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Research & Innovation

Market Readiness

Research Admin Offices:

  • MILO

Funding Type:

Grant

Value:

  • On behalf of the Government of Ontario, OCE supports early-stage companies that are raising pre-seed and seed investments (total round sizes range from $500,000 to $2 million). Market Readiness is a competitive co-investment fund.  With more than 300 companies considered for funding each year, OCE completes 30-40 investments a year.
  • Companies that have raised less than $1 million in third-party capital (excludes friends and family) are eligible for their first MR investment.
  • Incorporated for no more than five years (Ontario or Canadian for-profit incorporation) and have principal operations in Ontario
  • Currently or previously affiliated with a campus linked accelerator, incubator, or on-campus entrepreneurship activities in Ontario, or currently or previously affiliated with a Regional Innovation Centre and have previously received funding from other OCE programs (excluding the TalentEdge Program).
  • Companies with their team/IP origin at a university (“university spin-out”), college or research hospital are also eligible, even if not Campus-Linked Accelerator-affiliated.

Disciplines:

  • Health Sciences
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering
  • Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities

Sponsors:

Deadlines:

Internal Deadline:

Continuous

Sponsor Deadline:

Continuous

Description:

Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) is the most active pre-seed stage investor in Ontario, strategically investing in companies across all technology sectors.

  • Market Readiness is a competitive co-investment fund.
  • Companies are reviewed through a rigorous internal pre-vetting process before being selected to proceed to an investment advisory committee for consideration.
  • Companies will be evaluated based on their potential long-term competitiveness, strong IP, unique value proposition and momentum/capacity to scale.
  • Preference will be given to companies that exhibit a unique offering that differentiates them in the marketplace.

Resources:

Contact:

For support, please contact: