Ten Startups Advance to New Ventures BC Competition Finale

The race to be crowned British Columbia’s top early-stage tech startup is down to 10 companies.

After seven months of pitches, coaching, and judging rounds, New Ventures BC has named the finalists in its 2026 competition.

The cohort spans health sciences, artificial intelligence, food and beverage, advanced hardware, and cleantech. More than half of the finalists are already generating revenue or conducting pilots with major partners, according to New Ventures BC.

Vancouver accounts for six of the 10 companies, while two are based in Squamish and one each in Victoria and Richmond.

The 2026 finalists, listed alphabetically, are:

• Circl Brain Health Metrics, Victoria
• Dream Photonics, Vancouver
• Eagle Eyes Search, Squamish
• Enya Learning, Vancouver
• NanoTech Innovation, Richmond
• Ontoly, Squamish
• Radiant Fluidics, Vancouver
• TruthSayer AI, Vancouver
• VEGAIN Nutrition, Vancouver
• VitaPulse Technologies, Vancouver

The companies emerged from a group of 25 ventures that advanced to the third round of the annual competition earlier this year.

For the final round, each startup will make an in-person presentation to a jury of venture capitalists, angel investors, entrepreneurs, and technology executives.

The companies are competing for more than $250,000 in cash and in-kind business services. The prize pool includes a $110,000 Innovate BC first-place package, a $55,000 second-place package, and a $30,000 third-place package.

Additional awards include $10,000 prizes for sustainability, life sciences, and a woman-led venture, along with a Top Science-Based Company award presented by SFU VentureLabs.

The winners will be revealed on September 21 at the 2026 New Ventures BC Competition Awards Ceremony.

Now in its 26th year, the competition has become a fixture of B.C.’s startup ecosystem. Since 2000, New Ventures BC says it has supported more than 4,000 startups that have collectively created 15,000 jobs and raised $3.4 billion in financing. Past participants include AbCellera, Aspect Biosystems, Certn, Jane Software, and Moment Energy.