Canada

Montréal

#39

Global Startup Ecosystem

Members: Quebec Tech / Montréal International / The Ministère de l’Économie de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie / Ville de Montréal / Réseau Capital

Top 40

Global Ecosystem in Performance

Top 10

North America Ecosystem in Affordable Talent

Top 20

North America Ecosystem in Funding

There's no city in the world that is more entrepreneurial than Montréal. So many immigrants, including my own family, have emigrated here and contributed to the entrepreneurial energy that oozes out of the city.

Harley Finkelstein

President at Shopify

Highlights

Montréal is solidifying its status as Québec’s leading tech metropolis and a rising global innovation hub. This progress reflects the Québec government’s sustained commitment to innovation. As a direct outcome of the 2022–2027 Québec Strategy to Support Research and Investment in Innovation, Québec Tech (formerly Startup Montréal) was launched in the Summer of 2024 with the mission to scale high-potential startups, accelerate international growth, and foster collaboration across the tech ecosystem.

Although several government-backed programs have been suspended in 2024, the renewal of Impulsion PME with a major $200 million investment capital program indicates the province’s commitment to scaleup growth. Set to open in June 2025, Espace Ax.C will serve as a central hub for Québec’s startup ecosystem — a landmark destination for entrepreneurs at the heart of downtown Montreal.

Montréal also remains Canada’s flagship hub for AI innovation. Scale AI, the federally-funded innovation supercluster based in the city, announced $96 million in project funding across 22 initiatives in the past 12 months, along with a new $30 million fund to support AI adoption in Canadian companies. The private sector continues to invest heavily in AI infrastructure. In 2024, IBM unveiled plans to launch a Cloud Multizone Region (MZR) in Montréal, designed to help clients navigate regulatory requirements and integrate generative AI capabilities on a secure, enterprise-grade cloud platform.

Driven by bold initiatives and growing investor confidence, Montréal and Québec’s tech ecosystem are turning vision into traction — with the numbers to prove it.

Ecosystem by the Numbers

ECOSYSTEM VALUE

(H2 2022 - 2024)

$27 BN

GLOBAL AVG. $20.4 bn

NUMBER OF UNICORNS

(ACTIVE UNICORNS)

5

GLOBAL AVG. 4

SOFT. ENGINEER SALARY

(2024)

$68 K

GLOBAL AVG. $52 K

TIME TO EXIT

(2020 - 2024)

12 years

GLOBAL AVG. 11.2 years

TOTAL EARLY–STAGE FUNDING

(H2 2022 - 2024)

$914 M

GLOBAL AVG. $514.8 m

MEDIAN SEED ROUND

(H2 2022 - 2024)

$1.5 M

GLOBAL AVG. $889 k

EARLY-STAGE FUNDING
GROWTH

(2021 - 22 VS. 2023 - 24)

7

Scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest)

EXIT AMOUNT

(2020 - 2024)

$7.2 BN

GLOBAL AVG. $8 bn

ECOSYSTEM VALUE GROWTH

(H2 2020 - H2 2022 VS H2 2022 - H2 2024)

-17%

GLOBAL AVG. -14%

MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND

(H2 2022 – 2024)

$10.9 M

GLOBAL AVG. $6.8 m

TOTAL VC FUNDING

(2020 - 2024)

$9 BN

GLOBAL AVG. $5.2 bn

EXIT COUNT (#)

(2020 - 2024)

229

41

2020

52

2021

43

2022

52

2023

41

2024

GLOBAL AVG. 86

Sub-Sector Strengths

AI, Big Data & Analytics

Montréal, an AI powerhouse, is fueled by exceptional talent and research, which resonates throughout its dynamic information technology sector. The city specializes in Enterprise Software, Fintech, Cybersecurity, and Quantum Computing. Montréal hosts major international events like ALL IN and World Summit AI. It is home to industry giants such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Samsung while also fostering a thriving startup environment. In the past year, Montréal has seen $630 million in deals, including Blockstream's $210 million and Valsoft's $150 million deals.

