Ocean Startup Project Announces Recipients of 2025 Ocean Challenge: Boost Funding
The Ocean Startup Project has announced the latest cohort of startups receiving support through the Ocean Challenge: Boost program. This initiative, initially launched in 2024, continues efforts to accelerate sustainable ocean technology in Canada. Eligibility for this exclusive follow-on funding was extended to alumni of the Ocean Startup Project’s Challenges and Lab2Market Oceans teams, reinforcing a commitment to long-term support for emerging ocean tech ventures.
Ocean Idea Challenge 2025 Applications are Open Nationwide
The Ocean Startup Project has officially opened applications for the 2025 Ocean Idea Challenge, inviting aspiring entrepreneurs, researchers, and technical experts to pursue developing solutions for critical ocean challenges. Applications are now open until April 9, 2025, this initiative provides funding, mentorship, and structured guidance to help participants refine and validate their ideas.
Ocean Startup Project Announces Fifth Lab2Market Oceans / Validate Cohort with Teams from Across Canada
The Ocean Startup Project proudly kicks off the fifth cohort of its Lab2Market Oceans / Validate program this week, welcoming 21 new teams tackling pressing challenges in the blue economy.
The eight-week program, hosted by Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador, is designed to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and faculty. By providing expert-led training, mentorship, and strategic guidance, the program empowers teams to reimagine their ocean research concepts and uncover potential commercialization pathways.
Ocean AID: Tackling Ghost Gear for a Cleaner Ocean
We hear about ocean health all of the time—rising sea levels, microplastics, pollution and debris—but what does cleaning the ocean actually involve? Ocean AID, supported by the Ocean Startup Project, is leading the way in turning these big ideas into real action, by tackling one of the ocean's most stubborn and costly problems: removing ghost gear.
Fourth Cohort of Ocean Startup Challenge Welcomes Sixteen Early-Stage Companies
The Ocean Startup Project is proud to announce the 16 innovative companies selected as part of the 2024 Ocean Startup Challenge cohort. Each startup will receive up to $25,000 in non-dilutive funding, as well as a comprehensive support package to accelerate the growth of their ocean-focused solutions.
This year, the Ocean Startup Challenge attracted 56 applications from across Canada, with many emerging companies submitting their first application to break into the ocean startup scene.
The chosen startups span various sectors of the blue economy, including sustainable seafood, renewable ocean energy, autonomous vessels, and marine biotechnology. Notably, there was a surge in seaweed-related innovations, which reflects the growing interest in sustainable ocean solutions and the diverse opportunities within the blue economy.
Fourth Ocean Startup Challenge Launches with up to $25,000 in Funding, Plus Resources & Game-Changing Opportunities for Innovators
The Ocean Startup Project is thrilled to announce the launch of its fourth Ocean Startup Challenge. Innovators and entrepreneurs from across Canada are invited to apply for a chance to help transform their idea and early stage ocean startups into impactful, scalable businesses.
The Ocean Startup Challenge offers up to $25,000 in awards for winning teams, along with valuable business development support, including mentorship, one-on-one sessions with industry experts, and extensive networking opportunities. This year’s program aims to continue the Project’s mission of fostering innovation and growth within Canada’s ocean economy, propelling the nation to the forefront of the global blue economy.
Twenty-Five Early Stage Startups Selected for the 2024 Ocean Idea Challenge
The Ocean Startup Project is thrilled to announce the 25 innovative startups selected to participate in the 2024 Ocean Idea Challenge. These startups will unlock up to $7,000 each to support early-stage customer discovery efforts as they reach the challenge’s milestones. The program also provides mentorship, networking opportunities, workshops, and more to help these ventures turn their ideas into viable solutions for sustainable ocean industries.
The 2024 Ocean Idea Challenge received 56 applications from across Canada, with notable increases in submissions from British Columbia and Quebec. Eight of the participants have also recently completed our Lab2Market Oceans programming (Validate or Discover), which demonstrates the success of our oceans-focused continuum of training and development for early-stage startups.
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster Announces $8M Ocean Startup Project – Phase 3
(Montreal) Today, at the second annual Oceanfest event at Startup Fest, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC) alongside project partners announced Phase 3 of the Ocean Startup Project. With a total project value of $8,020,000, the OSC is providing $5 million in funding, with $2.0 million in funding from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), $450 thousand from Mitacs and the balance coming from industry partners.
In 2020, the OSC announced its first innovation ecosystem project called the Ocean Startup Project, bringing together regional incubators and accelerators across Atlantic Canada to work together collectively for the first time to inspire, initiate, and invest in new and early-stage ocean companies. Now pan-Canadian in focus, the Ocean Startup Project has helped more than 155 new ocean ventures become established and just four years after being announced, was named a top accelerator in North America by Startup Genome’s global report on the strongest startup ecosystems in the blue economy for 2023.