Waterloo Tech Week

Waterloo Tech Week

Let’s celebrate what makes Waterloo, Waterloo. We’re kicking off Waterloo Tech Week on Friday, September 11 at 7:00 PM with a celebration of the builders, ideas, and community that make this region special. Join people from across Waterloo’s tech ecosystem for a night of connection, inspiration, and, of course, snacks. Whether you’re a founder, student, operator, investor, technologist, or simply curious about what’s being built here, this is your chance to meet the people helping shape what comes next. We’ll begin with a quick introduction to Waterloo Tech Week before moving into a casual mixer. There will be activities throughout the evening, along with light snacks, refreshments, and a limited number of Waterloo Tech Week swag items. Event Details Doors open at 7:00 PM The event runs from 7:00 to 10:00 PM Casual mixer and activities throughout the night Light snacks and refreshments Limited Waterloo Tech Week swag Capacity is limited, so be sure to register early. A special thank you to HRT, CIGI, and Augment for helping make this event possible. Come be part of something great, right here in Waterloo. See you there.

Muskan Waraich + 2 more

Building before the big achievement - where progress is the proof. Unbound is kicking off at Waterloo Tech Week - and this one’s for the people in the middle. Join us for an afternoon of: 🔥 fireside panel with up to 6 industry professionals, big tech ambassadors, startup founders, etc. Basically the ones who have done it, are doing it, and are just getting started — honest stories, lessons, and the parts of building that usually get left out. ⚡ A 90-minute speed hackathon where 50+ HACKERS in teams go from idea → build → showcase, with one team taking home the Winning title + a 1:1 call with the panelist of their choice + two teams that win honourable mention signed certificates. 🤝 A networking mixer to wrap it up - grab some refreshments, meet other builders, and keep the conversations going beyond the event. Ambition is the only prerequisite you need to get into this room: 📍 E7 Engineering, University of Waterloo - IDEAs Clinic design studio space 🗓️ Saturday, September 12 ⏰ 12:00–4:00 PM Come build, meet people, and leave knowing what it means to be Unbound. Find us if you have any questions - Website: https://www.becomeunbound.or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/become-unbound/

Simar Boparai

Back by popular demand. Last year's game became one of the most talked about nights of Waterloo Tech Week, so we're running it back. Cards, good company, and a room full of the sharpest students on campus. Come test your bluffs, meet the Slash team, and link up with some of the best builders at Waterloo. No poker experience needed. See you guys there! 📅 September 12th 🕔 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM 📍 Location: Pearl Sullivan Engineering (PSE) 2409 IDEAs Clinic Spots are limited, RSVP to lock yours in.

Sip & Scale Waterloo + 6 more

Secure your spot here . This step is mandatory for approval. If your spot is not approved, your full payment will be refunded within one week - we only charge you once you're officially in. Waterloo Tech Week starts here - on a rooftop, at golden hour, with the region's most ambitious builders in one place before the week officially begins. Sip & Scale is bringing its first-ever Waterloo event to the Builders Club rooftop, and we're kicking off Tech Week with the best possible view of the city. When you walk in, you'll find 🌇 The Kitchener skyline going gold as the sun drops 🍽️ Dinner with a variety of choices + dessert once the skyline's dark 🎧 A DJ setting the mood 📸 Photographers and videographers catching the night 🎨 An artist drawing your portrait live 💸 A $50 giveaway - be there and you'll figure out how 🖼️ A custom selfie frame for the gram! 💡 The exact conversations you came to Tech Week hoping to have This isn't a stand-around-with-a-name-tag kind of night. It's the everyone from the whole week, together on night one, when everyone's still fresh and the energy's highest. Designers next to ML engineers next to founders next to creators - different lanes colliding on purpose, because that's where the good ideas (and good co-founders) come from. Who's in the room ✦ Founders - from first-timers with an MVP to people closing their Series B rounds. ✦ Waterloo's best students - engineers, designers, and CS talent from UWaterloo and Laurier already shipping side projects and startups. ✦ Operators & creators - early builders at the startups everyone's about to hear about, and people with real audiences online. ✦ The wider ecosystem - investors, accelerators, and leaders from across Canada and beyond. These are people who'll be running companies, leading teams, and writing the checks - soon, if not already. You want to know them now, and you want them to know you. The teams behind it Sip & Scale - A global community for founders and builders going from 0 → 1, running curated dinners, mixers, and socials across 35 cities. 1,500+ builders, 30 universities, and now Waterloo. Stanley by Stan (hiring) - Stanley is your AI Head of Content, giving you the chance to automate your growth and focus on building your brand and company. We’re giving everyone who attends this event a month free of Stanley Pro! Excited to see you all there. Interfaze (YC P26) (hiring) - A new model architecture for deterministic tasks achieving the highest accuracy, precision and consistency for tasks like OCR, Audio understanding, Structured Data Extraction and more. Motherboard Repair Canada + Graphics Repair - This event is facilitated with support from Motherboard Repair Canada & Graphics Repair, helping keep Waterloo’s builder community moving. They provide advanced electronics repair including data recovery, GPU repair, BGA rework, and Apple product repairs at Oro - Most of us dread the moments where dressing suddenly matters - the first date, the interview, the meeting that could change everything. Oro is the personal stylist that makes sure you never show up wrong. There's a secret prize for best dressed - use your unfair advantage and download Oro. Builders Club - This event is hosted at Builders Club, the private clubhouse in downtown Kitchener where the region's most serious builders actually work with support from Motherboard Repair Canada. This place is home to founders like Joseph Fung (three exits and counting) and teams like AllMind ($2M+ ARR), and it's not somewhere you can just walk into. But for one night, their rooftop is ours - and you're on it. Good to know 👕 Dress: business casual, rooftop-ready - come as the best version of you. There's a prize on the line for best dressed ;) 📱 Bring: yourself and a charged phone. ⏰ Timing: doors at 7. Come early! Golden hour is the whole point, and there's only so much space. 🎁 Swag: exclusive merch from our partners for early arrivals. Get there early and grab yours before it's gone. A couple of notes 📸 There'll be photographers and videographers capturing the night for recaps - by coming through, you're cool with being in a few shots we and our partners might share. 🎟️ Being shortlisted holds your place, but it isn't a seat until you RSVP below. Lock it in so we know to expect you. 💬 Questions? Text Sunny . You're on the shortlist You texted Stanley, he liked what he saw, and he pulled you for this room - out of everyone who wanted in. That's not nothing. Admission is free and the room is capped at 100, so the last step is yours: lock in your spot below before it's gone. Let's build something real. IG @sipnscale · sipnscale.co

