Mila Ventures
Transforming Canada's world-class AI research into breakthrough ventures that build the future.
About
Mila Ventures is Canada's premier AI venture-building ecosystem, designed to unlock the country's greatest innovation asset: our Venture Scientists.
We transform top AI researchers and STEM graduates into founders who build globally competitive deep-tech companies. Through integrated programs spanning training, acceleration, venture creation, and funding, we provide clear pathways from research to market impact.
Our mission is to retain Canada's exceptional AI talent, build the next generation of AI champions, and ensure the economic value created by Canadian innovation stays in Canada—strengthening our national AI sovereignty and competitive advantage.
Who Should Join
Mila Ventures serves Canada's exceptional technical talent ready to build:
- Mila students, researchers, and professors with active AI research looking to commercialize breakthrough ideas
- STEM graduate students and postdocs from Canadian universities exploring entrepreneurship
- Technical professionals and engineers passionate about solving real-world problems with AI
- Experienced founders seeking deep AI expertise and research partnerships
- Business talent ready to co-build with technical founders
Explore Your Options
Startup Challenge
The Startup Challenge gives you a 4-week, part-time taste of the founder journey—no commitments, no strings attached.
Incubator
Come build in our incubator for 12 weeks, full time with all the help you could ever wish for on the business or technical sides.
Accelerator
YC-style accelerator providing funding, AI-focused mentorship, and investor access to move from concept to seed readiness.
Studio
Flagship venture studio identifying high-impact opportunities from Mila research, forming teams, and providing comprehensive support to build moonshot companies.
What makes Mila Ventures different?
We're built on Canada's greatest AI advantage—world-leading research and exceptional scientific talent.
Our integrated ecosystem doesn't just train founders; we build complete companies from breakthrough research. You'll gain access to frontier AI capabilities, mentorship from proven entrepreneurs who've made the transition from STEM PhD to startup founder, connections to top-tier VCs, and a collaborative community of Venture Scientists.
Whether you're testing entrepreneurship for the first time or scaling your second startup, Mila Ventures provides the resources, network, and support to transform technical excellence into venture excellence.
300+
Venture scientists trained
Helping graduates transition to the business world successfully.
$80M+
Funding raised
From top tier VCs and local angels.
20+
New startups created this past year
Mila supported the growth of over 20 new startups founded by its researchers.
We're standing at the intersection of world leading talent, a new frontier of tools and the largest opportunity in my lifetime. Come talk to us!
Stephane Marceau, Managing Director, Mila Ventures
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FAQ
What is Mila Ventures?
Mila Ventures is an integrated ecosystem of programs designed to convert Canada's exceptional AI research and technical talent into globally competitive deep-tech companies. We provide training, acceleration, venture creation, and funding to ensure Canadian innovation creates lasting economic value in Canada.
Who can participate in Mila Ventures programs?
We welcome Mila researchers, STEM graduate students from Canadian universities, technical professionals, experienced founders, and business talent. Each program has specific eligibility criteria—explore our individual program pages for details.
Do I need to have a startup idea to join?
No! Many of our programs, like the Startup Challenge, are designed for people exploring entrepreneurship for the first time. We help you discover opportunities, develop ideas, and build ventures from scratch.
What makes Mila Ventures different from other accelerators?
Our deep connection to world-class AI research, access to frontier capabilities, and focus on creating Venture Scientists—technical founders with both deep expertise and business skills. We're not just accelerating existing startups; we're building companies from breakthrough research.
How does Mila Ventures support Canadian AI sovereignty?
By retaining exceptional talent in Canada, ensuring IP stays local, building companies that create high-value jobs here, and structuring our programs so that economic returns benefit the Canadian ecosystem—not just foreign acquirers.
Can international participants join?
While our mission focuses on building Canadian AI champions, we welcome international collaborators and participants who commit to building their companies in Canada.
How are the different programs connected?
Our programs form an integrated system: the Startup Challenge gets people into the Incubator where they start building a company. Should there be some modicum of success, they are eligible to join the Accelerator to go full steam ahead. At every stage, we are here to help provide guidance, contacts, mentors, industry partners, connections to VCs, pump up speeches, picking you up when you fall and helping make your vision into a reality.