The University of Waterloo officially opened the Innovation Arenaa new collaborative space in the heart of Kitchener’s Innovation District that will enable businesses, founders and community partners to engage researchers and entrepreneurs in solving local, national and global health challenges.

THE Innovation Arena will be the new home of Speedthe University’s flagship startup incubator. The arena houses enhanced business supports for founders, state-of-the-art product development labs, manufacturing equipment and collaboration spaces.

Located on the University of Waterloo Health Sciences Campus, the Innovation Arena will help accelerate the growth of Waterloo Region’s health technology sector. The space builds on recent collaborations such as the CareNext Coalition – a partnership between local hospitals and the university that aims to bring health technology innovation directly to the hospital bedside and improve the patient experience. The arena will also work alongside existing hubs like the Medical Innovation Xchange (MIX) to support the 100+ health tech companies already operates in the region to facilitate new ideas, from research to commercialization.

“The Innovation Arena is the new home of entrepreneurship in Waterloo and will be a hub for health innovation,” said Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo. “Building on the momentum of Waterloo startups like Intellijoint Surgical And KA Imagingand with resources for cutting-edge technology startups and access to healthcare sector partners, the facility will accelerate southwestern Ontario’s drive to become the epicenter of innovation and technology. health entrepreneurship in Canada.

Velocity’s new headquarters in the Innovation Arena was designed with early-stage startups in mind. Beyond a unique focus on health technology, the company will build on Velocity’s success in supporting founders in the deep tech, clean tech, automotive and manufacturing sectors for over 15 years. Velocity will build on its history of launching successful companies and expand its programming with community learning and labs that turn prototypes into products.

“The Innovation Arena will streamline routes to market for businesses, accelerate the delivery of health technologies and drive Canada’s next wave of economic growth,” said Adrien Côté, CEO of Velocity. “As the startup world undergoes rapid transformation, the Innovation Arena is poised to create tangible social and economic opportunities. The founders are excited, the students and researchers at the University of Waterloo are excited, and the Velocity team is excited to scale up our support for new talent and new ideas that come to market faster.

The Innovation Arena contains 90,000 square feet of innovation space and includes 20,000 square feet of space dedicated to hardware, including chemistry and biology building tools. Partners, whether hospitals, local businesses, universities, non-profit organizations or government agencies, are invited to participate in the Arena’s journey through the community.

The University of Waterloo and Velocity are proud to recognize the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the Government of Ontario and the City of Kitchener, to propel our vision of advancing health innovation and entrepreneurship in Canada. The University is also grateful for the support of philanthropic partners, including local entrepreneur and angel investor Mike Stork.

Quotes

“Congratulations to the University of Waterloo on the official opening of the Innovation Arena in Kitchener. The Innovation Arena will be Velocity’s new headquarters and will support Waterloo Region’s growing health technology sector. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting hard-working innovators in our health technology sector and moving toward a healthier future for all Canadians. — The Honorable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

“This Innovation Arena is a collaborative space that will play an instrumental role in helping southern Ontario’s health technology sector grow and thrive while improving the health of Canadians through innovative solutions. Congratulations to the University of Waterloo team on this important milestone. — Bryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and to the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and Member of Parliament for Cambridge

“As we continue to grow Ontario’s life sciences sector, the Innovation Arena will play a key role in accelerating the development and commercialization of Ontario-made innovations, while driving economic growth and creation jobs in Kitchener and Waterloo. We congratulate the University of Waterloo on the official opening of this collaboration space and look forward to seeing more Ontario startups take their ideas from the lab to the market. — The Honorable Vic Fedeli, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

“The City of Kitchener is excited to welcome the new UW Innovation Arena to downtown Kitchener. This is the first investment we have made in the wake of the pandemic as part of our new Make It Kitchener 2.0 economic development strategy. Working in collaboration with our federal and provincial funding partners and the University of Waterloo, this incredible space will build on Kitchener’s world-renowned culture of innovation, supporting the growth of new and expanding small businesses in Kitchener, with impacts across Ontario, across Canada and beyond. and the advances in health technology that will flow from this cutting-edge collaborative space and change people’s lives. — Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, City of Kitchener

Media contacts

David George Cosh
Senior Manager, Media Relations
University of Waterloo
[email protected]
416-294-2471

Edward Hutchinson
Press officer
Office of the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
[email protected]

About the University of Waterloo

The University of Waterloo is a leading global innovation hub that drives economic and social prosperity for Canada and the world. With more than 42,000 students, we are home to the world’s largest pool of cooperative education talent, groundbreaking research and technology, and an unrivaled entrepreneurial culture. Together, they create partnerships and solutions to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Learn more about uwaterloo.ca.

About FedDev Ontario

For 15 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontariohas worked to advance and diversify Southern Ontario’s economy through financing opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in the most populous region of the Canada. The Agency has produced impressive results, visible in southern Ontario businesses that create innovative technologies, improve productivity, increase incomes, create jobs and in the economic development of communities across the region. Learn more about the Agency’s impacts in southern Ontario by exploring our investment profilesOUR Spotlight on Southern Ontarioand the FedDev Ontario program X, Facebook, Instagram And LinkedIn.