Rita Bhowmik + 3 more

++ pivot is a 12-hour adaptive hackathon where every team is forced to rethink their solution. ++ instead of revealing the entire challenge at the beginning, the challenge unfolds throughout the day. ++ the event is designed to reward adaptability, thoughtful decision-making, and the ability to build under changing requirements.

Eimaan Ahmad + 2 more

What is it actually like to build as a Muslim founder inside a Muslim startup ecosystem? Join founders from Barakah Labs for a conversation on the community, shared values, networks, and environment that shape their experience building, and what other founders and students can learn from it. Featuring Kensho Ando Heng and Abdur-Rehman Sajid of Zero to Agent, and Mirza Mushtaq Baig of KineticAI Labs. Hosted by Mohammed Saqib of Barakah Labs. Sunday, September 13 · 2–4 PM Graduate Lounge, University of Waterloo Part of Waterloo Tech Week .

Fei Wang + 2 more

Waterloo Tech Week: Show & Tell A social for students in tech—bring a project if you've got one: code, a PCB, a robot, whatever you've been building, and demo it. No project? Come anyway, meet people, see what others are building, give feedback! Casual format, good conversations, snacks provided. We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here, and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca

Waterloo Tech Week

Let’s talk about raising venture capital. Join us on Sunday, September 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at Den 1880 for a fireside chat with Garage VC and Inovia Capital. Raising capital can be one of the most exciting and challenging parts of building a company. This conversation will explore the fundraising journey, what investors look for, how founders can prepare, and what it takes to build a productive relationship with the right investment partners. Whether you’re actively raising, thinking ahead to a future round, or simply curious about how venture capital works, you’ll leave with fresh perspectives to bring back to your own journey. Following the fireside chat, there will be an opportunity to connect with founders, investors, and other members of Waterloo’s tech community. Event Details Sunday, September 13 6:00 to 9:00 PM Den 1880 Fireside chat with Garage VC and Inovia Capital Community conversation and connection Space is limited, so be sure to register early. Bring your questions, meet the community, and get a closer look at the road to raising venture capital.

Jiahao Wang + 2 more

Join SeedPort and the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) during Waterloo Tech Week for a practical in-person session designed for Canadian tech founders, executives, and R&D leaders looking to better understand and access non-dilutive funding. Learn how non-dilutive capital can support R&D, commercialization, hiring, and growth while helping founders preserve equity and reach key milestones before their next raise. What We’ll Cover: Non-Dilutive Funding Landscape : Explore grants, tax credits, and government funding opportunities for Canadian tech companies. Funding Strategy & Best Practices : Learn how to identify, prioritize, and sequence funding opportunities. OCI Programs & Founder Support : Discover key OCI programs, company fit, and how to engage with OCI. Practical Examples : See how companies combine different sources of non-dilutive funding. Interactive Q&A : Bring your questions on eligibility, timing, project fit, and funding strategy. Featured Speakers: Fernanda Navarro, MBA – Business Development & Commercialization Manager, OCI Jiahao Wang, Ph.D. – Co-Founder, SeedPort Who Should Attend: Canadian tech founders, co-founders, CEOs, CTOs, and R&D leaders looking to fund commercialization and extend runway without dilution. 🍕 Complimentary lunch and drinks will be provided.

Ayoola Gbade-Bello + 2 more

This is a hosted brunch and panel conversation for founders, operators, and investors on the question most of us avoid: what actually outlives the person who built it? Expect guided story prompts at every table, one live Memory Capsule™ recording, and a panel spanning generational wealth, family business succession, and cultural heritage. Here's your first look at who's joining us at The Legacy Brunch on September 14. Every application is reviewed individually — we're not just filling seats, we're building the right room. We'll follow up shortly to confirm your spot or let you know your place on the waitlist. In the meantime, add September 14, 2026 (lunchtime, Communitech — the Tannery building, downtown Kitchener — 12:00pm) to your calendar. Looking forward to a great conversation. The Legacy Brunch Team

XPRIZE Canada Hub Tamas + 1 more

Join the XPRIZE Canada Hub for an interactive session exploring how global innovation prizes are designed and how problem-first thinking can sharpen your own approach to the world's hardest challenges. We'll start with how XPRIZE turns ambitious ideas into validated, real-world solutions to some of the toughest problems we face - from climate to the rapid advance of AI - and what the Canada Hub is building to scale that work locally. From there, we'll turn to where AI is heading and the technical problems ready for a breakthrough. You'll then work through a real-world challenge together in small groups, and hear about the approaches that have helped XPRIZE alumni succeed in the past. This session is for anyone curious about applying this kind of thinking to real problems, from AI developers, data scientists, engineers, founders, and anyone else interested in innovation. We'll wrap with space to connect with fellow attendees and the XPRIZE Canada Hub team!

