(L-R) Aidan Gomez, Ilya Sutskever, Diana Virgovicova, Nick Frosst and Raquel Urtasun are among those whose work is featured in BetaKit’s Most Ambitious list (photos by Polina Teif, Lisa Sakulensky, Nick Iwnayshyn, Nina Haikara and Polina Teif)
U of T tech leaders highlighted in BetaKit’s Most Ambitious issue
Published: June 23, 2025
More than two dozen startups and entrepreneurs from the University of Toronto community are recognized in BetaKit’s first Most Ambitious issue.
The online tech publication’s special print issue aims to spotlight the “big swings” taken in tech and innovation in Canada. It will be available exclusively at Toronto Tech Week, which runs June 23–27 at locations across Toronto, including U of T’s St. George campus.
Of the 85 tech players mentioned in the issue, nearly one third have a connection to U of T. They include companies such as: autonomous trucking company Waabi, founded by Raquel Urtasun, a professor of computer science; clean water startup Xatoms, founded by Diana Virgovicova, who came to U of T on a Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship; artificial intelligence innovator Cohere, launched by alumni Nick Frosst and Aidan Gomez, and former computer science student Ivan Zhang; and tech leaders such as recent honorary degree recipient and alumnus Ilya Sutskever, who co-founded OpenAI and, more recently, Safe SuperIntelligence. Many other firms on the list are guided by faculty or alumni in C-suite roles.
Other U of T-connected firms on the list include: companies with endeavours in outer space such as Kepler Communications, NordSpace and MDA Space; “deep tech” innovator Xanadu; startups doing good for humanity such as CERT Systems, e-Zinc and Deep Sky; industry disruptors such as MedEssist; and cutting-edge product companies like Able Innovations, Toothpod and Ideogram.
“This list demonstrates just how integral U of T-affiliated companies are to Canada’s innovation landscape in crucial fields ranging from sustainability and space tech to health care and transportation,” says Leah Cowen, vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.
“The university has long been committed to generating big ideas and game-changing research – and then providing the support necessary for ambitious entrepreneurs to move those discoveries out of the lab and into the world where they can have the most impact.”
