It has been called the ‘Olympics of Tech.”
The Collision conference, which takes place June 26-29 at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, brings together the people and companies redefining the global tech industry.
This year, Collision will gather the next generation of leaders reshaping the world and is expected to contribute CA$49 million to Toronto’s economy, according to projections from Destination Toronto. Collision added CA$27 million to the city’s economy in 2019 and CA$43 million in 2022, resulting in a total economic impact of CA$188 million over three years.
Over 450 women founded startups (30 per cent), 146 startups led by people from under-represented communities (under our Amplify initiative) and 246 Impact startups will take part in this year’s Collision. 95 trade delegations will participate in Collision to explore business opportunities with an international audience.
Philip Bliss
“We are looking forward to meeting with some of Canada’s and the world’s most exciting business leaders and emerging entrepreneurs,” said Philip Bliss, Founder and CEO of Canada’s Podcast – Canada’s #1 podcast for entrepreneurs.
Over 230 global partners will take to the event floor in 2023, including Siemens, Volkswagen, AT&T, RBC, Google, AWS, Strip, Salesforce, Sage, Desjardins, Skip the Dishes, KPMG, Klarna, Schneider Electric, Github, Cisco and Twilio. The total floor space at the Enercare Centre for Collision 2023 has increased by 7.5 per cent, to 82,800 square metres, on top of last year’s incredible 54 per cent growth.
Artificial intelligence is making a splash at this year’s Collision conference – AI is a major topic of discussion across all industries, and will be discussed on many of Collision’s nine stages and 20+ tracks. Speakers include the “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton, Dave Rogenmoser of Jasper and investor Elad Gil, addressing the impact of AI on society and the potential ramifications of AI into the future.
Robert Szmigiel
“We look forward to our return to Collision in Toronto where we will be interviewing entrepreneurs across the country and showcasing the growing landscape for entrepreneurship, from all walks of life throughout Canada,” said Robert Szmigiel, Founder of Canada’s Podcast.
More information can be found here.
Collision has also confirmed that it will host the 2024 event in Toronto. The event will bring together thousands of next-generation entrepreneurs, investors, and journalists from around the world.
In addition to the direct economic benefits, Collision provides an opportunity to showcase Canadian and Torontonian tech talent and companies to a global audience, while also positioning Toronto as a thriving and inclusive tech ecosystem in the long term. Google, Netflix, Reddit, Pinterest, Cloudflare and Snowflake have opened offices and engineering hubs in the region over the last four years, according to Toronto Global.
Paddy Cosgrave
“We are delighted to be returning to Toronto in 2024. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainties in the tech industry, Collision has continued to flourish in this city. We are grateful for the support from Destination Toronto and the City of Toronto as we aim to make Collision even more globally impactful and to shine a spotlight on the remarkable Canadian and Toronto tech ecosystem on our global stage,” said Paddy Cosgrave, founder and CEO at Collision.
Collision 2023 is projected to bring thousands of attendees – including major tech figures, such as godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton, Conviction founder Sara Guo, AWS CEO Adam Selipsky and YouTube superstar Marques Brownlee – from more than 140 countries to the city.
More than 230 global partners – including Siemens, Volkswagen, AT&T, RBC, Google, AWS, Stripe and Salesforce – and thousands of startups will travel to Toronto from countries such as Nigeria, the Republic of Korea, Uruguay, Japan, Italy, Ghana and Pakistan, all taking to the event floor over three days.
Collision will also run programs and initiatives across the event that encourage a broad participation from communities in Canada, including thousands of students, members of Indigenous communities, and members of underrepresented groups in tech.
Scott Beck
“Collision puts the spotlight on Toronto as the fastest-growing tech centre in North America. The city cultivates a distinctive mix of culture, education, diversity and talent for technology and innovation sectors to thrive. Hosting major events and conferences in Toronto, like Collision, delivers significant economic impact to our local economy and contributes to its vibrancy and appeal to residents and visitors. We look forward to welcoming start-ups, investors, governments, organizations and visitors from around the world to Toronto,” said Scott Beck, President & CEO, Destination Toronto.
Canadian startups have experienced healthy VC activity despite the economic headwinds. According to PitchBook, for the first half of 2023, Canadian and Toronto startups surpassed 2019 and 2020 funding levels, beating pre-pandemic levels, with the value of deals in Toronto reaching US$1.3 billion. 2023 is up 120 per cent compared to the first half of 2019 and 2020 (US$0.6 billion each year). Similarly, for Canadian startups, the deal value has increased by 40 per cent from 2019 (563 deals at US$2.3 billion in Q1 and Q2) to 2023 (347 deals at US$3.2 billion).
Mario Toneguzzi
(Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list)
About Us
Canada’s Podcast is the number one podcast in Canada for entrepreneurs and business owners. Established in 2016, the podcast network has interviewed over 600 Canadian entrepreneurs from coast-to-coast.
With hosts in each province, entrepreneurs have a local and national format to tell their stories, talk about their journey and provide inspiration for anyone starting their entrepreneurial journey and well- established founders.
The commitment to a grass roots approach has built a loyal audience with over 120,000 downloads and thousands of subscribers on all our social channels and YouTube. Canada’s Podcast is proud to provide a local, national and international presence for Canadian entrepreneurs to build their brand and tell their story.
