Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
CIX Names 14 Canadian Startup Award Winners For 2026
CIX Summit 2026 | February 11, 2026
Image courtesy of CIX Summit, Powered by Elevate
Fourteen Award Winning Startups Pitch Live at CIX Summit on March 25 in Toronto
On February 10, 2026, Elevate announced the 2026 CIX Startup Award winners across fintech, climate, defence, health, and marketing technology, naming fourteen Canadian companies selected from more than 370 applications reviewed by 94 North American investors. CIX confirms that the winners present live at the CIX Summit on March 25, 2026 at the Design Exchange in Toronto, with the program bringing together 600 plus investors, founders, and tech leaders.
In the release, CIX reaffirms their commitment to the startup ecosystem as they call out a difficult funding moment, with trade tension between the US and Canada and the lowest level of Canadian VC investment since 2020.
2026 CIX Startup Award Recipients
2026 CIX Startup Award recipients across emerging, early, and growth categories.
Emerging includes PRE in marketing technology from Toronto, Sonaro in health technology from Montreal, Cashew Research in marketing technology from Calgary, Elle, MD Biotechnologies in health technology from New Minas, NS, and Xubin Aerospace in defence technology from Oakville.
Early includes Qidni Labs in medical technology from Kitchener, WeavAir in climate technology from Toronto, Pontosense in medical technology from Toronto, MedMe Health in health technology from Toronto, and LiORA in climate technology from Calgary.
Growth includes Venn in fintech from Toronto, Eavor Technologies in climate technology from Calgary, Loopio in sales automation from Toronto, and Hiive in fintech from Vancouver.
Two Scaleup Fintechs
In a year where capital remains disciplined and deployment cycles lengthen, fintech infrastructure companies continue to attract investor attention. The 2026 CIX Growth category includes two fintech scaleups, Venn and Hiive.
Venn operates in digital financial services infrastructure for businesses (embedded finance and SME operating layer). In Venn's public announcement following the award, the company confirmed that more than 5,000 businesses have chosen Venn to run their finances over the past year, highlighting product coverage across banking, payments, cards, and automation.
See: NCFA Weekly Fintech Intelligence Jan 31-Feb 6, 2026
Hiive builds marketplace infrastructure for private company share transactions. As venture timelines extend and liquidity windows narrow, structured secondary marketplaces play an increasingly important role in capital efficiency. Recognition in the CIX Growth category places Hiive among a cohort of scaleups building market infrastructure rather than consumer facing apps.
Both companies operate at the financial layer of the innovation economy. One focuses on modernizing how businesses manage money. The other addresses private market liquidity. Together they reflect two core pressures in today’s ecosystem: operational efficiency and capital access.
Broad Cohort Highlights Canada’s Innovation Depth
Beyond fintech, the 2026 CIX winners span climate technology, health technology, defence technology, and enterprise software across emerging, early, and growth stages. Companies such as WeavAir, LiORA, and Eavor Technologies represent climate innovation, while others address diagnostics, aerospace, marketing intelligence, and automation.
CIX states that more than 370 applications were reviewed by 94 North American investors, with a minimum of 15 judges evaluating each submission across business model, innovation, market opportunity, management depth, and leadership diversity, equity, and inclusion. In a slower venture market, that level of screening provides an important validation signal for founders seeking capital.
See: NCFA Support’s CIX Summit 2026 as Community Partner
Neha Kera, Managing Partner at Innovobot Resonance Ventures and CIX Startup Awards Co Chair:
“It is a challenging time for entrepreneurs, and so it was wonderful to see the quality of this year's CIX winners,” and adds, “We are eager to see what else they will accomplish in the years to come, and I hope everyone can learn more about them at CIX”.
Matthew Leibowitz, Managing General Partner at Plaza Ventures and CIX Startup Awards Co Chair:
“The competition was intense with over 350 applicants, and our selection committee did a stellar job in selecting the winners,” and adds, “We're thrilled to shine a spotlight on this year's recipients and can't wait to meet them at CIX Summit.”
The announcement also highlights a practical reason founders show up. It says Meeting Exchanges include over 75 investors taking 1 to 1 meetings with founders, creating over 450 meeting opportunities across the day. CIX also describes a closed door Investor Forum for VCs and LPs, plus a Founder Forum focused on seed round execution, cap table structure, and non dilutive capital.
Congratulations To All CIX 2026 Winners!
Congratulations to all fourteen teams. Canada needs more companies that keep building through hard cycles, keep hiring, keep shipping product, and keep finding customers. NCFA looks forward to tracking these founders as they turn national recognition into revenue, partnerships, and global growth.
Get Tickets Now. Register with NCFA and Save
NCFA is sharing a 20% community partner discount on CIX Summit passes for its community. Use CIXNCFA20 for 20% off. CIX runs on March 25, 2026 in downtown Toronto. CIX publishes ticket options and event logistics on its official page for CIX Summit 2026 ticket details and March 25 venue information.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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