The 2026 Okanagan Angel Summit Finale concluded with more than $400,000 committed to Canadian startups, the largest amount in the program’s history.
The Summit, powered by Accelerate Okanagan, is designed to bridge the gap between entrepreneurs seeking growth capital and investors looking to support promising ventures through a hands-on approach.
Founded in 2010, Accelerate Okanagan is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering the growth of technology-driven businesses in the Okanagan Valley.
Three startups received a total of $407,000 from investors following eight weeks of training, pitch preparation, investor meetings, and due diligence through AO’s programming.
The event, held at Metro Hub in Kelowna, saw over 200 attendees celebrate entrepreneurship onsite.
The 2026 Summit introduced several notable changes which helped spur record funding.
For example, applications were open to startups from across Canada for the first time.
In addition, investors adopted a new funding model that allows capital to be distributed across multiple companies and enabled additional investments to be made on Finale night.
Based out of Saskatoon, Drawbridge garnered $74,000 for its platform which helps brands, agencies, and influencers run interactive story-based campaigns to drive audience growth, customer engagement, and first-party data collection.
Vancouver’s Bullfinch Earth, meanwhile, attracted $145,000 to build a wearable sensor platform that creates a ground-level data layer for forests, supporting insurers, carbon registries, and financial institutions.
And shuriii out of Toronto drew $188,000 for a mobile-first operating system that consolidates 100 educational applications and administrative tools into a single platform for K-12 school systems.
Thermaspire Technologies and Lyrata rounded out the top five pitching firms.
“This year’s results demonstrate the strength of both the founders participating in the program and the investors committed to supporting innovation,” commented Thuy Carter, Director of Programs at Accelerate Okanagan.
The 2026 Summit started with 81 startup applicants from across Canada and 36 accredited investors participating in the process.
Now in its eighth year, the Okanagan Angel Summit has directly invested more than $1.5 million in Canadian startups, trained 141 angel investors, and supported more than 350 companies.
“The quality of companies, the engagement of our investor group, and the willingness to evolve the program created an incredible outcome for everyone involved,” Carter said.
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