Sennah Mostovac + 2 more

Think you’ve got what it takes to be a future CTO? Find a problem you can’t believe AI hasn’t solved yet. Then build the tool that could. Future CTO Demo Day , hosted by MaRS IAF and Google Cloud, is your chance to put your idea to the test. Build something useful, weird or unexpectedly clever, and show us what you can do with AI. The best ideas will get the chance to take the stage, pitch to Google engineers and VCs, and get feedback to help take their build to the next level.

Upside Robotics + 1 more

A Robotics Demo Night with Upside Robotics, ODI, ENVGO & Finite Robotics One building on Gage Ave. Machines that roll, grow, and fly over water. Welcome to one of the most hands-on nights of Waterloo Tech Week 2026. Tucked inside a Kitchener building with more than a century of manufacturing history in its walls, a cluster of the region's boldest hardware teams are proving that Waterloo Region's build-anything spirit is alive and very much in motion. Join us for an evening of live demos, real machines, and candid conversation with the people turning big ideas into working robots. Upside Robotics opens the night, showing off the autonomous systems they're building right here in Kitchener and sharing what it really takes to ship physical products. Finite Robotics brings the ag-tech energy with farm-grade orchard robots—a crew of growers and roboticists building autonomy that rolls straight out of the lab and into real apple orchards, starting with robotic fruit thinning. ENVGO takes things off-road entirely, out onto the water, with electric hydrofoiling vessels and autonomous marine craft that trade drag and fuel for aerospace-grade flight control and AI-native autonomy—boats that don't sail so much as fly. And anchoring it all, Ontario Die International (ODI): a global leader in precision manufacturing since 1923, a reminder of the deep engineering roots this new wave is built on. From steel dies to orchard rovers to hydrofoils that fly over water—all under one roof, all from the same address. Whether you're a student chasing your first robotics gig, a founder in the trenches, an ag-tech or marine-tech enthusiast, or just someone who loves watching machines do impressive things, come see what happens when a century of know-how and a new wave of builders share the same Gage Ave home. Real robots. Real builders. One legendary Kitchener building. Come see what makes Waterloo Region what it is. Agenda: 5:00pm-6:00pm: Drop in, check out each company and speak with experts 6:00pm-6:30pm: Connect and wrap up! We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here, and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca

Workhaus Coworking + 1 more

Human Intelligence (HI) is a Waterloo Tech Week mixer celebrating the people behind Waterloo Region’s technology and innovation community. In a year when so much of the conversation around technology is focused on artificial intelligence, HI takes a step back to focus on something equally important: human connection, collaboration, and community. Hosted by Workhaus, the event brings together founders, entrepreneurs, developers, designers, students, investors, operators, and technology professionals from across the region for an evening of food, drinks, conversation, and connection. Rather than another panel or keynote, HI is designed as an informal and engaging environment where people can meet others outside of their usual networks, exchange ideas, discover opportunities to collaborate, and build relationships. The evening will include interactive elements designed to spark meaningful conversations and make networking feel natural - not transactional. Whether you're building a company, working in the tech sector, exploring your next opportunity, or simply interested in connecting with Waterloo Region’s innovation community, there will be an opportunity to participate. At its core, Human Intelligence is a celebration of the people who make Waterloo’s tech ecosystem what it is. Because while technology continues to evolve, the most valuable connections are still made face-to-face. We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here, and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca

Growth Partner AI

Founders rarely waste months because they are not working hard enough. ​They waste months because they commit too early to the wrong customer, product direction, sales channel, pricing model, or growth strategy. ​A team may spend months improving a product that customers do not urgently need. A founder may hear positive feedback from dozens of people but still struggle to generate revenue. A startup may scale outreach before confirming that its message, offer, and target customer are actually working. ​These often look like execution problems. ​In many cases, they are decision problems. ​This hands-on working session will help founders identify the decisions that matter most, challenge risky assumptions earlier, and avoid spending months on directions that only appear promising. ​This Session Is for You If You Are Asking: ​Who is actually most likely to pay for this? ​Do customers genuinely want the product, or are they simply being polite? ​Should we improve the product, change the positioning, or focus more on sales? ​What should we validate before investing more time, money, or resources? ​What We Will Break Down ​Using real startup examples, we will examine why encouraging signals do not always lead to revenue. ​We will look at situations where people are willing to talk but not willing to buy, where a product solves a real problem but not an urgent one, and where a team keeps adding features even though the real issue is positioning, pricing, trust, or customer selection. ​We will also explore why startups can attract users, followers, pilots, or partnership interest without creating meaningful business value. ​The session will show you how to distinguish between customer, demand, product, pricing, business model, channel, and growth risks, and decide which one should be tested first. ​What You Will Leave With ​You will leave with a practical decision framework that can be applied directly to your own startup. ​The framework will help you identify the assumptions most likely to damage the business, separate real evidence from compliments and weak signals, and determine what should be validated before you build, sell, hire, or scale further. ​You will also apply the framework to one real decision your company is currently facing. ​By the end of the session, you should have one priority assumption to test, one low-cost experiment to run, and a clearer next step for your startup. ​Who This Is For ​This session is designed for early-stage founders, pre-seed and seed-stage teams, and startup operators working across product, growth, sales, strategy, and commercialization. ​It is especially relevant if you are preparing to launch, adjust pricing, choose a customer segment, test a sales channel, enter a new market, or scale customer acquisition. ​You do not need a finished product or an established company to participate. ​You should come with a real customer, product, pricing, sales, channel, or growth decision you are trying to make. ​This is not a motivational startup talk. ​It is a practical working session for founders who want to reduce uncertainty, challenge weak assumptions, and make better decisions before committing another quarter to the wrong direction. ​Event Rundown ​6:00 PM | Doors Open ​Check in, grab light snacks, and meet other founders through light pre-session activities, including the Founder Match Board and Founder Conversation Cards. ​6:30 PM | Session Begins ​6:30 PM to 7:25 PM | Main Session ​We will break down real startup decision traps, examine the risks behind stalled growth, and introduce a practical framework for deciding what to test first. ​7:25 PM to 7:40 PM | Founder Decision Exercise ​Apply the framework to one important decision facing your startup. ​7:40 PM to 7:55 PM | Q&A and Case Discussion ​Bring a question related to your customer, product, positioning, pricing, sales channel, or growth strategy. ​7:55 PM to 8:00 PM | Group Photo ​8:00 PM to 8:30 PM | Decision Speed Networking ​Meet founders working through similar challenges, exchange insights, and connect with people who may be able to support your next step.

