Major Milestones and Exciting Announcements Set the Tone for Launch in 2024
Explore the latest happenings at Launch in 2024 – from engaging meetups to spontaneous events. We’ve got strategic workshops, collaborations, and noteworthy alumni achievements in the mix. It’s shaping up to be an interesting year already!
Launch in 2023, Year in Review
In 2023, Launch achieved several new milestones. As we invite you to reflect on the past year, we extend sincere appreciation to all who played a role in making 2023 a year of significant accomplishments.
Join us in acknowledging the collective progress and achievements that have shaped our journey.
If you’re an entrepreneur looking to immerse yourself in a community of like-minded individuals, get exclusive access to our network of investors, partners, founders, mentors, and resources by joining our incubator program, LaunchPad.
Media & Events
On January 24, 2024, tech enthusiasts, innovators, and entrepreneurs gathered once again at Microsoft Vancouver for yet another sell-out edition of the Launch Builders Meetup with six demos from Supademo, Railtown.ai, Open API Dev Tools, Sipp.ly, Spheria.ai and Metacast. See the event recap here.
Our first CxO Event of 2024 in Dubai was an impromptu get-together of Entrepreneurs and VCs from Canada and the UAE united in this global hotspot for discussion, new partnerships, and more. Learn more about Launch’s CEO Ray Walia’s global trade mission here.
Launch CEO Ray Walia was invited as a speaker at the Sinerjiga Conference in Serbia. Sinergija is one of the largest and most influential conferences dedicated to digital transformation in the SEE region. Watch the highlight video featuring Ray along with other speakers and more.
The trade mission to Serbia led to a workshop on ‘Global Expansion for Balkan Tech Companies via Canada’ in partnership with The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Embassy of Canada in Serbia with over 40 executives and government officials. Watch now.
1. Launch Builders, Jan 2024 2. Impromptu CxO in Dubai 3. Ray Walia at Sinergija Conference 4. Go Global Workshop, Serbia 5. Launch at ISSofBC 6. Small Tech Podcast ft. Sam Chan
Our partners at Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC) invited Sam Chan, VP of Programs at Launch as a guest speaker for their Business Club Meeting to cover ‘Strategic Approaches to Digital Transformation’ and empower business owners to digitize their operations.
VP of Programs at Launch, Sam Chan was invited by Launch alumni Raphaël Titsworth-Morin, CEO, Éphémère Creative on their ‘Small Tech Podcast’. In the podcast, Sam reveals why ‘problem obsession’ rather than ‘solutions-oriented’ is key in the startup scene. Watch here.
Launch Co-founder, Alex Chuang shares his opinion on Apple Vision Pro in the article ‘Why the Mass Adoption of Apple Vision Pro is Inevitable’, diving into Apple’s historical successes, the integration of their product ecosystems, and the inevitable evolution of tech. Read here.
Ray Walia was featured in the article by BIV ‘Outlook 2024: Technology companies, investors shift focus to AI, profitability’ where he highlighted that the restrained investment environment has forced tech companies to shift to the “fundamentals” of a business, from focusing on raising capital. Read more.
Member & Alumni Milestones
We love celebrating the successes of our community members.
Launch alumni and good friends at KOHO raised $86M last year, with an overall valuation of approximately $800M. Recently, KOHO has been accepted into Phase II of OSFI’s bank license process meaning they are in the process of becoming a bank in Canada! Read more.
Congrats to Launch alumni James Clift, Founder, Durable for raising $
We are thrilled to share that Launch member company Uploadcare has officially joined forces with Tiugo Technologies, a well-known PSG portfolio company. This collaboration marks a major step forward for Uploadcare. Congrats to the entire team! Learn more.
1. KOHO Raises 86M 2. Durable Raises $14M 3. Uploadcare x Tiugo 4. Traderlands Crosses $200m 5. smartArm on Breakfast Television with Meredith 6. Ontraccr CEMEX Ventures Top 50 7. Later and Mavrck Unite 8. Defang Closes Pre-seed Round
Huge milestone unlocked by Launch member Traderlands, crossing the $200 million mark in trading volume with over 550k real and 9 million virtual positions handled showing significant growth of their platform. Congrats to the entire team of Traderlands! Read more.
Congrats to Launch alumni Hamayal Choudhry, Evan Neff and the smartARM team for making it to the Breakfast Television with Meredith, bringing you the latest scoop on how smartARM is using AI to evolve the bionics industry. Watch here.
Launch member Ontraccr continues to make its mark in the construction tech industry by being recognized in the CEMEX Ventures Top 50, which is redefining the Contech ecosystem, highlighting its impact on revolutionizing construction management. See the list here.
Launch alumni company Later and Boston’s Mavrck are officially becoming one brand, with a new logo and mission. Under the united banner of Later, their three flagship products will be Later Social, Later Influence and Later Link in Bio. Read more.
Congrats to Launch members Lionello Lunesu, Prakash Sundaresan and the entire team at Defang for getting off to a great start in 2024 by closing its Pre-Seed round, expanding its team, and moving into a new office in downtown Vancouver. Read more.
These represent just a glimpse of the noteworthy milestones and accomplishments that have shaped our recent path. As we continue our journey, we eagerly anticipate bringing you more narratives of innovation, teamwork, and progress. Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected for further updates from Launch!
Launch's International Maple Accelerator Program
Launch is a designated organization of the Canadian Government’s Startup Visa Program & the Global Skills Strategy Program. Launch’s Maple Program is designed to help emerging tech companies expand their business to North America. We help tech companies identify the best path for immigration for their team and their families through Startup Visa, Express Entry, Provincial Nomination, or Global Talent Stream. For more information visit launchacademy.ca/maple.
