Earlier this month, the global innovation community descended upon Vancouver for the second annual Web Summit Vancouver conference. Web Summit 2026 was even larger and more engaged than the previous year, welcoming over 20,300 attendees — an increase of nearly 30% from 2025 — from over 100 countries, including 750+ investors and 1,100+ startups.
InBC supported B.C. founders and engaged with local and global investors leading up to and during the conference. Here were some of our highlights.
Supporting Women Founders
InBC was pleased to support Vancouver Entrepreneur Forum’s Road to Web Summit Women in Tech and Impact Pitch Showcase, helping women founders in B.C. hone their pitches as they prepare to network and sell at one of the largest global tech conferences. This event was also supported by Innovation UBC and NorthX.
Our Senior Investment Associate, Shivani Chitroda, sat on the jury panel as top women ventures practiced their pitch to a live audience of 200+ people. We later proudly watched these ventures showcase and pitch at Web Summit, including Jointly who took home the BC Founder Faceoff prize at the BC Pavilion, and Cura who won the official Web Summit PITCH Finale on Centre Stage.
Convening Canadian Climate Capital
InBC also supported the inaugural Canadian Climate Capital Summit, welcoming local, national and global climate capital providers to B.C. Over 200 capital providers, plus B.C. founders and climate supporters gathered to collaborate, network and strengthen climate investing in B.C. and Canada.
This event was presented by five of the most active climate capital providers in B.C.: NorthX, Pangaea Ventures, Renewal Funds, and InBC portfolio funds Active Impact Investments and Evok Innovations, with support from InBC and other partners.
Showcasing B.C.’s Most Investible Ventures
We supported Innovate BC’s Investor Showcase featuring B.C.’s 25 Most Investible Ventures. This included curating investor invites, welcoming local and global investors to a showcase of some of the most promising B.C. startups. This exclusive event, hosted by Microsoft Vancouver, had B.C.’s investment-ready ventures, including our portfolio companies 4AG Robotics, Aquaeye, Arca Climate and ChopValue, pitching to a 200+ global audience.
Kicking Off with Pre-Web Summit Networking
We kicked off the conference with a pre-Web Summit evening of networking, a by-invite event hosted by Trade and Invest BC, Lawson Lundell, MNP and Remitly, with support from InBC, Invest Vancouver and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
Nearly 350 attendees, including investors, founders and innovation supporters enjoyed an evening of networking, with opening remarks from the Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth, Honourable Ravi Kahlon.
Bridging Canadian-Korea Startup Relations
Our Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Thomas Park, gave a keynote presentation at the Korea Startup Bridge Conference, presented by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), a government agency of the Republic of Korea, with support from Trade and Invest BC, SFU VentureLabs, Lawson Lundell and The Way Company.
Thomas shared insights on the state of venture capital in B.C. and Canada and the investing opportunities here. We are pleased to support bridging B.C.’s exciting innovation ecosystem with global trade partners and investors.
Announcing the SFU Innovates Venture Fund
InBC and SFU announced the SFU Innovates Venture Fund with a press conference at Web Summit, with remarks from the Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth, Honourable Ravi Kahlon, and SFU spinoff and InBC invested company Photonic Inc.
The SFU Innovates Venture Fund will invest in innovative B.C. companies based on technology developed by SFU researchers, students and alumni.
Press conference for the SFU Innovates Venture Fund.
Sharing Fundraising Tips at the Climate Innovation Zone
Our CIO Thomas Park sat on a speaker panel at the Climate Innovation Zone on the Web Summit exhibition floor, alongside Pangaea Ventures, Grantham Foundation and NorthX.
Together, they shared their thoughts on the current fundraising environment for climate companies and tips on how to stand out to investors.
The Climate Innovation Zone at Web Summit is presented by NorthX, Foresight Canada, Alacrity Canada, Innovation UBC and Simon Fraser University (SFU).
Also at the Climate Innovation Zone, we watched our portfolio company Svante named Scaleup Venture of the Year in Foresight Canada’s 2026 Canadian Cleantech Awards.
Meeting Many Founders, Investors and Innovation Supporters
Lastly, our team was running around both at the conference and numerous community-run side events engaging with founders, investors and innovation supporters. Thank you to all those who engaged with us; we enjoyed learning more about your work, and sharing more about how InBC supports the growth of B.C. companies.
Web Summit is coming back to Vancouver for another year. We look forward to breaking more attendance records, showcasing more B.C. ventures and bringing more investment to the province. See you in 2027.
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