Sofia Bodnar + 4 more

General Catalyst is co-hosting a one day hackathon in Waterloo where builders ship something real, demo it to the room, and compete for prizes. ​Join solo or with a team of up to 4 . Expect a full day of hacking, mentorship, demos, and good food. ​🏆 Judging + Prizes ​Demos start at 3PM, career fair style: you present at your station while judges and other teams walk the room ​Everyone in the room votes for Audience Favourite ​Winning teams pick from the prize pool, first place picks first ​🗓️ Day of Schedule ​10:00 AM - Doors open: coffee, networking, find your people ​10:30 AM - Kickoff from General Catalyst ​11:00 AM - Hacking starts ​12:00 PM - Lunch ​3:00 PM - Demos + awards ceremony ​4:30 PM - Wrap up ​🛠️ What to Expect ​Open track, build anything, any stack ​Mentors and judges from GC and the Waterloo tech community ​Bring a laptop + charger ​👤 Who Should Join ​Students and recent grads in CS, engineering, math, or anything adjacent ​Builders of any experience level, teams of 1-4 welcome ​Able to attend in person in Waterloo We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here, and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca

Rami Maalouf + 2 more

Boba & Builders 🧋 expo start --boba · Waterloo Tech Week ​Kick off the school year with the Expo team and a FREE drink on us. ​Swing by Sweet Dreams Teashop for good drinks and good company before Hack the North. Come meet the people behind Expo, talk shop or don't, and grab your drink to start the semester right. ​Who's Expo? Expo is the fastest way to build native iOS, Android, and web apps with React. One codebase, 100+ ready-to-use APIs, and cloud services that handle building, shipping, and over-the-air updates so you can push fixes to users without waiting on app store reviews. We power 500,000+ projects and 7 million weekly downloads. If you're building at Hack the North, Expo gets your app from idea to real device fast. ​📍 Sweet Dreams Teashop, University Shops Plaza 📅 Tuesday, September 15, 1:00–3:00 PM 🧋 RSVP required to redeem your free drink

Communitech + 1 more

Raising capital is one of the most competitive phases of the founder journey. But landing investor meetings isn't about pitching every venture capitalist (VC) in sight or sending cold emails with a generic deck—it's about passing the initial filter. Before an investor ever agrees to a 30-minute call, they evaluate your startup against a specific set of underlying criteria. Knowing how to answer these core questions upfront is the difference between getting ignored and getting scheduled. In this fast-paced, high-impact one-hour session, we’ll break down the 7 key questions investors ask behind closed doors to determine if your startup is truly fundable. This session is tailor-made for early-stage tech founders planning to raise capital in the next 6-12 months who want to optimize their pitch, refine their narrative and secure investor meetings with confidence. What’s next? This session is a preview of Communitech’s full Investment Readiness Intensive Track program—a deep dive into how to build a fundable startup, before you pitch to investors. You'll leave this hour with immediate tactics you can apply today. Meet our speaker Gaurav Bansal brings 14+ years of cross-border VC, angel investing, and investment banking expertise to early-stage founders. As Founder & CEO of AMG Venture Partners, he specializes in investment readiness—helping startups master their financial models, narrative, and valuation to successfully raise capital.

Christianna Chow + 2 more

Most students look at the grade, then move on. But what if your assessment feedback was actually one of your biggest career advantages? Join Octopodi Technologies and Rubber Duck Innovations for an interactive workshop designed to help university students transform professor feedback into practical career skills. Through hands-on activities and real-world examples, you'll learn how to identify patterns in your feedback, recognize your strengths, communicate your growth, and use your academic experiences to stand out in internship and job interviews. Whether you're preparing for your first co-op, internship, or full-time role after graduation, this session will help you think about assessment in an entirely new way. You'll learn how to: Identify the career skills hidden in professor feedback Recognize recurring strengths and areas for growth Turn classroom experiences into compelling interview stories Create a practical action plan to become internship and career ready This is an interactive workshop, so come ready to participate, collaborate, and leave with practical strategies you can apply immediately. We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here, and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca

Communitech + 1 more

We’re bringing back a Waterloo Region staple—Startups & Beer! Join founders and tech workers for a casual night of conversation, local brews and community. No panels. No pitches. No pressure. Just good people, good beer and the type of connections that can spark new ideas, future collaborations or your next big move. Whether you’re building a company, working in tech or looking to reconnect with the community, come grab a drink, catch up with familiar faces and meet someone new. Agenda Arrival: 5:30 p.m. Networking: 5:45 - 7:45 p.m. Event Ends: 8 p.m. There will be light snacks, treats and of course beer for those who are 19+! Sponsored by: We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca

