Waterloo is located in the heart of Canada’s Technology Triangle and is home to Google, Microsoft and Blackberry. Beginning in the 1950s when the University of Waterloo became one of Canada’s first post-secondary institutions offering degrees in engineering, it has grown into an international center for innovation. In fact, according to statistics from Startup Compass, there are over 514 startups in Waterloo with over 85% being founded within the last five years.
https://wakelet.com/wake/hdyB1-ne1ydmJlryAFI5U
Waterloo’s culture is rich with entrepreneurial spirit which can be seen through initiatives such as 1 Million Cups or Velocity, an annual conference hosted by UW’s Entrepreneurship Society that attracts startups from all over the world as well as tech giants like Facebook and Google.
https://wakelet.com/wake/fr6ChP5o2DWTIa4h1P23W
Some of Waterloo’s most successful startups
Shopify was one of the first successful startups to emerge from Waterloo. They’re now worth $2 billion and have over 500 employees. Recently, they announced that they would be moving their headquarters to Toronto’s Liberty Village neighbourhood.
https://wakelet.com/wake/gpAYrDrNz1PgPuknILygC
Another successful startup is Thalmic Labs, who are worth $1 billion. They make wearable technology that focuses on augmented reality and computer vision. The company was founded in 2012 by two University of Waterloo grads, Stephen Lake and Matthew Bailey.
The future of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario has been at the forefront of technological innovation for the last few decades. This is largely due to the fact that it is home to many top-tier engineering and computer science schools, such as University of Waterloo. The city is also home to a number of major research labs, including Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and BlackBerry’s Research in Motion lab.
