U of A partners with Silicon Valley deep-tech VC

Edmonton's deep tech sector is getting even more focus as the University of Alberta partners with global deep-tech venture capital firm Celesta Capital with an aim to help commercialize research. Celesta, headquartered in Silicon Valley, will deliver entrepreneurship training, advise researchers on patents and commercialization, and host industry and venture summits at the university. "Our goal with this partnership is to help researchers and founders turn their work into globally competitive companies, built and grown in Canada, with the world as their market," said Charles Lespérance at Celesta Capital. "We're excited to build side-by-side with the University of Alberta community to make this a reality."

The partnership kicks off with Scientific Entrepreneurship Day on Oct. 28, hosted with Edmonton Unlimited and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, designed to help researchers, grad students, post-docs, or faculty members navigate the transition from lab to company. The event will cover fundraising, intellectual property strategy, market validation, and team-building, and it will include one-on-one office hours with Celesta investors. Speakers include Lespérance and David Goldman of Celesta, plus Jean-Nicolas Delage and Jacob Young of the business law firm Osler. The organizers posit that successful deep-tech startups start with the end in mind, map their critical milestones, and build their networks early. Attendees will learn when they should spin out and launch, and how to build for success while avoiding critical mistakes.

The U of A's announcement comes just after Edmonton Unlimited launched the Deep Tech Foundry at Edmonton Startup Week. The program will accept eight to 12 highly vetted science and engineering companies that have early momentum but are still working through important commercialization questions. The program is still being finalized, and Edmonton Unlimited invites founder input.