Waterloo Tech Week

What does it take to build technology, guide teams, and keep moving forward in a constantly changing industry? Join us on Tuesday, September 15 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM for a fireside chat with Swati Swoboda, Engineering Director at Shopify . This wide-ranging conversation will explore engineering, leadership, innovation, and the realities of building technology in a fast-moving environment. Swati will share her perspectives on the ideas, decisions, and ways of working that help technical teams tackle challenges and create meaningful products. The discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A and an opportunity to connect with others from Waterloo’s tech community. Event Details Tuesday, September 15 6:00 to 9:00 PM THE MUSEUM Fireside chat with Swati Swoboda, Engineering Director at Shopify Audience Q&A and community connection Space is limited, so be sure to register early. Bring your questions and join us for a candid conversation about building in tech today.

NSBE Waterloo + 1 more

The Black tech community in Waterloo is coming together. Presented by the Lanterna Black Innovation Hub and the National Society of Black Engineers: Waterloo Chapter, this mixer is a space to network, meet new people, and dig into the future of AI usage. Expect icebreakers, panels, and breakout groups designed to spark real conversation about how AI is shaping our work and our world and how you can make it work for you. Come connect, learn, and be part of the community building what's next.

Yiyan Huang + 4 more

Ramp is coming to Waterloo Tech Week! ⚙️ Join us for dinner with former Ramp SWE interns and exceptional Waterloo students to hear what it’s like to build at one of the fastest-growing tech startups in North America. You’ll also have the chance to learn more about interning at Ramp and explore potential 2027 internship opportunities. Don’t worry, food and drinks are on us :)

UW/UX Waterloo + 1 more

What does it really take to build a career in design when AI and new tools are changing the industry so quickly? Join Samanthi Jayetileke (Director, Global Product Management & Experience Design at Sun Life Financial), for a conversation about: What companies actually look for in emerging designers Skills that matter beyond the tools Navigating the transition from university to industry Drawing from 18 years of experience across UX design, product management, and leadership, Samanthi will share practical insights on AI, design careers, and finding your path in an evolving industry. Whether you're exploring design for the first time or getting ready to make the jump into industry, come hear what really matters beyond the tools. 📍 QNC 1502 📅 Tues. Sep 15 🕖 6:30-8:00 PM 🍕 Pizza!

Wygo + 6 more

Join us to be transported in time: let the hum of overhead lighting set the backdrop for you to enter a quiet flow state. The daytime buzz will be replaced by a soft, surreal atmosphere designed for deep focus. Only whispering allowed. Even in demos. Lmao. This session is for creatives who find clarity when the rest of the city is asleep. It's for the projects that are best worked on after dark. It's for solo builders looking for a solitary but shared experience. Come to write, read, code, think, craft, and tinker.

Thomas Lenh + 2 more

Pear VC is hosting a Poker night @ Akatos!​ Join us on September 15th at 10pm ​About Pear VC: ​Pear VC is a pre-seed and seed-stage venture firm that partners with founders from their earliest days to build category-defining companies. Founded in 2013 by Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson, we’ve backed breakout companies like DoorDash, Cognition, Vanta, Listen Labs, Gusto, Forus, Guardant Health, and Gravis Robotics. We’re company builders and operators—our partners have collectively founded 15+ startups—and we help teams find product-market fit, recruit their first engineering hires, and tackle their most critical early challenges.

Negin Safdari + 1 more

Join us for our 2nd annual Waterloo Tech Week edition of Leaders & Lattes at 318 Duke Street West in Downtown Kitchener. Come for a morning of coffee and treats, connection, and community alongside top Canadian leaders and peers who are building our buzzing tech ecosystem. We hope to see you there. We're eager to hear what you've been up to, your Q4 plans, what you're excited about, how you're enjoying Waterloo Tech Week, how your summer has treated you and more. We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here, and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca

Naomi Walch + 2 more

Are you around for Waterloo Tech Week, into AI and finance, and open to your next role? Come hang out. Join us for a fireside chat with Abraham Thomas , building the AI verification layer for finance, followed by casual networking. Sandwiches and drinks will be provided! About Abraham Abraham Thomas is the founder and CEO of Windkey. He previously founded Quandl (Toronto-based; $20M venture capital raised; 9 of 10 largest hedge funds as customers) and scaled it from two founders to acquisition by Nasdaq. Before that, he was a portfolio manager and head of US trading at Simplex, a Japanese hedge fund. Windkey AI Finance lags in AI adoption. Finance professionals don't trust the accuracy of AI outputs, and struggle to incorporate AI into their daily workflows. Windkey is building the AI verification layer for finance to solve this. Windkey is hiring for early-career engineering and GTM roles! Learn more at https://windkey.ai/early . ​About Northside Ventures ​Northside Ventures is a pre-seed/seed stage fund backing exceptional Canadian founders at their earliest stages, including some of Waterloo's most ambitious founders (with ventures like Datacurve, Solcoa, Boardy, and GRAM). Northside invests across software, AI infrastructure, and frontier technology. We work closely with founders from day one, helping them find early customers, navigate fundraising, and build the networks needed to scale. About Slash Slash (YC S21) has built the future of business banking for modern companies, combining high-yield treasury accounts, best-in-class card rewards, and automated spend management in one platform. Slash was started in Waterloo by Kevin Bai and is hiring for Waterloo interns/FTE.

