Fundraising Fox

Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)

Acceleratoroperating company · company profile

Toronto · Pre-Seed–Series A · 37 people tracked

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Investment thesis

CDL is a nonprofit, university-based startup program (originating at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto) whose mission is to enhance the commercialization of science for the betterment of humankind. Its central thesis is that poor commercialization of scientific innovation stems from a failure in the 'market for judgment' — experienced entrepreneurs help novice founders set and prioritize objectives to derisk their businesses. CDL operates specialized streams (AI/machine learning, quantum, space, climate, fintech, blockchain) across multiple global sites, combining experiential business education with venture support. It measures success by equity value created, reporting over CAD$51B generated by participating companies.

Source: firm website, verified Aug 17, 2026.

Stage
Pre-Seed–Series A
Check
$50K – $250K
HQ
Toronto, QC, CA
Leads rounds
Follows
Founded
2012
Last 12 months
1 investment
Portfolio companies
413

Team · 37 people

from the firm's website & curated
Amarpreet Kaur· Press Contactin

Listed as a press contact for Creative Destruction Lab.

9 people who came through Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) went on to found or lead other companies.

What they invest in

from 120 of 413 portfolio companies

AI & Machine Learning ×43Cleantech ×29Deep Tech ×26Climate Tech ×25Healthtech ×23Hardware ×20Biotech ×17SaaS ×17

HQs:United States×38Canada×27United Kingdom×6Germany×3Austria×2Italy×2

Who they back

founder profiles across 81 portfolio companies
41%
solo founders
33 of 81 mapped founding teams
36%
repeat founders
of 72 founders with career history
~3 yrs
old at investment
median across 13 dated deals

Founding team size:solo founder×332 founders×263 founders×164+ founders×6

Where their founders studiedfrom 63 founders with education data

University of Cambridge ×6University of Waterloo ×5Creative Destruction Lab ×4University of California, Berkeley ×4Ivey Business School at Western University ×3Massachusetts Institute of Technology ×3McGill University ×3Caltech ×2

Where their founders worked beforefrom 72 founders with career history

SpaceX ×4AUDI AG ×2Berkeley Lab ×2CERN ×2Nike ×2Parsagen Diagnostics, Inc. ×2Siemens ×2Stanford University ×2

Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program

Y Combinator ×9Techstars ×6Entrepreneur First ×5

24 founders hold a PhD · 11 hold an MBA (of 74 with degree data)

Portfolio companies · 413 tracked

alumni founders can tell you what the program is really like

By year:2025 · 22024 · 22023 · 12022 · 42021 · 52020 · 12019 · 12017 · 117 dated

ComcastNYSE: CCZ
1000 Kelvin1000kelvin.com
20/20 OptimEyes Technologies Health
2S Water
3852.AI companyJul 2022

HealthtechSouth Burlington, US

Robert Skiff(Director)

3D Biofibr3dbiofibr.com

Kevin Sullivan(Founder)in

Co-investorsConcrete Ventures

401 Labs
4D Surgical
4pi Lab4pilab.com𝕏

4pi Lab develops remote sensing satellites to detect, monitor, and respond to wildfires and their emissions for climate change mitigation.

AI & Machine LearningClimate TechDeep TechSpace Tech

Stephen Achal(Chief Executive Officer, Chief Strategy Officer)Victor Taylor(Chief Technology Officer)

Co-investorsSeraphim Space

5 Prime Sciences
6Degrees
8Xlabs
9Bio
A&K Robotics Artificial Intelligence
A4I
Aazzur
About:Energy company
Aboutenergy
Absco Therapeutics (AbscoTx) Cancer
Accéder Supply Chain
Accelerate Windacceleratewind.comin

Accelerate Wind develops edge-of-roof wind turbine technology for commercial and industrial customers globally, enabling local energy generation by harnessing wind channeled by building structures.

Advanced ManufacturingCleantechClimate TechEnergyHardwareSt. Louis, US

Erika Boeing(Founder & CEO)inSophie Schaffer(Chief Operating Officer)inCharlie Walch(Chief Financial Officer)in

Co-investorsHalogen Ventures Management Company LlcTechstars

Accipiter Biosciences
Accsys Diagnostics
Accurolab
Acertaacerta.aiin

Acerta provides an industrial AI analytics platform for discrete manufacturers to identify and resolve production defects early, reducing scrap, rework, and downtime.

Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningEnterprise Software

Greta Cutulenco(Founder)in

Co-investorsBDC Industrial Innovation Venture FundBDC Thrive Venture Fund for WomenBDC Venture CapitalGarage CapitalM12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund)Stand Up Ventures+1 more

Acorai
Acs Automated Cleaning Services Inc
Acumino, Inc. Manufacturing
Adam Aerospace
Adaptive Finance
Adaptive Insurance
Adaptive Pulse
Adaptronics
adavivadaviv.comin𝕏

Adaviv provides AI tools for specialty-crop agriculture that turn field observations into real-time recommendations, helping farm teams optimize labor, inputs, and treatments while reducing waste, crop losses, and rejections.

AgTechAI & Machine LearningSaaS

Ian Seiferling(Founder)in

Co-investorsDelta Emerald VenturesEmerging VenturesNew Stack VenturesREMUS CapitalAiSprouts VC

AddGraft Technologies
Addy
Adept Materialsadeptmaterials.comin𝕏

Adept Materials develops advanced materials for building envelopes that improve energy efficiency, durability, and moisture management without sacrificing comfort.

