Investments
53Portfolio Exits
11Funds
3Partners & Customers
10About Ontario Centres of Excellence
Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) drives the commercialization of cutting-edge research across key market sectors to build the economy of tomorrow and secure Ontario's global competitiveness. In doing this, OCE fosters the training and development of the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and is a key partner with Ontario's industry, universities, colleges, research hospitals, investors and government ministries. A champion of leading-edge technologies, best practices and research, OCE invests in sectors such as advanced health, information and communications technology, digital media, advanced materials and manufacturing, agri-food, aerospace, transportation, energy, and the environment including water and mining. OCE is a key partner in delivering Ontario's Innovation Agenda as a member of the province's Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE). Funded by the Government of Ontario, the ONE is made up of regional and sector-focused organizations and helps Ontario-based entrepreneurs and industry rapidly grow their company and create jobs.

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CB Insights Intelligence Analysts have mentioned Ontario Centres of Excellence in 1 CB Insights research brief, most recently on Mar 20, 2020.
Latest Ontario Centres of Excellence News
Nov 7, 2020
The Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), the non-profit which delivers much of the Government of Ontario’s economic development programming, is in for a brand refresh and change to its governance relationship with the province, BetaKit has learned. The OCE may see its name changed to the Ontario Centre of Innovation, an OCE spokesperson told BetaKit. OCE was originally created in 2002 when the Conservative-led government merged seven separate non-profit centres into one entity. “[This] will bolster the Province’s capacity to advance key COVID-19 recovery and other economic priorities.” – Spokesperson, Minister Fedeli The spokesperson noted the changes have yet to be approved but have been introduced as part of resolutions that are being voted on by OCE’s around 150 members at its annual general meeting (AGM) taking place on November 20. The potential brand refresh for OCE comes as Premier Doug Ford’s government announced legislation as part of Ontario’s 2020 budget that outlines a change in the province’s governance of OCE. The proposed Innovation Centre Governance Act, if passed, would increase the number of seats the minister of economic development, job creation and trade can appoint to OCE’s board of directors. The legislation would permit the minister to appoint up to six members to OCE’s 13-member board. Typically, 12 seats were elected by OCE’s members, with one seat set aside for the organization’s CEO. According to 2020 budget documents, the intention behind the legislation is to “strengthen [OCE] as a central player in Ontario’s innovation ecosystem.” OCE’s mandate will not be affected by the brand and governance changes, the OCE spokesperson told BetaKit, noting that the organization will continue to deliver economic development programming and funding for the province, focused on innovation. Claudia Krywiak, president and CEO of OCE, noted in a statement to BetaKit that her organization welcomes the changes. “We applaud the Government of Ontario’s ongoing commitment to innovation and by strengthening our long-standing partnership we are helping ensure that Ontario businesses have the support they need to innovate and compete globally,” she said. Talks between the province and OCE regarding the brand refresh have been taking place over the last year and a half, the OCE spokesperson indicated. Dealings between Ford’s government and OCE have evolved over the last year, following cuts laid out in the 2019 provincial budget. The April 2019 budget made significant cuts to the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, which is responsible for the majority of the provincial government’s file on innovation and tech sector funding, including OCE’s funding. The budget was the first for Ford’s government, which was looking to create its own, new vision for economic development in the province after the Liberal Party’s more than 15-year tenure. The cuts to the ministry led to a number of innovation hubs laying off employees and re-evaluating programming – OCE among them. An OCE spokesperson told BetaKit last year that OCE saw its base funding cut from $31 million to $13.9 million. This led to the agency laying off nearly half of its staff and implementing major reductions in programming. At the time, OCE also confirmed it had 57 employees following the cuts. That number has since increased to 63 full-time and contract employees. Notably, two months after the release of the 2019 budget, then-finance minister Vic Fedeli was moved to minister of economic development, job creation and trade – reportedly related to the unpopular cuts. Regarding the expected changes for OCE, a spokesperson for Minister Fedeli told BetaKit, strengthening the province’s relationship with the OCE will support the government’s “coordination of innovation initiatives.” As part of the 2020 budget, the province allotted funding for OCE to attract international startups to Ontario. “[This] will bolster the Province’s capacity to advance key COVID-19 recovery and other economic priorities across all of Ontario’s regions where OCE exists and does business,” the spokesperson added. The spokesperson also expressed support for the OCE rebrand, noting that it “reflects [a] long-standing legacy, while bringing their brand into the 21st century as a key facet of Ontario’s world-class innovation ecosystem.” Fedeli’s office also did directly not respond to questions about whether OCE will see any changes to its funding for 2020/2021. As part of the 2020 budget tabled on Thursday, the Government of Ontario allotted a portion of funding for OCE to help build out a program to attract international startups to the region; laying out $3.75 million over two years for a program run by OCE and Toronto Business Development Centre, a non-profit organization that also provides startup programming. The $3.75 million program is meant to attract international startups, initially focused on emerging companies from India. According to Startup India (a federally-run initiative), India has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. It claimed approximately 50,000 startups in India in 2018, between 8,900 to 9,300 being tech companies. Decisions about OCE’s rebrand will be decided following a vote by its members, which includes former board appointees. The changes to provincial governance would come into effect based on the passing of the Innovation Centre Governance Act legislation. “We look forward to working together with our government, industry and academic partners in the coming days and months to help Ontario’s businesses recover and prosper,” said Krywiak.
Ontario Centres of Excellence Investments
53 Investments
Ontario Centres of Excellence has made 53 investments. Their latest investment was in Hopeful as part of their Seed VC on January 1, 2021.

