The Fund - Innovation Fund

01

Donors to the Fund include alumni, philanthropists, corporations and foundations.
02

The Fund invests pre-seed up to $250K and seed $250K upwards with the potential for follow-on funding.
03

Equity investments are made in the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) or equivalent instruments.
04

As a wholly-owned for-profit subsidiary of the U of A, an independent board oversees the strategy of the management team.
05

The Fund is supported by sector advisors, ambassadors, student involvement and alumni from around the world.

01

Open to students, faculty, staff, alumni (connection to U of A preferred) and diverse teams
02

Addresses a challenge that will result in positive social impact while leveraging our sector-focus areas of excellence
03

Unconstrained growth potential in a large market

01

Access to follow-on funding and global networks for dealmaking and go-to-market opportunities
02

Founder friendly and team-building through cohorts
03

Office hours across campus and Alberta
04

Community-building online and in person
05

education will be provided, including topics such as entrepreneurship, “Perfect your Pitch,” and financial literacy, delivered through boot camps, masterclasses and networking.
06

Advisors and sector specialists to champion founders

01

Focuses on innovation that brings positive impact to Alberta and fulfills the philanthropic goals of the University
02

Provides access and reaches various diverse communities

AI

Health, Energy, Agriculture, Education, technology, Financial services technology, Cybersecurity, Blockchain, Digitization, Infrastructure, Marketplaces, Enterprise, Mechatronics/robotics

HEALTH

Biotechnology, Pharmacy, Natural health products, Virology, Vaccines and therapeutics, Digital health, Disease prevention, Mental health

$100/m

ENERGY

Hydrogen, Carbon capture, Utilization/storage, Greenhouse gas-abated fossil fuels, Renewable minerals and metals, Solar manufacturing, Biomass, Waste and nuclear, Electric vehicles

$150/m

AGRICULTURE

Genomics, Carbon sequestration and measurement carbon in soils, Collision pieces including drones, Environmentally contained agriculture, Agriculture data analysis, Logistics, Agri-food diversification, Forestry, Land/water/energy efficiency

$80/m

01

One of Canada’s top five research-intensive universities, the U of A has over $600 million in research annually and more than 60,000 students, faculty and staff.
02

Leveraging the collaborative benefits of three colleges - health sciences; natural and applied sciences; and social sciences and humanities. The University of Alberta has developed successful spin-outs and new ventures.
03

The Fund collaborates closely with Research and Innovation to ensure we capitalize on new innovations early on; and the Alberta School of Business ranks that first in Canada and provides entrepreneurship training and numerous student entrepreneurship and incubator hubs.
04

Ranking first in Canada and third in the world for artificial intelligence and partnering with the Alberta Machine Learning Institute (Amii), the University is set to innovate across multiple verticals.

IN CANADA

Petroleum Engineering

0 st

Nursing

0 nd

GLOBALLY

Artificial Intelligence

0 st

Petroleum Engineering

0 th

Nursing

0 th

Mining & Minerals

0 th

01

The fund has hired 20+ interdisciplinary students to conduct due diligence lite, marketing, and digital support.
02

Together the team conducted due diligence on over 130 companies across the Province in preparation for the Investment Committee to review.
03

Students are upskilled and encouraged to adopt and implement entrepreneurial thinking to real world applications.

VENTURE PHILANTHROPY

Donors to the Fund include alumni, philanthropists, corporations and foundations.

The Fund invests pre-seed up to $250K and seed $250K upwards with the potential for follow-on funding.

Equity investments are made in the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) or equivalent instruments.

As a wholly-owned for-profit subsidiary of the U of A, an independent board oversees the strategy of the management team.

The Fund is supported by sector advisors, ambassadors, student involvement and alumni from around the world.

Community Building Innovation Portal One-stop shop for all things innovation at the University of Alberta and the Province, where all stakeholders can access networks, events, resources, tools, funding, and service provider support.

Criteria for Funding

Open to students, faculty, staff, alumni (connection to U of A preferred) and diverse teams

Addresses a challenge that will result in positive social impact while leveraging our sector-focus areas of excellence

Unconstrained growth potential in a large market

Smart Money and Scale-Up

Access to follow-on funding and global networks for dealmaking and go-to-market opportunities

Founder friendly and team-building through cohorts

Office hours across campus and Alberta

Community-building online and in person

education will be provided, including topics such as entrepreneurship, “Perfect your Pitch,” and financial literacy, delivered through boot camps, masterclasses and networking.

Advisors and sector specialists to champion founders

Social Innovation

Focuses on innovation that brings positive impact to Alberta and fulfills the philanthropic goals of the University

Provides access and reaches various diverse communities

FOCUS AREAS FOR INVESTMENT

AI

HEALTH

ENERGY

AGRICULTURE

AREAS OF EXCELLENCE

One of Canada’s top five research-intensive universities, the U of A has over $600 million in research annually and more than 60,000 students, faculty and staff.

Leveraging the collaborative benefits of three colleges - health sciences; natural and applied sciences; and social sciences and humanities. The University of Alberta has developed successful spin-outs and new ventures.

The Fund collaborates closely with Research and Innovation to ensure we capitalize on new innovations early on; and the Alberta School of Business ranks that first in Canada and provides entrepreneurship training and numerous student entrepreneurship and incubator hubs.

Ranking first in Canada and third in the world for artificial intelligence and partnering with the Alberta Machine Learning Institute (Amii), the University is set to innovate across multiple verticals.

IN CANADA

GLOBALLY

Student Involvement

The fund has hired 20+ interdisciplinary students to conduct due diligence lite, marketing, and digital support.

Together the team conducted due diligence on over 130 companies across the Province in preparation for the Investment Committee to review.

Students are upskilled and encouraged to adopt and implement entrepreneurial thinking to real world applications.

Company

Fundraising

Contact