Techopia

AGI Ventures brings AI-curious Ottawans together in ‘grassroots community’ of tech builders

Launched two-and-a-half years ago, AGI Ventures is the brainchild of Hai Nghiem and Neilda Gagné, a pair of Ottawa tech entrepreneurs who wanted to build a “grassroots community” to foster innovative ways of tapping into the power of AI.
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Six initiatives that are animating the downtown this summer

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Congress with hundreds of delegates chooses Ottawa over Washington, D.C.

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From research to partnerships: uOttawa is industry-ready in defence, security and aerospace

Defence and security may dominate headlines in the national capital today, but for the...

From campus to country: How Carleton is advancing net zero in practice

Canada’s path to net-zero emissions by 2050 is often framed in terms of targets...
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City Building Report 2026

Welcome to this year’s City Building report.  It’s safe to say that energy is critical...
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EY Pointing North magazine launch

Event Date: 05/26/2026 Organizer: EY Canada, Telesat, Ottawa Business Journal What does Ottawa need to do...
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Video

The narrative surrounding the Canadian tech sector often focuses on boom-and-bust cycles, brain drain, or the historical demise of past giants. But the numbers tell a different story. Driven by evolutionary waves from telecommunications to software-as-a-service, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence, the national technology ecosystem has quietly produced remarkable long-term enterprise value. New research shows that Ottawa tech unicorns have produced at least one billion-dollar firm every single decade, making it the highest per-capita producer of unicorns in the country. Moreso, local tech ventures account for a staggering three-quarters of all-time wealth creation in Canadian tech history, driving $1.4 trillion in wealth over the past 36 years. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran celebrates Ottawa Innovation Week by speaking with tech veteran Sasha Gera, chief operating officer of HealWell AI. Gera shares his research and insights from his newly launched ledger, Unicorn North, highlighting how Ottawa stacks up against other major Canadian cities and why it remains the most productive, distraction-free destination for building sustainable, hundred-year companies. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 02:22 Introducing Sasha Gera 14:45 Sponsor Segment 17:57 Innovation Week 25:15 Closing and What’s Ahead at OBJ For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Techopia: Is Ottawa the country’s biggest tech wealth generator? | Episode 298
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Insider Only Features

Defence and Security

McGuinty urges businesses to ‘take risks’ as Canada builds defence-tech ecosystem

Canadian entrepreneurs must take risks if they want to cash in on billions of dollars in business opportunities as the federal government ramps up military spending, defence minister David McGuinty said Tuesday.
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Real Estate

Buying Château Montebello would be dream come true for Spa Nordik owner

A years-long dream could become reality for the founder and CEO of Groupe Nordik, who is waiting to hear if his group of investors is successful in its bid to purchase the historic Fairmont Le Château Montebello.
Techopia

Mitel names veteran tech exec Ben Macdonald new sales channel chief

Mitel has hired a new executive whose mission is to grow the telecommunications company’s...

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