- Inner Logic — Co-Founder and CEO Bryce Tully (Nominated by Maple Leaf Angels)
AI & Bioelectronics
- Panaxium — Founder and CEO Brad Schmidt (Nominated by Brampton Angels / Altitude Accelerator)
Cleantech
- BluWave-ai — Founder and CEO Devashish Paul (Nominated by Capital Angel Network)
- Evercloak — Co-Founder and CEO Evelyn Allen (Nominated by Capital Angel Network)
Cleantech & Trade
- PemPem — Founder and CEO Joann de Zegher (Nominated by Anges Quebec)
Consumer Packaged Goods & Retail
- The Little Cacao Co. — Founder and CEO Suzie Yorke (Nominated by Maple Leaf Angels)
Enterprise, Software, & Deeptech
- Cinareo — Co-Founder and CEO Karen Elliott (Nominated by SheBoot)
- Depix AI — Founder and CEO Philip Lunn (Nominated by TandemLaunch)
- H2 Analytics — Founder and CEO Hugo Hodgett (Nominated by Invest Ottawa)
Healthtech & Biotech
- Arbutus Medical — Founder and CEO Lawrence Buchan (Nominated by ThresholdImpact)
- Hyivy Health — Founder and CEO Rachel Bartholomew (Nominated by Women’s Equity Lab)
- JVP Labs — Founder and CEO Paul Weber (Nominated by Golden Triangle Angel Network)
- mDetect — Founder and CDO Dr. Irsa Wiginton (Nominated by KNDL, Kingston Economic Development Corporation)
- MedInclude — Founder and CEO Seun Adetunji (Nominated by Communitech)
- Sparrow Bio — Founder and VP Rachel Collier (Nominated by The Firehood)
- Zilia — Founder and CEO Dr. Patrick Sauvageau (Nominated by Anges Quebec)
Insurtech, Femtech, & AI
- Flora Fertility — Co-Founder and CEO Laura McDonald (Nominated by Highline Beta)
Robotics, IoT, and Hardware
- Solace Power — Founder, COO and CFO Colin Ryan
Space, Mining, and Oceans
- Mission Control Space Services — Founder and CEO Ewan Reid (Nominated by GreenSky President’s Club)
- Open Ocean Robotics — Founder and CEO Julie Angus (Nominated by Spring Activator)
Supply Chain / Inventory Management
- Moselle — Founder and CEO Lakhveer Jajj (Nominated by Highline Beta, Angel One Investor Network)
Travel & Media
- The Hotel Communication Network — Founder and CEO Kevin Bidner (Nominated by Keiretsu Forum Canada)
About the Nominating Organizations
Canada’s Top 20 Moonshots Ventures™ of 2025 are shaped by the insight and leadership of NACO’s national member network. These organizations—spanning angel groups, accelerators, incubators, and innovation hubs—play a vital role in identifying Canada’s most promising early-stage ventures.
Each year, members are invited to nominate one high-potential Seed or Series A company they believe is ready for scale. This peer-driven process creates a national filter rooted in trust, experience, and proximity to innovation on the ground. The result is a curated group of ventures with strong traction, compelling leadership, and global ambition—brought together to engage with the country’s most sophisticated investors at the Moonshots Venture Showcase.
- Photos of Top 20 Moonshots Ventures of 2025 available for download (captions in file name): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1i1IroVBOYfPyjMMqRSo2lCdfo2JpCLrw?usp=share_link
About the Moonshots Stage™
Launched in 2022, the Moonshots Stage™ is Canada’s premier platform for investment-ready Seed and Series A ventures. Unlike traditional pitch events, this showcase puts storytelling front and center—each founder delivers a personal, TED-style presentation designed to spark connection and catalyze opportunity with one of the most curated investor audiences in the country.
Selected companies join the Moonshots Alumni Network™, a national peer community of ventures recognized for innovation, ambition, and global potential. It is a key pillar of NACO Summit, Canada’s most exclusive gathering of early-stage investors and innovation leaders.
Learn more at nacosummit.com
Media Contact:
media@nacocanada.com / www.nacocanada.com
About National Angel Capital Organization (NACO)
Established in 2002, NACO is Canada’s professional association representing over 4,000 angel investors, serving as the national umbrella for more than 100 member organizations—including angel groups, venture funds, incubators, and accelerators. Collectively, NACO members have invested more than CAD $1.8 billion into over 2,000 Canadian ventures.
Angel investors are individuals and funds deploying capital at the earliest stages of growth. They include limited partners (LPs) investing in venture funds, family offices backing pre-seed and seed-stage ventures, and individuals investing directly or through angel groups.
High-growth companies backed by angel investment that went on to achieve significant global scale include Slack (British Columbia), Verafin (Newfoundland and Labrador), Wealthsimple (Ontario), Hopper (Québec), and Jobber and Neo Financial (Alberta). Recent standouts include CoLab (NL) and 7shifts (Saskatchewan). These successes illustrate how angel investment drives Canada’s pipeline of innovative ventures, fueling future global success stories.
Learn more at nacocanada.com
For media inquiries, contact:
Claudio Rojas, CEO, National Angel Capital Organization
Email: media@nacocanada.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/05dbaabe-343b-48f0-981f-6280c5881a57
