Edmonton is entering a new era of Deep Tech
From AI and advanced manufacturing to health innovation, space, energy, and quantum technologies, Edmonton is producing companies built on breakthrough science, engineering, and real-world problem solving. But building successful deep tech ventures requires more than great technology — it requires commercialization, capital, partnerships, and ecosystem alignment.
Join Edmonton Unlimited and leaders from across Canada’s innovation ecosystem for a morning conversation focused on what it really takes to build and scale deep tech companies.
This event brings together founders, investors, operators, researchers, graduate students, industry and ecosystem leaders for candid discussions on commercialization, venture growth, and the future of deep tech in Edmonton.
Are you building in deep tech and looking to connect with someone at Edmonton Unlimited?
Reach out to our team to explore supports, opportunities, and next steps for your venture.
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Aditya Aggarwal
Managing Partner, Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, BDC
Aditya is a Managing Partner with the Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, where he invests in companies transforming advanced manufacturing, agriculture, and mining through novel applications of technology. He brings deep experience building large‑scale industrial AI solutions across energy, electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing, and smart‑city systems. Before joining the fund in 2020, Aditya served as Vice President of Siemens’ Industrial AI business. He holds a master’s degree in machine learning from Dalhousie University.
Ricky Mehra
General Partner, Continuum Health Ventures
Ricky Mehra is an early-stage VC in the digital health, deep healthtech and longevity space. Ricky founded and is general partner of Continuum Health Ventures (CHV), a seed thru Series A fund based in Toronto and Silicon Valley. The fund engages with best-in-class founders who are helping to democratize the future of medicine. Previous to this Ricky was a benchtop scientist, analyst, and entrepreneur from Toronto, Canada. He had a successful exit (F300) from a big-data predictive analytics healthtech company (Q2 Metrics) and has spent over 14 years servicing intelligence globally to F500 medical device and pharmaceutical companies. In parallel, Ricky maintains a deep passion for education reform and the future of education.
Amit Monga
President, EECOMOBILITY
Amit is the President of EECOMOBILITY, an AI Battery and Energy systems platform company whose investors include Emerson Ventures (NYSE: EMR), RiSC Capital, Automotive Ventures, and a large North American OEM. Previously, he was Managing Director, Global Investment Banking, CIBC Capital Markets and has also worked as a venture capitalist, management consultant, and co-founded HigherMarkets, a vertical market software company that was acquired by SciQuest (NASDAQ:SQST). SciQuest subsequently rebranded as Jaggaer and was acquired in August (2024) by Vista Equity Partners for approx. $3 billion. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, from the University of Alberta, where his research focused on solving complex reliability-based design problems using genetic algorithms.
Neha Khera
Managing Partner, IRV Fund, Innovobot
Neha Khera is the Managing Partner of IRV, the early stage deep tech fund of Innovobot. A seasoned venture capitalist with over a decade of experience, Neha has built a distinguished track record in early stage investing, fund management, and scaling high impact technology startups across North America.
Prior to her current role at IRV, Neha was a cofounder of 500 Startups Canada, where she led cornerstone investments in global success stories such as ApplyBoard and Mejuri. Her leadership was instrumental in delivering top tier performance for the fund. Her extensive background also includes Partner roles at New York based 2048 Ventures and 500 Startups US, where she cultivated a reputation for navigating complex markets and backing resilient founders.
Beyond her investment activities, Neha is a dedicated advocate for diversity and inclusion within the global tech ecosystem. She serves on the Dean's Advisory Council for the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo and remains a committed mentor to female engineering students and emerging startups.
Neha holds a BASc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the Richard Ivey Business School.
Patrick Lor
Managing Partner, Panache Ventures
Patrick Lor is a Calgary‑based venture capitalist and Managing Partner at Panache Ventures, one of Canada’s leading pre‑seed and seed‑stage VC firms. He is a two‑time tech founder, best known for co‑founding iStockphoto (acquired by Getty Images) and contributing to the early success of Fotolia (acquired by Adobe). He is also a prominent community builder in Alberta’s innovation ecosystem, serving on multiple boards and frequently mentoring emerging entrepreneurs.
Scott Pelton
Co-Founder, RiSC Capital
Scott Pelton is the Co‑Founder and General Partner of RiSC Capital, a Canadian venture capital firm focused on early‑stage disruptive and deep‑tech companies. Before launching RiSC, he held senior roles across Canada’s venture ecosystem, including leadership positions at MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, GrowthWorks Capital, and Round 13 Capital.
With a background in electrical engineering from McMaster University, Pelton brings a technical lens to evaluating founders and technologies. He is widely recognized for his long‑standing commitment to supporting technical entrepreneurs, his hands‑on investment approach, and his contributions to strengthening Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
PANEL
10:00am – 11:00am
What do Great Deep Tech Companies Have in Common?
Investors have a unique perspective in deep tech because they see patterns across hundreds of founders, technologies, and commercialization journeys.
This conversation will explore what makes deep tech companies stand out — from technical differentiation and defensibility to commercialization readiness, capital strategy, and founding team dynamics.
The panel will offer practical insight into how deep tech companies are evaluated, how the funding journey differs from traditional software startups, and what founders and researchers should understand early when building deep tech ventures.
FIRESIDE CHAT | THE WYVERN STORY
11:15am – 11:45am
Building Deep Tech Companies in Edmonton
Chris Robson
CEO & Co-Founder, Wyvern
Chris Robson is Co-Founder of Wyvern, an Edmonton-based space technology company focused on advancing Earth observation through high-resolution hyperspectral imaging. With a background in engineering and innovation, Chris has played a key role in helping build Wyvern into one of Canada’s emerging leaders in the commercial space sector, supporting applications across agriculture, energy, environmental monitoring, and geospatial intelligence.
A University of Alberta alumnus with both undergraduate and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Chris was instrumental in the AlbertaSat student team. He served as mechanical lead and project manager for Ex-Alta 1 — Alberta’s first satellite, launched in 2017. Wyvern was spun out in 2018 directly from the AlbertaSat program, transforming hands-on campus innovation into a growing deep tech company with its Dragonette constellation now delivering advanced hyperspectral data from orbit.
Callie Lissinna
VP, Strategic Relations & Co-Founder, Wyvern
Arden Tse
Principal, Yaletown Partners
Arden Tse is a Principal at Yaletown Partners in Edmonton, where he leads the Accelerate Funds II, III, and IV, investing in early-stage Alberta technology companies. With deep experience in venture capital and startup support, Arden works closely with founders to drive growth across Alberta’s innovation ecosystem, with a focus on tech sectors including deep tech and emerging industries.
A University of Alberta alumnus, Arden holds a Bachelor of Science and an MBA in Finance from U of A. He previously managed the University of Alberta’s Venture Mentoring Service, supporting entrepreneurs and strengthening the province’s startup community.
Attendees will hear firsthand about:
- The journey from technology to commercialization
- Building and scaling deep tech companies in Edmonton
- Lessons learned navigating growth and fundraising
- How founders think about global markets from day one
- What support systems matter most in a growing ecosystem
why attend?
Deep tech is increasingly shaping the future economy — but unlike traditional startups, these ventures often involve longer development timelines, more complex technologies, and unique commercialization challenges.
This event is designed to make those conversations accessible, practical, and founder-oriented while connecting Edmonton’s growing innovation community with national investors and ecosystem leaders.
Whether you are building a company, commercializing research, investing in innovation, or simply curious about the future of technology in Edmonton, this morning will offer valuable perspectives and connections.
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Are you building in deep tech and looking to connect with someone at Edmonton Unlimited?
Reach out to our team to explore supports, opportunities, and next steps for your venture.