Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play is a tech investor and accelerator with an international network of more than 30,000 startups and 500 corporations, and hundreds of venture capital firms, universities and government agencies across multiple industries. Plug and Play invests in more than 200 startups per year globally.
Plug and Play is one of four new global accelerators for startups and scaleups that will call Edmonton home. As part of a funding partnership with the three levels of government, Innovate Edmonton is funding three world-class accelerators, Alberta Accelerator by 500, Plug and Play Alberta, and Community Safety & Wellness Accelerator powered by Alchemist. Concurrently, Innovate Edmonton is also funding and launching Alberta’s pre-accelerator in partnership with Platform Calgary, with a new suite of programs for early-stage founders, supporting pathways to success and economic diversification.
Plug and Play will provide services in Alberta with the support of a funding consortium led by Alberta Innovates. Three orders of government are investing approximately $35 million for the overall Alberta Scale-up and Growth Accelerator program. This includes funding from the Alberta Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Innovation to Alberta Innovates to lead and manage the overall Scaleup and Growth Accelerator Program. The Government of Canada, through Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan), has invested to expand funds available to not-for-profit business accelerators. At the municipal level, the initiative will also include Innovate Edmonton and the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF).
The accelerators will contribute to Edmonton’s enduring economic resiliency and are expected to create 270 new emerging technology firms, 6,000 new jobs and $1.5 billion in technology revenue by 2030.
They will also contribute to Edmonton’s downtown vibrancy, with workspaces and collaboration hubs drawing innovators and businesses back to the downtown core. Accelerators will augment existing business training delivered by Startup Edmonton and Scaleup Edmonton, program divisions of Innovate Edmonton and be managed through our newest division Accelerate Edmonton.
Quotes
“Accelerators are key to nurturing and expediating business growth. Our investment in the accelerators will create jobs, attract investment, and strengthen Edmonton’s economy,” said Amarjeet Sohi, City of Edmonton Mayor. “To meet Plug and Play’s leadership and learn how Edmonton-based entrepreneurs will be supported is a welcome opportunity.”
“Attracting Plug and Play to Alberta is game changing for Edmonton and our province,” said Catherine Warren, Innovate Edmonton CEO. “This new accelerator will connect Edmonton’s entrepreneurs with powerful supports to scale, grow and to compete on the world-stage in today’s impact economy. Locally, Edmontonians will benefit from job growth, new investment and economic diversity.”
“Plug and Play has a unique business model that will connect the best startups with international corporations to bring technology to market faster and is a key player in creating syndicated technology investment deals. We are happy to have the power of its networks working for Albertans and our innovation system,” said Laura Kilcrease, Alberta Innovates CEO. “Thanks to funding from our government partners, the scope of the scaleup and growth accelerator program and the quality of the global programming is unparalleled for Alberta and a tremendous opportunity.”
“We are committed to becoming a central pillar of Alberta’s economy through establishing and building a long-term presence and integrated, collaborative system,” Said Saeed Amidi, Plug and Play CEO and Founder.“ This will not only attract top technology and investment to the region, but will drive innovation and help Alberta entrepreneurs to scale and grow.”
“Collaborative, province-wide accelerators are powerful tools to help us diversify our economy, create new and meaningful jobs of the future, and increase prosperity for all Albertans,” said Platform Calgary CEO Dr. Terry Rock. “Part of our mandate is to throw open the doors of the innovation ecosystem to welcome everyone–especially traditionally underrepresented communities–into Alberta’s tech economy. The Alberta pre-accelerator allows us to do that for even more startup founders in this province.”
About Innovate Edmonton
Headquartered in Alberta’s capital city, Innovate Edmonton leverages, unites and promotes home-grown innovation as a gateway to solving the world’s most pressing problems. We harness the power of the public and private sectors, ground-breaking academic research and purpose-driven investment to build a shared prosperity and open international markets. From sustainable climate solutions to public health and digital education, Edmonton is a leading global centre for inspiration, ingenuity and inclusion. Learn more about Innovate Edmonton and Startup Edmonton, a division of Innovate Edmonton.
About Alberta Innovates
Alberta Innovates is the province’s largest and Canada’s first provincial research and innovation agency. For a century we have worked closely with researchers, companies and entrepreneurs – trailblazers who built industries and strengthened communities. Today we are pivoting to the next frontier of opportunity in Alberta and worldwide by driving emerging technologies across sectors. We are a provincial corporation delivering seed funding, business advice, applied research and technical services, and avenues for partnership and collaboration. Learn how Alberta Innovates.
About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we’re present in 35+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we’ve invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. Learn more.
About Platform Calgary
Platform Calgary brings together the resources of Calgary’s tech ecosystem to help startups launch and grow at every step of their journey, from ideation through to scale. We focus on making all parts of Calgary’s startup ecosystem better resourced, connected, efficient, effective, and prominent.
Through collaboration and targeted programming within a purpose-built home for innovators—the Platform Innovation Centre—we are a hub for a community focused on inclusive tech-led economic diversification and job creation. Learn more.