TechTO

Melissa Gallagher had the nursery ready. The plan. The support system she thought was in place. Then the baby came and the support disappeared. Not the people. The infrastructure. Recovery was fragmented. Guidance was scattered across Google searches and conflicting advice. The system that's supposed to catch new parents doesn't exist in Canada. Not at the level it should. So she built it. Alma Care is Canada's first holistic in-home postnatal care platform. Not a luxury service. A missing layer of healthcare infrastructure that families have been patching together on their own. She joined us on the Together Toronto stage in October 2025 and said something that landed with every founder in the room: you can't build a business alone, and you can't raise a family alone. That was the thesis. Here's the traction. Alma partnered with Twig Fertility to give graduating patients access to personalized postpartum care planning, a $200 credit, and a network Alma reports at 130+ postnatal specialists. ada CX, the AI customer service company, brought Alma in after 34 team members welcomed new babies in a single year. In-home postpartum support is now a workplace benefit there. And through Carrot Fertility, Alma reports a 100% attestation approval rate for families accessing postnatal care coverage. Employers are starting to fund this. The infrastructure is being built. Lived experience turned into a real company solving a problem most people accepted as normal. That is the kind of founder story TechTO community was built to tell. Watch Melissa's full talk: https://lnkd.in/e9dyEzau #TechTO #AlmaCare #CanadianFounders #HealthTech #MaternalHealth #PostnatalCare

Last day for Early Bird. One of our speakers closed a $14M Series A last week. That’s the kind of founder momentum walking onto the Best Of TechTO stage this year. On April 13 at Toronto City Hall, you’ll hear from founders who are building, scaling, and changing categories: Liza Akhvledziani Carew just closed Chexy’s $14M Series A. Anthony Mouchantaf (Biossil) is building in one of the hardest spaces out there: AI + biopharma. Eden Ding is scaling NationGraph after a $22.5M raise. Rebecca Kacaba changed how founders raise capital with DealMaker. A room full of builders, operators, founders, and investors pushing this city forward. If you’ve been to TechTO before, you know the energy. If you haven’t, this is a very good one to start with. 📍 100 Queen St W, Toronto 🗓 Monday, April 13 ⏰ 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Early Bird: CA$35 until March 30 at 11:59 PM General Admission: CA$45 Get your ticket before Early Bird closes. 🔗: https://lnkd.in/eKigHwGE #TechTO #TorontoTech #TorontoEvents #StartupCommunity #FounderStories #TechEvents #TorontoFounders

One of the startups in the #TechTO community, Baseline, is hiring for 7 roles in #Toronto. They’re building software for private lenders - bringing origination, servicing, borrower workflows, and capital operations into one place instead of across spreadsheets and disconnected tools. Real problem, real product, real customers. They’re also doing hiring a little differently. After taking part in TechTO’s Startup Open House last year, the Baseline team saw firsthand what happens when candidates get to meet people in person, see the space, and get a real feel for the company. So instead of relying only on virtual screening calls, they’re opening their doors again. 📍 507 King Street East, Toronto, ON 🗓 Tuesday, March 31 ⏰ 4-7pm Details on the TechTO job board: jobs.techto.org #TechTO #TorontoTech #Hiring #TorontoJobs #StartupJobs #TechJobs

Three rooms this week. On Monday, Off the Cap Table was a private dinner for 20 VCs. Small room. Carefully built. No cap table talk. What came out of it was the kind of investor context you usually don't get in public: how AI is starting to reshape fund operations, how a tighter late-stage market is changing investor behaviour, and how slower AI adoption across Canadian teams is already affecting the advice investors give and the companies they back. On Tuesday, Growth Table was curated for founders at a similar stage: 30+ leaders running companies at $3M+ in revenue or venture-backed. That changed the quality of the conversation immediately. Nobody had to explain the basics. The room went straight to the real decisions: who to hire for the next version of the company, where AI is actually improving margin or speed versus where it is still noise, how to expand without adding drag to the core business, and how to make better fundraising decisions before a raise is even on the table. What came out of that room was clarity, pattern recognition, and faster learning from peers who actually know the stage. Then on Wednesday, we opened the room up. At the CIX Summit Afterparty, we welcomed both people coming from CIX and people who weren't at CIX at all. Founders, investors, operators, builders, and job seekers all ended up in the same room. What came out of that night was different, but just as valuable: reconnects, first conversations, LinkedIns swapped, new intros made, and follow-ups already in motion before the night was even over. That is what this week reminded us. Some rooms are curated for depth. Some rooms are built for collision. Both create value when the right people are in them. If you were there, you felt it. If you weren't, the next room is probably the one to get into. Check the upcoming events and get in the room: techto.org/events Huge thanks to our partners for making this week possible: TIMIA Capital, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Sage, RBCx, Boast, BDC, Fasken Emerging Tech, and GuruLink. #TechTO #TorontoTech #CanadianStartups

