Vancouver-based GlüxKind, the robotics startup reimagining baby strollers with AI-powered safety technology, finished as a runner-up in the PITCH startup competition at Web Summit Qatar 2026, marking its second appearance on a Web Summit PITCH stage after debuting at Web Summit Vancouver.
The global startup competition brought together early-stage companies from around the world to pitch live onstage to investors and industry leaders. Web Summit Qatar, which took place last week, drew more than 30,274 attendees, 1,637 startups, and 931 investors from 127 countries, cementing its growing reputation as a launchpad for globally ambitious founders.
Ottawa-based Plantaform emerged as the overall PITCH winner. The agtech startup is building smart, connected indoor gardens that allow people to grow fresh herbs, greens, and vegetables year-round using fogponics, a mist-based alternative to soil that delivers water and nutrients directly to plant roots. The approach uses significantly less water, accelerates growth, and enables indoor food production in any climate.
“In a year, we see Plantaform’s smart indoor gardens becoming a common household appliance across the GCC, while also scaling our fogponics technology into commercial greenhouses designed to grow food efficiently in desert environments,” said co-founder and CEO Alberto Aguilar.
Dubai-based &Again, a fashion technology startup building the region’s first social marketplace for pre-loved and slow fashion, also finished as a runner-up.
Canada was further represented in the Top 10 by CURA, a climatetech startup with operations in Vancouver and Calgary that reached the semi-finals. CURA is developing an electrochemical process that can reduce cement-related CO₂ emissions by up to 85% while lowering energy use by pre-processing limestone before it enters the kiln.
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