Global report shows 11% dip in Edmonton’s startup ecosystem, with sector strengths emerging

The Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2025, released today, shows that Edmonton’s startup ecosystem declined by 11 percent over the past two years, with total value remaining well below global averages. While the city has yet to reach scale in startup formation or funding, the report identifies pockets of strength in AI, life sciences, and cleantech.

While its total ecosystem value remains modest, the city is steadily building long-term strength in machine intelligence, life sciences, and cleantech. Its approach prioritizes affordability, talent and strategic investment over scale alone.

At a time when most ecosystems are recalibrating, Edmonton is laying the groundwork for what comes next.

See how Edmonton ranks relative to other Canadian cities, and learn more about the ecosystem in this podcast. This podcast summary is entirely generated and voiced by AI.

AI momentum supported by infrastructure and coordination

Artificial intelligence is a defining focus for Edmonton. The city is home to the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), one of Canada’s three centres of excellence under the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy. 

In 2025, Amii received a $5 million grant from Google.org to support its AI Workforce Readiness initiative. The program aims to reach 125,000 Canadian students by integrating AI curriculum into post-secondary courses across disciplines. 

And earlier this year Amii hosted the fourth annual Upper Bound conference at the Edmonton Convention Centre, welcoming more than 6,000 attendees and 200 sessions. The event reinforced Edmonton’s growing influence in applied AI research and talent development.

The GSER highlights Edmonton’s primary sub-sector strengths in AI, big data and analytics, life sciences and cleantech. 

Edmonton’s overall ecosystem value was $1 billion from H2 2022 to H2 2024, significantly below the global average of $20.4 billion. While its 11% decline was better than the global average of 14%, it still reflects headwinds facing mid-sized ecosystems with limited access to capital and slower scale-up momentum.

Edmonton also reported $801 million in venture capital funding between 2020 and 2024 and a record-setting 95 startup deals in 2024, totalling $170 million.

To support further growth, Alberta launched its Data Centre Strategy in December 2024 with the goal of attracting $100 billion in private investment over five years. The strategy positions the province as a North American hub for AI-related computing infrastructure, linking energy capacity and data infrastructure to one of the world’s most capital-intensive technology trends.

The report says AI entrepreneurship is also beginning to scale, but the city’s pipeline remains early-stage. The lack of scale-stage companies and exit activity continues to limit the perception of Edmonton as a high-growth ecosystem.

Edmonton-based startup Artificial Agency raised $12.5 million in seed funding for its “behaviour engine” designed for non-playable video game characters. Meanwhile, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce launched its AI x CE Strategy in late 2024, outlining a roadmap for the city to become a leader in AI applications across construction and engineering industries.

Edmonton’s play in all this is to align its public institutions, industry priorities and startup activity around areas where it has existing strength and global relevance.

Deep talent and life sciences capacity provide a second pillar

The GSER also identifies life sciences as a strategic sector for Edmonton. 

The city is home to the $200-million Canadian Critical Drug Initiative, a national biomanufacturing project led by Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation in partnership with the University of Alberta (U of A). The initiative is designed to expand Canada’s domestic capacity for drug development and production while anchoring new commercial growth in the region.

Company milestones also reinforce this momentum. 

PulseMedica, a local medtech startup developing laser-based surgical tools for eye conditions, was selected for Google’s North American Startup Accelerator. 

Nanostics, another Edmonton-based company, expanded internationally with its diagnostic technology for early cancer detection. These ventures underscore the city’s growing strength in biomedical innovation and commercialization.

This work is supported by a strong local talent pipeline of more than 130,000 students who are enrolled annually across eight post-secondary institutions, including U of A and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. U of A is one of the country’s top research universities, with internationally recognized programs in computing science, medicine and biomedical engineering.

To attract and retain global talent, the province introduced a new Expression of Interest system in September 2024. The policy is designed to streamline skilled immigration pathways and support growth in high-demand sectors such as AI and life sciences.

Affordability and support infrastructure round out the ecosystem

Edmonton’s cost advantages remain a core part of its appeal. It ranks #5 in North America for affordable talent, according to the GSER 2025, and benefits from significantly lower housing and living costs compared to larger Canadian tech cities like Toronto and Vancouver. 

The province of Alberta also offers the lowest small business tax rate in Canada at 11% for companies earning under $500,000.

The city’s support ecosystem also continues to mature. 

Edmonton is home to more than 20 organizations that support entrepreneurs, including Edmonton Unlimited, Startup TNT, Alberta Innovates and Health Cities. It is also participating in MIT’s Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP), as part of Cohort 11, uniting post-secondary, government and business leaders in a three-year effort to strengthen the local innovation economy.

Edmonton has not yet produced a unicorn company, and its startup valuations remain modest compared to global peers. But the city is investing in the conditions such as institutional infrastructure, talent pipelines, and applied research that may enable more scale-stage outcomes in the coming years.