Announcing the 12 Companies for “The $10K Pitch: BC’s Startup All-Stars”

We’re excited to share that twelve alumni from the New Ventures BC (NVBC) Competition will be pitching at Web Summit Vancouver, taking place May 28–30. They’ll be competing for a $10,000 prize, provided by Innovate BC.

Powered by Innovate BC and New Ventures BC, the “$10K Pitch: BC’s Startup All-Stars” is a startup pitch competition featuring twelve of the most promising ventures that previously placed in the Top 25 in the New Ventures BC (NVBC) Competition. At the BC Pavilion Stage, six companies will be pitching each day, and will have just two minutes to make their case. At the end of May 29, the top two companies from each day will advance to the final round on May 30, where they’ll compete for the top prize package.

CereCura Nanotherapeutics

CereCura Nanotherapeutics is a biotech company developing nanomedicines for brain diseases. Its LNP-mRNA technology transforms brain cells into “factories” that deliver therapeutic proteins to the central nervous system, solving the challenge of protein delivery. The company uses its versatile drug development platform for preclinical development of treatments for high unmet medical needs, pioneering a new class of genetic drugs for untreatable brain disorders.

NVBC Competition Year: 2024

Craver

Craver empowers restaurants and coffee shops to compete with global chains through hyper-personalized guest experience technology. Their all-in-one platform provides branded mobile apps, web ordering, kiosks, loyalty programs, and automated marketing—putting local brands back in control of their guest relationships and helping them drive repeat visits.

NVBC Competition Year: 2020

Glüxkind Technologies

Glüxkind is a Canadian startup pioneering the future of parenting with AI-powered baby gear. Designed in Canada, their smart strollers offer effortless strolling, adaptive braking, self-rocking, and built-in audio to make outings easier, safer and stress-free. Glüxkind empowers families with a thoughtful blend of innovation and parenting realities.

NVBC Competition Year: 2023

InsporosInsporos provides an intelligent seed sorting technology which sorts plant seeds according to user identified traits, such as germination potential, seed viability, presence of seed-borne disease, and other traits of the future plant.  By identifying and removing diseased and defective seeds, Insporos helps a number of other segments in agriculture, such as greenhouse growers, seed producers, and plant breeders, to optimize their operations and save resources.

NVBC Competition Year: 2024

Leasey.AI

Leasey.AI is an AI-powered leasing automation platform that helps landlords and property managers place qualified tenants faster by streamlining the entire leasing workflow—cutting vacancy time by 60% and reducing manual effort by up to 90%.

NVBC Competition Year: 2023

SkyAcresSkyAcres helps farmers stay in business by transforming underused barns into profitable vertical farms with their proprietary low-energy indoor farming hardware. Their AI-powered produce broker automatically sells their harvest to local grocery stores and restaurants, helping farmers diversify income, create year-round jobs, and strengthen local food systems.

NVBC Competition Year: 2023

ThisFish

ThisFish’s mission is to improve profits and sustainability in the seafood industry through digitization, traceability and innovation. They are a global leader in seafood traceability and production software that reduces costs, strengthens process control and improves compliance in global supply chains. Their goal is to improve the social, environmental and financial sustainability of global seafood.

NVBC Competition Year: 2020

Total Flow Medical

Total Flow Medical is on a mission to improve outcomes and reduce costs for heart surgery and life support patients through innovative medical devices.

NVBC Competition Year: 2021

Tydra Labs (formerly Fibr.BIO)

Tydra Labs is a biotech startup transforming crustacean shell waste into high-performance, biodegradable materials. Using engineered bacteria, we extract 100% of the shell’s value—producing chitin, proteins, and specialty enzymes without harsh chemicals or fresh water. Our breakthrough platform powers sustainable solutions for textiles, cosmetics, and water treatment, helping industries shift away from petroleum-based ingredients.

NVBC Competition Year: 2024

VoxCell

VoxCell is redefining tissue engineering for the drug development industry. They specialize in creating an extraordinary line of vascularized human-like cancer tissue models, enabling pharmaceutical companies to identify unviable drug candidates earlier in the development process. Operating as a screening platform without FDA approval, they accelerate therapy development, ensuring life-saving treatments reach those in need faster.

NVBC Competition Year: 2022

VulcanX

VulcanX leverages the natural gas grid to produce low-cost, low-emission hydrogen by sequestering carbon in solid form. This solid byproduct is used to enhance concrete—making it stronger, lighter, faster-curing, and hydrophobic (water-repellent).

NVBC Competition Year: 2024

yPilot

ComplyPilot by yPilot revolutionizes compliance for 10,000+ banks and credit unions with powerful, AI-driven automation. Its proprietary technology instantly answers regulatory questions, validates advertising compliance, and automates policy processes—saving banks 25% on compliance costs and significantly reducing fines. With proven traction at 15 banks (75% conversion rate from trials), ComplyPilot is backed by a veteran fintech team with 75+ years of experience and six successful exits. The company is targeting a $30B market growing at a 13% CAGR.

NVBC Competition Year: 2024

We hope to see you at Web Summit! Come see these startups pitch live at the BC Pavilion Stage at Web Summit at 1:00 pm PST each day.