Life Sciences

Montréal aims to be a top-five North American Life Sciences hub by 2027, supported by investments in research infrastructure and two major expansion projects: Inspire Bio Innovations, an award-winning lab campus, and Biotech City, a Life Sciences hub hosting Moderna’s new vaccine facility. Both projects foster collaboration between startups, universities, and companies. This sector continues to attract substantial VC investments in the province, with more than $1.5G in the past 4 years. Montréal excels in health technologies, personalized healthcare, rare diseases, oncology, and biomanufacturing.

Cleantech

Montréal continues to be a growing epicentre in Cleantech based on Québec’s unique position as the number one renewable energy producer in North America. It specializes in energy production, transport electrification, Agtech, and building decarbonization. This is backed by Québec's government investing $5.7 billion in the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy, and Canada's $14.4 billion investment towards its 2050 net zero strategic plan. The city also recently launched Lab-à-la-Start-up, a Cleantech consortium, and Espace Aéro, an aerospace innovation zone.

Reasons to Move Your Startup to Montréal

Educated Talent

Montréal ranks as the top student city in North America, and first in Canada for the 10th time in a row, with McGill University leading the pack and ranking #29 globally. Thanks to its 15 world-class university institutions focused on research, Montréal is recognized for the quality of its labor pool, including in IT, engineering, Life Sciences, aerospace, and creative industries.

Quality of Life

Montréal boasts a unique bilingual and multicultural environment, and ranks second in the world as the safest and best city for remote workers. Montréal is also recognized as one of the world's best cities by Time Out, thanks to its cultural attractions, including 120 festivals and close to 50 museums. It is also cheaper than almost all other large cities in North America.

Support Network

Montréal's robust ecosystem thrives on one of the most diverse economies in the country, with the stability provided by institutional investors offering consistent funding and buffering startups from economic downturns. Montréal boasts five of Canada's top 10 investment funds, and in 2024, VC deals surpassed $1.3 billion across 85 deals. Montréal has a unique approach to collaboration between companies, research centers, and public institutions.

Selected Startup Organizations

Startup Genome Members

MEMBER

Québec Tech

Québec Tech is a non-profit organization dedicated to stimulating the local and international commercial success of products developed by Québec tech startups. Consequently, it is positioning the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Québec and Montréal as a global model of excellence for the development of high-growth technology startups.

MEMBER

Ministère de l’Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie

The Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie supports sustainable economic growth in Québec, contributes to the rapid development of research and innovation, and ensures responsible governance of energy resources.

MEMBER

Réseau Capital

Réseau Capital, the Québec Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, is the only private equity association that brings together all stakeholders involved in the Québec investment chain. Its mission is to contribute to the development and efficient operation of the private equity industry.

MEMBER

Montréal International

For more than 25 years, Montréal International (MI) has contributed to building Greater Montréal’s international reputation and prosperity by acting as a driving force for economic development.

MEMBER

Ville de Montréal

The Service du développement économique guides and supports Montréal businesses as they grow. It collaborates with partners in the business ecosystem to accelerate Montréal’s economy through a sustainable, innovative and inclusive approach.

Key Ecosystem Players

McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship

The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship is the hub of entrepreneurial activity at McGill University. Its mission is to support McGill entrepreneurs as they seek to build innovative companies with a purpose.

Mila

Founded by Professor Yoshua Bengio, Mila rallies researchers specializing in the field of deep learning. Recognized globally for its significant contributions to the field of deep learning.

Health Technology Catalyst | CTS

A non-profit with 15 years of experience, CTS accelerates healthtech startups with à la carte support, strategic investor access, and global market entry, empowering impact-driven founders to scale with purpose.

Startupfest

A global gathering of the world's best entrepreneurs, founders, investors and mentors. It features world-class content across three days of keynotes, interactive how-to sessions, thought-provoking predictions, and a healthy dose of irreverence.

Espace CDPQ

In Québec, venture capitalists converge on a single location: Espace CDPQ. It provides pooled networks, expertise and opportunities that foster a thriving VC ecosystem. Home to 26 VC funds, it is Canada's largest venture capital community.

Centech

Centech is a non-profit Deep Tech incubator supporting entrepreneurs in sectors like Manufacturing, Telecom, energy, Cleantech, medical technologies, and digital health. It also provides open innovation services to established corporations and is ranked among the world’s top 10 university business incubators by UBI Global.

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If you are interested in working with us to drive global attention to your ecosystem, please get in touch with Marina Krizman, Director of Business Development.

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