Ammar Adam + 2 more

Augment builds Augie, an AI teammate for logistics. Freight brokerage runs on phone calls, email chains, and spreadsheets, and Augie does that work end to end. It is one of the few places where AI agents are running unsupervised against real money and real deadlines, which means the engineering problems are the hard ones: reliability, evals, latency, and what happens when the model is wrong at 2am. The team is coming to Waterloo for an afternoon to talk about how they actually build it. What's happening The room is open from 1 to 4:30. Boba, Matcha, Hot Chocolate, and swag the whole time. Augment engineers will give a technical talk and live demo of the systems behind Augie, how they architect agents that hold up in production, what broke on the way there, and what they are building next. The rest of the afternoon is open floor networking and mingling. Open to all Waterloo students. Augment is a Catalyst Sponsor of Waterloo Tech Week 2026.

John Donohue + 1 more

Visit the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and get a peek at the labs where quantum technology is built. See how individual atoms are trapped, how quantum circuits are controlled and cooled, and how photons are measured one-by-one, in labs contributing both to academic research and the growing quantum industry in the Waterloo region.

Waterloo Engineering + 1 more

Canada Is The Move: A Conversation for Ambitious Builders You have heard the narrative. Want to build something big? Go to Silicon Valley. We disagree, and we have brought in some people who will tell you exactly why. Join the Faculty of Engineering and the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, for an evening with entrepreneurial Waterloo alumni and Chris Albinson, Managing Partner of the True North Fund, for a real conversation about why the most exciting place to build right now is right here in Canada. No rehearsed answers. Just honest talk from founders, like panelist Michael Litt, who said "Hell no, we won't go." Following the discussion, there will be time to network with alumni. Come curious. Leave inspired by what's possible right here in Canada. 📅 WHEN: Wednesday, September 16, 2026 ⏰ Time: 4:00 p.m. Doors open 4:30 p.m. Panel discussion 5:30 p.m. Networking session 📍WHERE: 2nd Floor Event Space, PSE/ E7 Oh, and the platform you're registering on? Yeah, that's Jocelyne Murphy's. She'll be on the panel!

Shannon Knelsen + 1 more

Innovation doesn't just happen over Zoom calls, in boardrooms or in labs... it happens through meaningful conversations in non-traditional spaces. As part of Waterloo Tech Week, Brains On Tap is hosting a special double-header edition of our Non-Lecture Experience, bringing together two engaging speaker brains to explore the human side of technology and innovation. Grab a drink (non-alcoholic-options always available), meet interesting people, and discover why learning belongs in the community. **Tickets for sale on TWB Brewing event website August 20th, 2026** We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here, and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca

Waterloo Tech Week

The products people use every day are built through countless technical decisions and close collaboration. Join us on Wednesday, September 16 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM for a panel featuring four engineers from Meta . Hear different perspectives on the work behind global technology products, from navigating technical challenges to collaborating across disciplines and turning ambitious ideas into real-world experiences. With four engineers at the table, the panel will offer a range of experiences and viewpoints, followed by an opportunity for audience questions. Event Details Wednesday, September 16 6:00 to 9:00 PM Catalyst Commons Panel featuring four engineers from Meta Audience Q&A and community connection Space is limited, so be sure to register early. Step behind the build and hear directly from the engineers bringing technology to life.

Kashaf Salaheen

CTRL+Roast: Resume Roast & Pitch Night Bring your resume, leave with a better one. CTRL+She is bringing the heat to Waterloo Tech Week with a night of honest (and hilarious) resume feedback, followed by lightning pitches where you sell yourself , not just your startup. Real talk, real laughs, real connections - for uni students and early professionals ready to level up. This is for female-identifying individuals. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctrlplus_she/

Chloe-Amelie Aikman + 1 more

HELLO, I'm Chloe-Amelie (CHAM CHAM) and I invite you to put on your wizard hat and add a bit of magic (dare i say... whimsy) to the products and experiences you use everyday. BECAUSE WIZARDING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS. Whether you're a graphic designer, aspiring creator, ux/ui product baddie, or a mix of everything, come spend the evening challenging your perspective of what design can look and feel like. Sometimes the greatest discoveries come from a bit of strategic, unstructured time to play (or as a result of a CN Tower Look-a-Like contest?) The structure: Wizard Alignment: 20 minute intro and transformation from designer to wizard Challenges: Choose a design challenge from my collection, or make your own Lock in O'clock: Furiously reimagine the product you've been given, go off the rails, collaborate or work independently SHOW US WHAT YOU DID (DEMOS)

erika ❤︎ + 1 more

About the Event What is GraphWar? GraphWar is an artillery-style game where you use mathematical functions to hit your opponents. Write a function, launch your shot, and use the Cartesian plane to navigate around obstacles and teammates while trying to hit your enemies! 📖 GraphWar Tutorial ❓ GraphWar FAQ 🎮 GraphWar is Free on Steam! You can also play it for free on any operating system, by downloading Java Runtime along with the GraphWar.jar file! The Great GraphWar is a friendly tournament where students can compete for the title of GraphWar Champion & WIN PRIZES 📈⚔️ Never played before? No worries! Beginners are welcome. We’ll start with a tutorial round to get everyone familiar with the game before kicking off the full competition. Cheatsheet: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/ba3otrioa1 💻 What to Bring Bring your own laptop! You’ll need one to play GraphWar during the tournament.

Katie Ko + 2 more

The Ripple team is in town, and we're hanging out at the Akatos house over brunch :) Open to anyone interested in startups / venture! Whether you're looking for your next internship or vibecoding an idea during nights and weekends, we'd love to meet you! Come have some breakfast and tell us what you're brewing (pun intended) with Claude tokens. Bring your friends too - we're hopefully more interesting than your linear algebra class. Special thanks to Jerry and the Akatos folks for inviting us into their lovely space! More about us: We are inception-stage partners to interesting founders building advanced technologies. Our goal is to be the earliest backers in a founder's journey and to amplify their life's work through hands-on support + opening up customer/ talent networks.

