Innovation Factory

02/19/2026

Programming the body to build its own medicine? It’s happening right here in Hamilton.

Meet Esphera SynBio, a Hamilton-based innovator reprogramming the body’s own communication system to manufacture and deliver therapeutics from within.

By leveraging the SOPHIE program and a strategic partnership with McMaster University, Esphera is generating the critical pre-clinical data needed to unlock their $38M Series A and move toward human trials.

Read more about how they are bypassing traditional manufacturing hurdles to transform cancer and infectious disease treatment. 👉 https://loom.ly/gifWbno

Esphera SynBio, a synthetic biology platform is reprogramming the human body’s own communication system to deliver new cancer and infectious disease therapeutics, a solution with the power to impact many lives.

02/13/2026

Celebrating 10 years of impact with The Forum Canada 👏

🙌We were thrilled to be in the room for The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Semi-Final in Toronto this week. Seeing the vision and grit of these women-led businesses firsthand was so powerful and inspiring!

Building a business is about more than just a great pitch; it’s about the relationships, partnerships, and community support that help that vision move forward.

👏A huge congratulations to the Forum on successfully hosting such an incredible event and to all the Semi-Finalists sharing their disruptive ideas.

👉Of course, a special shoutout to NovaSonix Healthcare Inc., a synapse competition finalist, for also delivering a great pitch at the event! --- Meet them at the 13th Synapse Pitch Competition on March 25th! Tickets now on sale: https://loom.ly/kHYCPss

02/12/2026

Yesterday was a great celebration of innovation, resilience, and Black excellence! 🎤✨

🙌A huge thank you to all the founders who took the stage to pitch their ideas: Barrington Real Estate, GSM Cake Supplies Ltd., Garrison Care, and ClubHive. Your passion and dedication are inspiring!

💡This event wouldn't have been possible without the support of our event partners: Empowerment Squared and TechPlace for lending their expertise and championing these founders.

Finally, thank you to everyone who attended, networked, and showed up to support Black entrepreneurship in our community. Together, we’re building a stronger, more inclusive innovation ecosystem!

Here are some snippets from last night!👇

02/05/2026

✌️Day 2 of the OBIO Investment Summit consisted of great presentations from innovators and connections with experts from the ecosystem!

We heard from: Nura Medical, NodeAI, Deep Breathe, 20/20 Optimeyes, Magellan Biomedical, Stoked Bio, Aufero Medical, Moonrise Medical, Vessl Prosthetics, Aiimsense and many more!

The conversations around the room had one echoing sentiment: we're stronger when we collaborate to ensure every innovator has the support to scale and succeed.

Here are some highlights from day 2👇

02/04/2026

🙌The 2026 OBIO Investment Summit officially kicked off yesterday! We were so excited to be a part of it.

We heard from experts from the ecosystem, and of course, had the opportunity to learn more from the innovators and industry leaders from our ecosystem. It was especially exciting to see all the pitches from Medtech companies in the sector.

👉Here are some highlights from day 1, and stay tuned for day 2!

01/16/2026

🙌Our Synapse Pitch Competition training kicked-off tackling the two biggest hurdles for startups: Commercialization and Finance.

Through this session, innovators learnt:
🔹How to clearly articulate exactly who pays for their product and why, building a roadmap that investors can trust.
🔹Master risk management and competition.
🔹To reframe finances and learn the strategic use of funds, turning capital into a high-speed engine for the next milestone.

👏A huge thank you to Expert Advisor Bernard Lim and our sponsors Deloitte for bringing their expertise to our founder community

Here are some snippets from the yesterday!👇

01/14/2026

🙌We're so thrilled to announce the Winter 2025 cohort of our program! Congratulations to:

TechInu Inc, Tummo by Headstart , Percus, NexScale , Grid S2, AlertRx , Allowide Health, Aramill, Tiny Tube Bio, Scispot, AIEmpower Educational Workshops , TWISH CART , EcoSafeSense, NeuraVue, Pure Botanica Company , Cotriply , Enabled Talent, Talk to Medi, TOMI - Plant Protein For Toddlers & Kids

Over the next few weeks, these innovators will participate in training on critical topics such as customer development, pitch preparation, funding strategies, and market trends.

Our team is looking forward to supporting their business growth through this program and we can’t wait to see what you’ll achieve! 💡

01/10/2026

Funding your startup doesn’t always mean giving away equity. 💰

Read our latest blog to explore alternative funding options for scaling your business without diluting ownership. Discover how options like pitch competitions, grant programs, tax credits, and even investment networks could accelerate your startup journey.

📖 Read the blog here: https://loom.ly/s0RVo_k

Explore all the resources and tools available for Hamilton-Halton businesses and start-ups to secure alternate sources of funding.

01/08/2026

🙌What a night! We're so excited to officially kick off the 2026 Synapse Life Science Competition journey with our Meet & Greet Speed Networking event!

Ontario-based life science innovators connected with talented business & STEM students from across the region, sharing their life science innovations and preparing for the competition with the critical team formation process.

💡 we just announced this year's top 10 finalists. Read the press release to learn more: https://loom.ly/7YYZYWY

01/08/2026

We’re so excited to announce the 15 finalists for this year’s Synapse Life Science Pitch Competition, Ontario’s premier life science pitch competition! 📢

These exceptional innovators were selected from a competitive pool of applicants across Ontario and are working on cutting-edge solutions in healthcare, biotechnology, and medical devices. Over the next three months, they’ll collaborate with post-secondary students to refine their business and commercialization plans, culminating in the final pitch event on March 25, 2026.

Since 2013, the has supported 130+ companies, awarded $1M+ in prizes, and helped innovators secure $100M+ in follow-on funding while expanding into more than 10 global markets.

🌟 Congratulations to the 2026 finalists:
Better Bionics | DigiBiomics Inc. | Digits Health | Epiloid Biotechnology | Fertilead Inc. | Mandel Diagnostics | miRoncol Diagnostics Ltd. | Neuro-Mod | NovaSonix Healthcare Inc. | PalmFree | Sensible Vascular | Sielo Robotics | Synod Intellicare | VRiT Inc. | WeavInsight

👉 To learn more about the finalists and the upcoming showcase, read the press release: https://loom.ly/JJCOl48

01/06/2026

What's the secret to a successful founder partnership? For Mariner Endosurgery, the answer was the Synapse Life Science Pitch Competition.

It's where Mitch Wilson first connected with Dr. David Langlois, combining a fresh business perspective with a groundbreaking surgical patent. Together, they leveraged mentorship from Innovation Factory to turn their vision into a viable commercialization plan.

This strategic partnership led to a competition victory and laid the groundwork for a company that is still expanding today.

🧬Discover the full story of their growth: https://loom.ly/UAuuars

Explore how Mariner Endosurgery made non-invasive surgeries safer while also growing and scaling the company.