If you want to start an oil and gas business in Alberta, everything is already in place to support you.
Think about it.
Banks have financial products designed specifically for your industry. Investors understand the business model before you even walk through the door. There’s an established pipeline of talent, experienced advisors who have built and exited companies before, and customers ready to buy.
That’s what a mature industry looks like — every piece of the puzzle exists to help new businesses succeed.
But for tech entrepreneurs in Edmonton, the reality is different. The ecosystem is still developing, and gaps in capital, talent, and market access still exist.
Edmonton Unlimited, the city’s innovation entity, wants to change that.
“There’s no doubt that we are focused on entrepreneurs — that’s the core,” says Edmonton Unlimited CEO, Tom Viinikka, in an interview with Digital Journal.
Today the organization announced its 2025-2027 strategy that repositions its role in fostering entrepreneurship — not by telling people what to build, but by ensuring the right conditions, networks, and resources exist for scalable businesses to emerge.
“Critical mass will be the result of an increase in entrepreneurial activity,” says Viinikka. “There’s only two ways to increase entrepreneurial activity: One of them is to increase the number of entrepreneurs, and then the second is to increase the number of attempts those entrepreneurs make. The more they’re doing it, the more activity there will be.”
Edmonton’s innovation ecosystem at a turning point
Edmonton’s tech sector has seen growth in recent years, with its startup ecosystem now valued at $1.5 billion, a 51% increase since 2021. Investment has also increased, with local companies securing more than $170 million across 95 deals in 2024, the highest number of deals ever recorded in the region.
The city has a growing and competitive tech workforce, with strengths in artificial intelligence, engineering, and life sciences. The city’s cost of living remains lower than major tech hubs like Toronto and Vancouver, and its tech talent pool continues to expand. The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), based in Edmonton, has played a key role in AI development, collaborating with more than 300 companies and contributing to over $600 million in venture financing.
While many charts are plotting growth up and to the right, there’s still lots of work to be done.
Edmonton’s innovation ecosystem still faces challenges in late-stage funding, commercialization of research, and sustained industry engagement.
“In a healthy tech and innovation ecosystem, the entrepreneur is the centre of everything,” says Viinikka. “Corporates contribute — whether as customers or by supporting innovative initiatives. Universities supply intellectual property and research, and hopefully, there’s a strong connection so that those researchers can either become entrepreneurs themselves or connect with entrepreneurs who will commercialize those products.”
While research and intellectual property output are strong, more work is needed to connect those discoveries to entrepreneurship.
Edmonton Unlimited’s new strategy aims to bridge these gaps, helping ensure that startups can access the talent, capital, and networks they need to scale globally.
Shifting from local-first thinking to global-scale businesses
Viinikka understands the shift in mindset that scaling requires because he’s been an entrepreneur.
Drawing from his experience in the sporting goods retail industry, Viinikka used the example of how a lifestyle business operating successfully in a single location faces new challenges when expanding.
“In order to go global, you need to be thinking that,” he says. “That goal is a big one. It’s not just about expanding within Edmonton. You have to create a business model that’s so understandable that somebody else would buy the business model from you. And if you say you want to open a store in [another city], there’s another level that you have to understand about that business. It needs to be even more refined and even more focused.”
That mindset shift is what Edmonton Unlimited wants to instill in Edmonton’s entrepreneurs.
The focus isn’t just about helping local companies expand — it’s about ensuring that startups think really big from day one, with scalable business models that can operate in markets beyond their own backyard.
How this strategy differs from Edmonton Unlimited’s past approach
This shift marks a departure from Edmonton Unlimited’s previous strategies.
In recent years, the organization focused on fostering collaboration between startups, post-secondary institutions, and corporate partners. It worked to attract external accelerators like 500 Global and Plug & Play and provided funding and advisory programs to support early-stage ventures.
The new strategy, however, moves away from a directive role and towards ecosystem-building.
“Before, I think we were a little bit directive in what we were saying Edmonton is going to be,” says Viinikka. “And I don’t think that’s going to resonate with entrepreneurs because they are wired to do their own thing. They’re kind of pulling themselves out of the matrix, so to speak.”
Instead of shaping the types of businesses that should be created, Edmonton Unlimited is now focused on enabling the right conditions for scalable ventures to emerge organically.
A key part of this is aligning Edmonton’s fragmented innovation ecosystem.
The organization is participating in the MIT REAP (Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program), a two-year initiative aimed at bringing together five key stakeholder groups — entrepreneurs, risk capital, government, post-secondary institutions, and corporations.
By ensuring better coordination between these groups, Edmonton Unlimited hopes to accelerate the development of a stronger, self-sustaining innovation economy.
Building an ecosystem that fuels itself
Edmonton has the foundation to grow into a stronger innovation hub, and momentum — at least anecdotally — seems to be building. Digital Journal has interviewed entrepreneurs, corporates, investors and other local leaders who say they are ready to get behind a collective push to ramp up and grow.
Every ecosystem in transition goes through challenges, and for Edmonton it’s a gap around late-stage investment, global-minded entrepreneurship and clearer commercialization pathways. These components will be critical to long-term success.
While early-stage funding has improved, many companies also still struggle to secure the capital needed to scale. Expanding access to follow-on investment and creating clearer pathways for startups emerging from research institutions will be essential for long-term economic impact.
Industry engagement is another important factor. More organizations are recognizing the need to collaborate and strengthen engagement between investors, academia, and corporate partners. Ensuring that research is effectively commercialized will help more startups move from concept to market success.
Efforts to align government, academia, private investors, and corporate leaders are taking shape, but sustained coordination will be needed to accelerate Edmonton’s trajectory as an innovation hub.
While alignment is still a work in progress, there is increasing focus on removing barriers that slow down startup growth. The next phase of growth will depend on how effectively Edmonton mobilizes its ecosystem.
Execution will be the true test, and the ability to sustain momentum and turn strategic alignment into tangible outcomes will define the next stage of Edmonton’s innovation economy.
This article was created with the assistance of AI. Learn more about our AI ethics policy here.