Xanadu goes public today. That is a big moment for Canadian tech. Six years ago, Christian Weedbrook (Founder & CEO of Xanadu) was on the TechTO stage talking about building the “ultimate computer” and saying the real work happens through milestones. Today Xanadu starts trading as XNDU on the Nasdaq and TSX. That makes it the first publicly listed photonic quantum computing company. This is not one of those “cool deep tech story, maybe someday” companies anymore. Xanadu is showing up here with a roughly US$3.1B pro forma enterprise value, about US$302M in gross proceeds from the transaction, and negotiations underway for up to CAD$390M in government support for quantum manufacturing in Canada. The old Christian quote that stands out now: “There’ll be milestones along the way…” That is probably the right lens for today. A very real milestone on a long founder journey. Watch the full talk → https://lnkd.in/egzbc9pQ #TechTO #CanadianTech #QuantumComputing #Founders #Xanadu

CIX Summit • Canadian Innovation Exchange (Powered by Elevate) had the city buzzing all day, and by the time people started rolling into the Afterparty, you could feel it right away. The room filled up fast, the music was up, drinks were flowing, and everywhere you turned, someone was mid-conversation, mid-intro, or pulling someone else into the circle. What made it so good was the mix. A lot of people came straight from #CIXSummit and kept the momentum going. But plenty of others came just for the Afterparty, which made the room feel even better. It wasn’t one lane. It was founders, investors, operators, builders, job seekers, people catching up, people meeting for the first time, people saying “I’ve been meaning to meet you” and actually doing it. And it wasn’t just Toronto. There were people in from Ottawa, Vancouver, St. Catharines, and all over the city. After a full day of CIX, people still wanted to show up, stay out, and keep talking. That tells you everything. The energy felt electric, but easy. Just a lot of smart, ambitious people genuinely happy to be in the same room. Founders were swapping stories with other founders. Builders were meeting people who might become their next team, next role, or next opportunity. Investors were connecting in a way that felt way more natural than the usual formal setup. A lot of good conversations. A lot of “you should know this person.” A lot of people left with more than they came with. That’s the value of nights like this. Big thank you as well to Fasken Emerging Tech and GuruLink for helping power the night. Check out what’s coming up on the TechTO events calendar: luma.com/TechTO-Events #TechTO #CIX #TorontoTech #Startups #Founders #CanadianTech #TechEvents

Another Toronto Tech Week event we're hosting - and one of our favourites - is the Hackathon. 12 hours. One room. Build something that matters. Sunday, May 24 at Rootly HQ. Coffee at 9, building from 10 to 5, lunch on us. Top 3 teams pitch live to a real judge panel. Awards at 7, social until 9. Here's what you actually get out of it: ‣ Mentors in the room - founders and operators who've shipped, raised, and scaled. Not speakers. People you can actually pull aside and get real feedback from. ‣ Workshops built for builders - practical, hands-on. ‣ A project you can show. Past teams walked out with working products, new co-founders, and connections that didn't end when the clock did. Come solo or bring a team (max 4). Either way, you'll find your people. 🎟️ Super Early Bird: $20 solo | $70 team 📍 366 Adelaide St W, 7th Floor, Toronto → Grab your ticket: https://lnkd.in/e3VC9drS Powered by Rootly Full TTW lineup, subscribe→ luma.com/TechTO-Events #TechTO #TorontoTechWeek #Hackathon #TorontoStartups #BuildersWanted

Assel Beglinova didn’t come from tech. She came from finance, saw firsthand how hard it was for commerce brands to access the right capital, and decided to build Paperstack. At our last Commerce Toronto, she talked about what founders know but rarely say out loud: every stage breaks the old playbook. You figure it out, rebuild, and keep going. That’s what made this conversation so good. Not hype or theory. Just the real story of starting, struggling, and building. And the company is real too. Paperstack has now raised more than $9M CAD and is helping modern commerce brands fund inventory, marketing, and growth. If you’re a founder in retail, e-commerce, or CPG, this one is worth your time. Full talk on our YouTube → https://lnkd.in/eFZsrwpM And if you want more founder conversations like this, Commerce Toronto is back April 21. Save your seat. 🎟️: https://lnkd.in/gNntHSdD #TechTO #CommerceToronto #Paperstack #CanadianFounders #Ecommerce #RetailTech

Three days away! The CIX Summit • Canadian Innovation Exchange (Powered by Elevate) Afterparty is happening on Wednesday, March 25th at Scotland Yard Pub, 5:30-9:00 PM, and this one's for the builders, founders, investors, and operators who make Canada's tech scene what it is. Here's the thing about CIX day: it's packed. Back-to-back sessions, big ideas flying everywhere, not enough time to go deep with anyone. The afterparty is where that changes. Drinks in hand, nowhere to be, that's when the real conversations start. The ones that turn into partnerships, investments, and companies you'll be reading about later. We've seen it happen. We're betting on it happening again. Scotland Yard is ours from 5:30 to 9:00 PM, filled with the exact people who spent the day talking about what's next for Canadian tech. Come find your people. Or meet them for the first time. And yes, you don't need a CIX pass to come. Everyone is welcome. 🎟️ Tickets: → CIX pass holders $15 → General Admission $30 → TechTO Members - FREE [check the Slack Channel] No CIX pass yet? Use code CIXTECHTO20 for 20% off - valid until March 25. Last call. Grab your spot at the link below... we'll see you on Wednesday. 🔗: https://lnkd.in/e237yCtA Powered by Fasken Emerging Tech and GuruLink.