Ontario Centres of Excellence Investments Activity

Date | Round | Company | Amount | New? | Co-Investors | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1/18/2021 | Seed VC | Hopeful | $0.31M | Yes | Berkeley SkyDeck, Ontario Centres of Excellence, Undisclosed Angel Investors, and Vendian Capital | 1 |
8/26/2020 | Unattributed VC | SWTCH Energy | $2.68M | Yes | 2 | |
5/29/2020 | Unattributed | Epineuron Technologies | Yes | Ontario Brain Institute, Ontario Centres of Excellence, and Undisclosed Investors | 1 | |
5/20/2020 | Series A | |||||
3/18/2020 | Seed |
Date | 1/18/2021 | 8/26/2020 | 5/29/2020 | 5/20/2020 | 3/18/2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Seed VC | Unattributed VC | Unattributed | Series A | Seed |
Company | Hopeful | SWTCH Energy | Epineuron Technologies | ||
Amount | $0.31M | $2.68M | |||
New? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Co-Investors | Berkeley SkyDeck, Ontario Centres of Excellence, Undisclosed Angel Investors, and Vendian Capital | Ontario Brain Institute, Ontario Centres of Excellence, and Undisclosed Investors | |||
Sources | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Ontario Centres of Excellence Portfolio Exits
11 Portfolio Exits
Ontario Centres of Excellence has 11 portfolio exits. Their latest portfolio exit was Sensibill on October 03, 2022.
Date | Exit | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Acquirer | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10/3/2022 | Acquired | 12 | |||
9/1/2021 | Acquired | 1 | |||
11/5/2019 | Acquired | 1 | |||
Ontario Centres of Excellence Acquisitions
1 Acquisition
Ontario Centres of Excellence acquired 1 company. Their latest acquisition was OneEleven on August 17, 2020.
Date | Investment Stage | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Total Funding | Note | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8/17/2020 | Other | Asset Sale | 1 |
Date | 8/17/2020 |
---|---|
Investment Stage | Other |
Companies | |
Valuation | |
Total Funding | |
Note | Asset Sale |
Sources | 1 |
Ontario Centres of Excellence Fund History
3 Fund Histories
Ontario Centres of Excellence has 3 funds, including Health Technologies Fund.
Closing Date | Fund | Fund Type | Status | Amount | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7/8/2016 | Health Technologies Fund | $15.33M | 1 | ||
SmartStart Seed Fund | |||||
OCE SmartStart Seed Fund |
Closing Date | 7/8/2016 | ||
---|---|---|---|
Fund | Health Technologies Fund | SmartStart Seed Fund | OCE SmartStart Seed Fund |
Fund Type | |||
Status | |||
Amount | $15.33M | ||
Sources | 1 |
Ontario Centres of Excellence Partners & Customers
10 Partners and customers
Ontario Centres of Excellence has 10 strategic partners and customers. Ontario Centres of Excellence recently partnered with National Research Council Canada on January 1, 2021.
Date | Type | Business Partner | Country | News Snippet | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1/26/2021 | Partner | Canada | McMaster Centre of Excellence receives $1.2M to advance Canadian-made PPE – Brighter World The partnerships will serve as a catalyst in the manufacturing industry , creating thousands of new jobs in years to come , says Selvaganapathy , noting that CEPEM 's recent partnership with Niko Apparel Systems , a Hamilton garment company now producing hospital-grade face masks , has led to the employment of more than 20 people . | 1 | |
1/25/2018 | Partner | Canada | Insight into Infrastructure with CybernetIQ - CENGN The Next Generation Network Program is a Government of Ontario program offered through a partnership between CENGN and the Ontario Centres of Excellence that is providing small and medium-sized enterprises across Ontario access to the CENGN Testbed . | 1 | |
6/23/2017 | Partner | United States | Fintech Sandbox expands to Canada `` This new partnership between FinTech Sandbox and Ontario Centres of Excellence is a unique opportunity that will give the growing fintech ecosystem in Ontario access to data , networks , platforms and events that will help accelerate growth and support the creation of high-quality jobs in the province , '' says Dr. Tom Corr , President and CEO of Ontario Centres of Excellence . | 8 | |
5/8/2017 | Partner | ||||
12/17/2015 | Partner |
Date | 1/26/2021 | 1/25/2018 | 6/23/2017 | 5/8/2017 | 12/17/2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Partner | Partner | Partner | Partner | Partner |
Business Partner | |||||
Country | Canada | Canada | United States | ||
News Snippet | McMaster Centre of Excellence receives $1.2M to advance Canadian-made PPE – Brighter World The partnerships will serve as a catalyst in the manufacturing industry , creating thousands of new jobs in years to come , says Selvaganapathy , noting that CEPEM 's recent partnership with Niko Apparel Systems , a Hamilton garment company now producing hospital-grade face masks , has led to the employment of more than 20 people . | Insight into Infrastructure with CybernetIQ - CENGN The Next Generation Network Program is a Government of Ontario program offered through a partnership between CENGN and the Ontario Centres of Excellence that is providing small and medium-sized enterprises across Ontario access to the CENGN Testbed . | Fintech Sandbox expands to Canada `` This new partnership between FinTech Sandbox and Ontario Centres of Excellence is a unique opportunity that will give the growing fintech ecosystem in Ontario access to data , networks , platforms and events that will help accelerate growth and support the creation of high-quality jobs in the province , '' says Dr. Tom Corr , President and CEO of Ontario Centres of Excellence . | ||
Sources | 1 | 1 | 8 |
Ontario Centres of Excellence Team
8 Team Members
Ontario Centres of Excellence has 8 team members, including current Chief Executive Officer, President, Mark Romoff.
Name | Work History | Title | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Mark Romoff | Chief Executive Officer, President | Current | |
Name | Mark Romoff | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Work History | |||||
Title | Chief Executive Officer, President | ||||
Status | Current |
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