Web Summit Vancouver 2026 brought the world's leading founders, investors, and policymakers to our city this May 11th to 14th. From putting UBC ventures on the pitch stage to facilitating panels on global issues, UBC drove conversations about science, climate, innovation, and more.
The Climate Innovation Zone
At the Climate Innovation Zone, Innovation UBC partnered with NorthX Climate Tech to bring UBC ventures face-to-face with investors and judges from Osler Hoskin and Harcourt, Active Impact Investments, Moment Energy, ClimateDoor, and Tandem Innovation Group.
UBC Ventures on the Pitch Stage
In the May 13th University Power Pitches, three UBC ventures showcased the breadth of climate innovation emerging from B.C.'s academic ecosystem:
Tydra Labs (Presenter: Jaiya Varshney) is developing a vegan, hydrated form of fibrillated chitin from local food and agricultural waste, starting with cosmetics and building toward broader applications. The company closed an oversubscribed $1.2 million financing round earlier this year and had 50 cosmetic labs ready to test its material at the time of the competition.
Sustainable Bioproduct Innovations (Presenter: Corwin Hiebert) has created a chia-based food ingredient designed to replace saturated fats in consumer-packaged goods. A UBC-led blind taste test found 70% of participants preferred a zero-fat product made with the ingredient, and the company is actively working with 30 companies on R&D.
PrecisionPest Guard (Presenter: Ibtehal Alsallaiy) is building an image-based pest detection and treatment platform for greenhouses that can reduce pest control solution use by 30% while cutting the manual labour of weekly pest counts.
On May 14th at NorthX's Women in Climate Tech Pitches, four more UBC ventures competed: insporos (Mallory Flynn), Carbonyx (Mia Stankovic), Tersa Critical Minerals (Barinder Rasode), and Tydra Labs made a second appearance.
Feeding the Future: The AgTech Panel
Innovation UBC and the UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems co-hosted Feeding the Future: Doubling Down on Canadian AgTech Innovation on May 13th, making the case for bold investment in Canada's food system at this critical juncture. From climate pressures and supply chain volatility to trade uncertainty, the panel argued that Canadian growers and processors need better tools and stronger backing.
Panelists included Pamela Ambriz (Vitalus Nutrition), Tyler Groeneveld (Protein Industries Canada), and UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems professors Dr. Tianxi Yang and Dr. Sumeet Gulati.
At another panel on May 14th, Hydrogen: From Material Science to Scale Up Challenges, UBC spin-off VulcanX's Omar Herrera joined the conversation and shared the technical, economic, and operational challenges of deploying hydrogen at scale.
UBC Ventures Making Waves
CURA Takes the Top Prize
The highlight of the week: CURA, a UBC spin-off decarbonizing cement production, won the Web Summit Vancouver 2026 PITCH Competition.
Cement is one of the hardest industries to decarbonize, and CURA's win on the global stage signals just how far this technology has come. Watching co-founder Sabrina Scott take Centre Stage was a moment worth celebrating.
UBC Ventures Capture Investor Interest
Exciting announcements kept coming throughout the week. D2Type Health, NZ Technologies, and 3C Therapeutics were among the first ventures awarded funding through Innovate BC's Life Sciences Integrated Marketplace, with ventures across the program receiving over $5.3 million through the Government of British Columbia and Pacific Economic Development Canada.
Web Summit Vancouver 2026 made one thing clear: the future of climate and science innovation is being built right here in Canada. At the Climate Innovation Zone, the world saw that future come to life, as industry leaders connected with the researchers and founders who are turning bold ideas into lasting change.
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