Rose Fisher

Join Canada's Ocean Supercluster and representatives from University of Waterloo and government as we announce over $8 million CAD in investment into two cutting-edge ocean technology projects led by waterloo ocean innovators.

Naomi Walch + 2 more

Calling all engineers ⚡ Looking for a mid-day caffeine break? Northside Ventures and Fika Ventures are teaming up to bring you a selection of specialty hot drinks in the first floor atrium of the E7 building from 11am-1pm on Thursday, September 17th. Expect espresso drinks, matcha, chai lattes and more. Swing by in between classes, grab a drink on us, and meet members from both firms. We'd love to hear what you're working on, your spikiest idea, or the space you're curious about. Sign up early, as space is limited. See you there! About Northside Ventures ​Northside Ventures is a pre-seed/seed stage fund backing exceptional Canadian founders at their earliest stages, including some of Waterloo's most ambitious founders (with ventures like Datacurve, Solcoa, Boardy, and GRAM). Northside invests across software, AI infrastructure, and frontier technology. We work closely with founders from day one, helping them find early customers, navigate fundraising, and build the networks needed to scale. About Fika Ventures Fika Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on B2B startups, with an emphasis on pre-Series A companies. Our expertise spans vertical AI, fintech, developer tools, manufacturing, supply chain, AI services, energy, and healthcare. Of course, AI touches all of these categories. We pride ourselves on a hands-on, collaborative approach, viewing ourselves as true partners in building your business—not the other way around. Fika has raised four funds and invested in more than 100 B2B companies. Notable investments include BuildOps, FieldAI, Atticus, Payabli, SGNL, OpenPath, Edge Impulse, Sift, Ivo, and Siro.

Wygo + 1 more

"Use more tokens", "We're all cooked", "I don't even read the code anymore". Sound familiar? It doesn't have to be this way! Fight against obsolescence by learning how to write code faster. Join me for a couple hours of getting back to the fundamentals, nourishing our brains, and learning how to code again (or for the first time!). In this workshop, I'll take you through the basics of Vim motions and Neovim (and explain some of my coding philosophy along the way). Workshop link: https://github.com/christopheroka/neovim-workshop What are Vim motions? Imagine a world where you could communicate with your computer at the speed of thought. A world where AI feels slow in comparison to your typing speed. A world where repetitive strain injuries don't exist and the word "mouse" only refers to a small rodent that gets into your house and chews up your drywall. This is the world of Vim motions. Delete a line, jump to the curly brackets, and paste the line you just deleted - all of that in 5 keypresses "ddf{p". No mouse required. It's intimidating at first, but don't worry! Anybody can (and should) learn Vim, and it's something you can incrementally adopt into your workflow. What's Neovim? You can use Vim in any IDE, but Neovim is the IDE built for Vim. You can do more than just edit code with only your keyboard. You can navigate files, have integrated terminals, and customize it to your heart's content. PS: An alternative title for this workshop was "How to code on a plane". Why? A lack of internet shouldn't stop you from shipping code. See you there! :q!

Daphne McLarty + 2 more

​Most go-to-market advice is written for later-stage companies. This session isn't. It's for founders who have an idea taking shape but haven't yet figured out how to test whether the market actually wants it, who to validate it with, or how to turn early interest into a real sales motion. ​Thomas Waites, a sales and go-to-market expert, will open with the foundations of go-to-market and founder-led sales, drawn from his own experience as an operator. Then he'll turn it into a live case study with Ranvir Chaudhri, co-founder of Tiny Tube, an Antler portfolio company rebuilding the micro pipette from the ground up. You'll watch Thomas advise Ranvir in real time, the way he would with any founder, then bring your own questions and apply the same thinking to what you're building. ​Expect fewer frameworks for their own sake and more of the tactical stuff: how to test whether a market wants what you're building, how to pick the right people to pilot or beta test with, and how to move from "I think this could work" to an actual go-to-market plan. ​Space is capped at 25 people so the room stays small enough for real conversation. Registration includes a couple of quick questions (we're using them to make sure the room is the right mix of early-stage builders). Once we hit 25, later signups will be added to a waitlist and offered a spot if one opens up. We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here, and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca

Wygo + 1 more

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND (after a first run at the Cansbridge Fellowship Conference!! ) If you: have felt a lifelong responsibility to make the world a better place are full of ambition and want to do something BIG spend your time thinking about complex societal problems and what we should do about them want to figure out how to fund your ideas and projects sustainably feel misaligned with many of the career options available to you want to get paid to do work you love are open to (maybe!!) being your own boss some day 😎 This is the place for you. Join me (Joss!) for a candid talk about the earliest steps of the Wygo team's entrepreneurial journey as we've built a software platform to support in-person community builders. We'll chat about how to root your company in your values, who your cofounders should be, how to choose where you want to build, and what financial structures (including but not limited to VC) will enable you to scale your impact without losing yourself and what you care about. THIS KNOWLEDGE HAS BEEN HARD EARNED -- I've wrestled with these questions and experimented with different business models for hundreds of hours & have come out the other side with a Toronto-based, Canadian-VC backed startup, working with my best friends and solving problems for people I care about. I'm here to tell you it's possible, and I'm here to help you think through these questions for yourself. If you've spent too much time alone in your room thinking about housing and city planning and the electrical grid and sustainable agriculture and energy efficiency and community building and media and healthcare and the economy... it's time to leave the house. This room is probably where you'll meet your (similarly values-aligned) cofounder. See you soon!! -- Joss :)

