Canada's Top Moonshot Ventures™ of 2026 Announced at NACO Summit

The largest and most nationally distributed Moonshots cohort in program history - 27 ventures, $140M+ collectively raised, 41% women-led, and the first quantum venture to take the stage - unveiled today following a closed-door showcase at NACO Summit in Ottawa.

OTTAWA, Ontario, May 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) today unveiled Canada's Top Moonshot Ventures™ of 2026, twenty-seven emerging companies led by founders building transformative solutions across artificial intelligence, healthtech and biotech, cleantech, defence and dual-use technologies, quantum, and beyond.

These ventures were selected through a rigorous, member-driven process. NACO invited its more than 100 member organizations - Canada's leading angel groups, incubators, accelerators, and early-stage venture funds - to nominate the highest-potential ventures in their networks. Nearly 100 high-calibre nominations were received this year, prompting an expansion of the cohort from 23 ventures in 2025 to 27 in 2026, the largest in the program's history. The selected ventures took the Moonshots Stage™ at a closed-door showcase at the National Arts Centre during NACO Summit 2026, before an invitation-only audience of angel investors, venture capitalists, and senior leaders.

Collectively, the 2026 cohort has raised more than $140 million CAD to date, with 25 of the 27 ventures actively raising or planning to raise. The cohort spans eight provinces and territories: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, and Yukon, with Prince Edward Island and Yukon represented on the Moonshots Stage™ for the first time in the program's history. Approximately 41% of the cohort is women-led, and the cohort introduces a sector first to the Moonshots Stage™ with a quantum venture presenting for the first time.

The 2026 cohort arrives at a defining moment for Canadian innovation policy. The federal government's first-ever Defence Industrial Strategy, the $900 million National Quantum Strategy, the $750 million Budget 2025 commitment to address early growth-stage funding gaps, and the ongoing Canada–U.S. trade environment have placed early-stage capital formation and domestic deep-tech commercialization at the centre of the national conversation. Several of this year's Moonshots sit directly in the path of these priorities.

"Canada's most ambitious founders are no longer waiting for markets to come to them, they are building toward AI and defence sovereignty, energy security, and the country's quantum industry," said Claudio Rojas, CEO of NACO. "The 2026 Moonshots cohort is a direct reflection of that ambition. It is also the largest cohort in the program's history, with twenty-five of twenty-seven ventures actively raising capital. NACO's role is to make sure that capital, and the strategic networks that fuel our founders, finds these companies before they are forced to look elsewhere."

"What stands out about this year's cohort is its breadth," added Mary Long-Irwin, Board Chair of NACO. "Eight provinces and territories, ten sectors, approximately forty-one percent women-led, and first-ever appearances of founders from the Yukon and Prince Edward Island on the Moonshots Stage. This breadth reflects the work of more than one hundred member organizations across the country, each playing a hands-on role in surfacing the founders best positioned to scale. NACO's strength has always been its network, and the 2026 cohort is the proof."

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Canada's Top Moonshot Ventures™ of 2026

Organized by sector and listed alphabetically.

Advanced Robotics, IoT, and Hardware

• Acrylic Robotics: Founder & CEO Chloe Ryan (Nominated by Two Small Fish)
• ForceN: Founder & CEO Robert Brooks (Nominated by Anges Québec)
• Taiv: Co-Founder & CEO Noah Palansky (Nominated by North Forge)
• Variablegrid: Co-Founder & CEO Dan Lafferty (Nominated by Spring Impact Capital)

Artificial Intelligence

• Fireweed AI: Co-Founder & CEO Cole Robulack (Nominated by Yukonstruct Society)
• Masterpiece X: Founder & CEO Jonathan Gagne (Nominated by Angel Investors Durham)
• Tracktile: Founder & CEO Jordan Rose (Nominated by Island Capital Partners)
• Ultimarii: Co-Founder & President Josh Malate (Nominated by InterGen)

Automotive and Transportation

• MesoMat: Co-Founder & CEO Paul Fowler (Nominated by Keiretsu Forum Canada)
  

Cleantech

• Aeon Blue: Co-Founder & CEO Lark Meadow (Nominated by Cape Breton Capital Group)
• Aurea Technologies: Founder & CEO Cat Adalay (Nominated by Capital Angel Network)
• Hyperion Global Energy: Co-Founder & CEO Heather Ward (Nominated by Invest Ottawa)
• LITE-1: Co-Founder & CEO Roya Aghighi (Nominated by Cape Breton Capital Group)
• Opalia: Co-Founder & CEO Jennifer Côté (Nominated by Spring Impact Capital)
  

Consumer Packaged Goods and Retail

• Marlow: Co-Founder & CEO Nadia Ladak (Nominated by SheBoot)
  

Defence and Dual-Use Technologies

• Ecosystem Informatics: Founder & CEO Shirook Ali (Nominated by Angel Investors Durham)
• Obruta Space Solutions: Co-Founder & CEO Kevin Stadnyk (Nominated by Capital Angel Network)

Fintech

• StartupFuel: Founder & CEO Ashley Martis (Nominated by OneEleven/Ontario Centre of Innovation)
  

Healthtech and Biotech

• Fibra: Founder & CEO Parnian Majd (Nominated by Two Small Fish)
• HTuO Biosciences: Founder & ​​CEO Anthony Fejes (Nominated by Angel Forum)
• Kare Chemical Technologies: Co-Founder & COO Kareem Abdur-Rashid (Nominated by Black Entrepreneurship Alliance/YSpace)
• Moonrise Medical: Co-Founder & COO Abubaker Khalifa (Nominated by Angel One Network)
• Nimble Science: Co-Founder & CEO Sabina Bruehlmann (Nominated by Platform Calgary)
• Pharma in silica: Founder & CEO François Arcand (Nominated by Keiretsu Forum Canada)
• Vena Medical: Co-Founder & CEO Michael Phillips (Nominated by Archangel Network of Funds)
  

Quantum

• Xatoms: Co-Founder & COO Shirley Zhong (Nominated by IDEA Mississauga)
  

Sport Tech, AI and IoT

• Scorched Ice: Founder & CEO John Lowe (Nominated by InterGen)
  

About the Moonshots Showcase™

Launched in 2023, the Moonshots Showcase™ is NACO's flagship platform for investment-ready Seed and Series A ventures. Unlike traditional pitch events, the showcase puts storytelling front and centre: each founder delivers a personal, TED-style presentation designed to spark connection and catalyze opportunity with one of the most curated investor audiences in the country.

Selected companies join the Moonshots Alumni Network™, a national peer community of ventures recognized for innovation, ambition, and global potential. The Moonshots Showcase is a key pillar of NACO Summit, Canada's most exclusive gathering of early-stage investors and innovation leaders. The 2026 edition is the third in the program's history.

About National Angel Capital Organization (NACO)

Founded in 2002, National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) is Canada's national network for angel investors and early-stage capital. NACO represents more than 4,000 angel investors and over 100 member organizations across Canada, including angel networks and early-stage investment organizations. Collectively, NACO's network has invested more than $1.8 billion in over 2,000 Canadian ventures. NACO supports the development of Canada's early-stage investment ecosystem through research, education, and engagement with policymakers.

Media Contact

Claudio Rojas
CEO, National Angel Capital Organization
media@nacocanada.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

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