Founders from the University of Waterloo raised more than $14 billion USD in venture capital in 2024, according to the latest 2025 rankings by PitchBook, a company that tracks global venture capital and private equity markets. Waterloo's entrepreneurial ecosystem continues to make an impact locally and globally with more than 639 founders launching 527 companies.
"Universities are an essential launching pad for entrepreneurs in Canada, and vital to the Canadian economy," says John Dick, senior director, Founder Development at Velocity - Waterloo's flagship entrepreneurship centre. "The University of Waterloo graduates continue to overperform expectations and deliver outstanding value while solving major challenges on a global level."
Waterloo now ranks as the 18th top university in the world for producing founders, rising four spots from 2023, and is second amongst all post-secondary institutions in Canada for producing startup founders with undergraduate degrees. University of California, Berkeley was ranked in the top spot overall.
Waterloo is recognized as a leading global research-intensive university renowned for entrepreneurship and innovation, providing co-op and work-integrated learning at scale with impact. Aspiring student entrepreneurs have access to for-credit programs along with support, mentorship and funding in more than 45 programs that includes Velocity, the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and the GreenHouse Social Innovators in Training program.
Since 2008, Velocity has helped launch more than 500 startups that together exceed $40 billion in enterprise value.
That momentum is spurring the tech sector in the Waterloo region as well. According to the latest insights from CBRE, Waterloo Region ranks seventh in North America in the company's annual tech talent scorecard. Tech talent comprises 11.7 per cent of total employment in Waterloo region, with many of those roles in startups.
"Entrepreneurial researchers and students are drawn to Waterloo because of its unique ecosystem," Dick says. "The supports, resources and mentorship required regardless of where founders find themselves within their commercial venture journey are always at their fingertips."