Yohann Calpu

End Waterloo Tech Week with a fun meetup and live Devin builds. $20 usd credits to all check-ins. $200 usd for selected demos. ​Ship for kicks. Let's have some fun. Agenda: Socialize at 6pm or start building w/ Devin. Demos start at 8:30pm Event continues to 10pm ​Who it's for: ai curious, anyone who builds, students, staff engineers, founders, career-switchers. What happens ​Connections are made ​Live demos from local builders, working software only, demo or it didn't happen ​A live Devin build session: watch an agent take a real task from ticket to PR ​Time to actually talk to the people whose demos you just saw ​Same floor, same bar. If you've shipped something with Devin (or any agent) and want to demo it, say so when you RSVP. ​The details: 6pm, Builders Club, Waterloo. Free food, drinks, and DJ. RSVP takes ten seconds and we do check it at the door. ​Part of Waterloo Tech Week. Devin is built by Cognition. ​kick003 Hosted by DevKick · co-hosted with Builders Club

Sunny Wu + 4 more

💳 If your spot is not approved, your full payment will be refunded within one week - we only charge you once you're officially in. Waterloo Tech Week ends at Akatos, the region's biggest hacker house, with a DJ going all night and the entire tech ecosystem in one place for the last night of the week. When you walk in, you'll find 🏠 Akatos in full swing - the house where Waterloo's next unicorns actually live and build 🎧 A DJ keeping the mood up 🍽️ Food and non-alcoholic drinks to keep the room going 📸 Videographers and photographers capturing it all 🖼️ A custom selfie frame for the gram! 🔥 The people you kept crossing paths with all week, finally with time to actually talk Who shows up ✦ Investors & accelerators - A TON of scouts. Two Small Fish, Dragonfruit, Panache, Entrepreneurs First, Antler, Framework, Inovia, Front Row, Garage, and more still coming ✦ Founders - from first-timers with an MVP to people closing their Series B rounds ✦ Recruiters & hiring teams - top talent partners and technical recruiters looking to hire engineers, designers, and builders for growing teams and startups ✦ Waterloo's best students - engineers, designers, and CS talent from UWaterloo and Laurier already shipping side projects and startups The teams behind it Sip & Scale - a global community for founders and builders going from 0 → 1, running curated dinners, mixers, and socials across 35 cities. 1,500+ builders, 30 universities, and now Waterloo. Akatos - Waterloo's biggest hacker house, and the place a lot of the region's best builders call home base. Part living space, part launchpad, where people move in, ship fast, and build the next thing surrounded by people doing the same. It's not open to the public, so a night inside is a night most people don't get. Tonight, the doors are open just for you. Waterloo Venture Group - WVG is a student venture community and talent network based out of Waterloo, providing pro-bono consultancy for founders from ideation through Series A. Collectively, we’ve supported ventures in raising $8.8M+, hosted flagship programming on founder education, and curated the rooms where teams form and hires happen. Rocket Innovation Studio (hiring) - We provide creative solutions to solve our client's greatest business opportunities. We leverage a people-centric service approach to provide human resources, product, data, and software expertise. By collaborating closely with our international partners Rocket Innovation Studio is able to impact the outcome for millions of clients across the United States and Canada. Two Small Fish Ventures - An early-stage deep tech venture firm that invests in the next frontier of computing and its applications. We back founders early in their journey and support them until they cement their spot as industry-disrupting, world-class giants of the future. Dragonfruit Ventures - An early-stage venture fund backing breakout Consumer Tech and Future of Work companies led by the next generation of founders. We invest at inception and partner with founders who turn product or presence into real traction. We believe distribution is the first wedge, and the best founders know how to use it. We come from the same spaces our founders do. We build in public, think in the open, and use our own platform to help the companies we back get seen, supported, and taken seriously. Oro - Most of us dread the moments where dressing suddenly matters - the first date, the interview, the meeting that could change everything. Oro is the personal stylist that makes sure you never show up wrong. Text it like a friend and get styled for this event :) (best dressed person gets cool swag) Good to know 👕 Dress: casual - come as you are, it's a house. 📱 Bring: yourself and a charged phone. ⏰ Timing: doors at 7, going till 11. Come early - the early birds are almost free and they don't last. 🎁 Swag: exclusive merch from our partners for early arrivals. Get there early and grab yours before it's gone. A couple of notes 📸 There'll be photographers and videographers capturing the night for recaps - by coming through, you're cool with being in a few shots we and our partners might share. 🎟️ Grab your ticket below to lock it in. Early birds are limited and go first ;) 💬 Questions? Text Sunny . Let's build something real — then go celebrate it. IG @sipnscale · sipnscale.com

Larkwin + 1 more

Despite extraordinary advances in development and infrastructure, the software most of us use every day is getting worse. Cluttered interfaces. Dark patterns. Lost work. Spinners that never resolve. We've collectively decided this is normal. This session treats that as a craft problem with a fixable cause. We will have volunteers submit their own product in advance. Be it an onboarding flow, a UI, a signup path or whatever makes sense. We then take it apart live against six rules: Respect Attention Never Lose Work Default To Clarity Speed Is Respect Sweat The Details Works For Who Needs It Each teardown ends with ends with a prescription: three specific changes, ranked by impact It closes with a pledge wall and anyone who wants to sign it, signs it. Built for people who make software and are tired of apologizing for it: senior engineers, designers, product leads, founders past their first release. We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here, and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca