With tech visionaries like Chris Urmson, Clay Bavor, and Dorothy Kilroy, Elevate 2025 promises bold ideas, startup deal flow, and a look at what’s next.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / May 27, 2025 / Canada’s largest made-in-Canada tech and innovation event, Elevate Festival, returns October 7-9 for its seventh annual event at downtown Toronto’s Meridian Hall and St. Lawrence Centre. Organized by Elevate, the non-profit organization that acquired CIX Summit in 2024, Elevate Festival expects 10,000 attendees from across the global tech community, featuring over 250 speakers across eight specialized content tracks.
The festival continues to lead the industry in gender diversity, with 51% of attendees identifying as women or non-binary – significantly exceeding typical tech event benchmarks. Last year’s Elevate Festival catalyzed hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct startup investments, with this year’s event positioned to deliver a similar economic impact for Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
World-Class AI Leaders Takes Center Stage
Following an extraordinary legacy of transformative speakers including former First Lady Michelle Obama, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and award-winning tech journalist Kara Swisher, the 2025 lineup delivers world-class inspiration with applied AI as the defining theme. As the industry reflects on lessons learned from AI’s unprecedented acceleration over the past 18 months, this year’s speakers offer critical insights on navigating the next phase of tech transformation responsibly. Featured speakers include:
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Clay Bavor, Co-Founder of Sierra: He co-founded Sierra with former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor to revolutionize customer experience through AI agents, and raised $285 million to serve major brands like WeightWatchers and SiriusXM.
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Chris Urmson, Co-Founder and CEO of Aurora: A Canadian pioneer in self-driving tech. He led Google’s autonomous vehicle project and now oversees driverless freight operations in Texas with Aurora, pushing the boundaries of commercial autonomous trucking.
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Dorothy Kilroy, Chief Commercial Officer at OURAHealth: Former Airbnb executive who led 4M+ hosts globally, creating $180B in earnings. At OURA, she drives partnerships for the $2.55 billion wearables company with major brands including Best Buy, Gucci, and Strava.
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Erika Ayers Badan, CEO of Food52 and former CEO of Barstool Sports: She grew Barstool Sports valuation from $15 million to $450 million. She’s now turning Food52’s culinary family of brands (including Schoolhouse and Dansk) into a cutting-edge content and commerce machine. She is the author of “Nobody Cares About Your Career: Why Failure Is Good, the Great Ones Play Hurt, and Other Hard Truths.”
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Ida Tin, Co-Founder and former CEO of Clue and Director of Femtech Assembly: The visionary who coined “femtech” in 2016 and built Clue into a global phenomenon with 12+ million users across 190+ countries.
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Althea Wishloff, General Partner at Raven Capital: A member of the Gitxsan Nation who leads the only venture fund dedicated to funding Indigenous and Native American entrepreneurs, overseeing a $110 million fund.
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Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify: Canadian entrepreneur and former CBC Next Gen Dragon, recognized for his leadership and prestigious accolades: Canadian Angel Investor of the Year, Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, and Fortune’s 40 Under 40 awards.
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Hussein Fazal, Co-Founder and CEO of Super.com: Repeat tech entrepreneur who drove $1B in sales on Super.com. His previous accolades include bootstrapping AdParlor to $100M, and receiving EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year recognition.
Additional speakers to be announced.
We’re living through one of the most transformative periods in tech history,” commented Lisa Zarzeczny, Co-Founder & CEO of Elevate. “It’s an honour to welcome leaders who are not just navigating this change, but shaping the future at its very edge.”
Enhanced Programming and Multi-Dimensional Experience
New this year, Elevate’s most popular content tracks, AI and Scale Up, are moving to the Main Stage, enabling over 2,000 people to join each session. The Festival’s eight content tracks address topics most critical to Canada’s innovators: AI, Moonshots, Fintech, Shop Talk, Future Focus, Scale Up, plus specialized programming for investors and Women+ in tech.
Elevate Festival offers multiple specialized experiences all under one roof:
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Gender Parity in Action: The Women in Tech Lounge, presented by Interac, welcomes women+ and invites allies to listen, learn, and take action. It’s a space to show support and become true champions for gender equity in tech.
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Founder Acceleration Hub: The Startup Lounge, presented by Moneris, functions as a compressed accelerator experience, combining 1-1 investor meetings, expert advisory sessions, and high-stakes pitching.
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Deal-Making Infrastructure for Investors: Purpose-built spaces facilitate startup connections, with dealflow sessions that have historically generated funding conversations and commitments.
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Skills-First Learning: Back by popular demand, Masterclasses cap enrollment at 100 to ensure hands-on application, covering immediately implementable strategies from AI deployment to capital acquisition.
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Strategic VIP Networking: The limited-number of premium Trailblazer Passes creates a premium tier where executives forge industry-reshaping partnerships, with dedicated lounges and speaker access.
Beyond the Festival, Elevate runs year-round innovation programs like the eCommerce North Accelerator, made possible thanks to Moneris. These initiatives are woven into the Elevate Festival experience to offer deeper, ongoing support for startups.
Tickets are available now with Early Bird Sale pricing until June 30th. For more information, visit www.ElevateFestival.ca.
Elevate Festival is made possible by its Founding Sponsors: Interac, Moneris and TD Bank Group, as well as its Corporate Sponsors: Google, the Government of Ontario, the City of Toronto, DMZ, Capital One, KPMG, Danone, CPA Ontario, Riipen, OddBee, Bizzabo, Divine Furniture Rental, Get Wrapped, Interprefy, AccessWire and Fintechs Canada, and Official Media Partner: Globe and Mail.
About Elevate
Elevate is a Canadian non-profit that unites world-class innovators to catalyze transformation in the Canadian tech ecosystem. Through year-round programs and events, including the annual Elevate Festival and CIX Summit, Elevate shines a spotlight on Canadian innovation, facilitates global connections with startups and investors, and inspires Canadians to embrace a go-for-gold mentality to help shape the future of the Canadian innovation economy.
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Media Details:
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Access the Elevate Festival promo video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mBHZ8K9ysE.
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Photo caption: Kara Swisher and Lisa LaFlamme on stage at Elevate Festival 2024. Photo courtesy of Elevate Festival
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Media can apply for accreditation at Elevatefestival.ca/press-room/. Join the conversation by following @ElevateTechCA and #ElevateFest2025.
Media Contact:
Amanda Connon-Unda
Senior Director of Marketing, Elevate
amanda@elevate.ca
SOURCE: Elevate
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