Advanced ManufacturingCleantechConstruction TechDeep TechNew MaterialsSomerville, US

Derek Stein, Ph.D.(Founder & CEO)Derek Stein(Founder / Inventor)

BoardMiguel Galvez(Director)Daniel Cromie(Director)

Co-investorsAnorak VenturesBantam GroupSlater Technology Fund

Adeptmindadeptmind.aiin

Adeptmind builds generative AI tools for retailers, offering AI-powered merchandising, product discovery, personalization, and marketing/ROAS optimization for e-commerce and omnichannel shopping.

AI & Machine LearningE-commerceRetail Tech

Jing He(Founder)G Wu(Founder)in

Co-investorsDMZInnospark Venturesnoa

Adhash
ADHERE GEAR Technologyagdatacenter.ioinJul 2023

AG Data Center builds modular, containerized edge data center infrastructure for deploying AI compute directly at remote sites such as hospitals, universities, utilities, and government facilities.

AI & Machine LearningCleantechClimate TechCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureIoTBeaverton, US

Buchanan Eugene Robert(Executive Officer)

Co-investorsTechstars

Adolus
Advai
Advanced Intelligent Systems
Aegiqaegiq.comin

A UK-based company developing full-stack photonic quantum computers for applications in aerospace, cybersecurity, defence, energy, pharma and AI.

Deep TechQuantum ComputingSemiconductorsUK, GB

Scott Dufferwiel(Founder)in

Co-investorsDeepbridge CapitalGIMIC Ventures

Aeroflux Braking Systems

Co-investorsFront Row Ventures

Affablebpmaffablebpm.comin

Affable BPM offers an AI-powered compliance platform for healthcare organizations, combining UniComply for monitoring regulations, policies, contracts, and audits with AffableFLOW for no-code workflow automation and an AI-driven compliance training LMS.

AI & Machine LearningHealthtechSaaS

Co-investorsSybilla Masters

Agate Sensors
Agentt
Aggregate Intellect
Agnostiqagnostiq.aiin

Agnostiq (now part of DataRobot) provides an agent workforce platform for building, operating, and governing enterprise AI agents, including tools like Covalent for orchestrating compute to deploy agents across edge, cloud, or on-prem environments.

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingEnterprise Software

Co-investorsDifferential VenturesGreen Egg VenturesScout VenturesScout VenturesBoost VCTensility Venture Partners

Agritrack
Ai Cousticsai-coustics.comin𝕏

ai-coustics provides an audio reliability layer with speech technology such as Voice Focus, which removes background noise and other voices to improve transcription accuracy and keep voice agents responsive in noisy environments.

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDeveloper ToolsSan Francisco, US

Arne Corvin Jaedicke(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Fabian Helmut Seipel(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)

BoardBORIS GOLDEN(Director)inSitar Teli(Director)in

Co-investorsInovia CapitalAcurio VenturesConnect VenturesConnect VenturesPartech Ventures

Ai Health Highway
Ai Spacefactory
Ai4Eyes Medical Technologies
Aiba
Aidenaidenauto.comin

AiDEN provides an automotive software platform that runs natively on vehicle infotainment screens, using real-time vehicle data to deliver contextual services, automate workflows, and unify fragmented in-car experiences.

AI & Machine LearningMobility & TransportationSaaS

Co-investorsBand of Angels

Browse all 413 investments with full details →

213 more tracked companies

BeagleBeam Medical IncBeatdappBeaver HealthBeitBelive.ai CommerceBenchmark Space SystemsBenchsciBereda Training IncBetter DairyBiconomyBidaliBig Blue TechnologiesBig CouchBigthinxBinta FinancialBio Mimir companyBiocurieBiofect InnovationsBioform SolutionsBiohuntress TherapeuticsBiohybrid SolutionsBiointelligenceBioMBiomerenewablesBiomotumBionicaBiosense IncBiotech Squarebiotx.ai HealthBiowegBioXplorBirch BiosciencesBirdseyeview TechnologiesBittensorBlablaBlassaBlaze Energy Technologies CorporationBlockalyticsBlockscopeBlockseatBlokBloomBloomscoBlossom Microbial Technologies companyBlue CubedBlue JBlue Lion LabsBlue Mesa HealthBlue Ocean GearBlue Planet EcosystemsBlueberry PrimeBluefield Technologies IncBluefinsBluegrid By RimotBluenodeBlueQubitBluesonde Technologies IncBlumindBoonBorealis WindBoston QuantumBotlhale AiBotmindsBotpressBoxcatBrain Spec companyBrainfxBrayfoil TechnologiesBreathe Battery TechnologiesBreathesuiteBreeze TrafficBreeziBrenus PharmaBridge GenomicsBridge7BridgitBrightspaceBrilliant Matters Organic ElectronicsBrimstoneBrink BionicsBrisk SynergiesBriziBroadsight Technology Corp.Brown FoodsBubo.ai CommerceBugseqBuild BeyondBuskr MediaBx Smart LabsByosByteratC12 Quantum ElectronicsCadence Final Document ServicesCALMWAVECalogy SolutionsCalumixCAMBRIAN WORKS, INC.Canadian Strategic Missions CorporationCanurta TherapeuticsCanvassCapacitech EnergyCapIntelCaplyzerCapsigenCaptain T Cell GmbHCaptivate TechnologyCapturaCapture Smart MetersCapwellCarboMatCarbon BlockCarbon CellCarbon FarmCarbon Upcycling TechnologiesCarbonFarm ClimateCarbonlumeCarbonovaCarbonquestCardiaxis Medical IncCare WeatherCareteamCaristo DiagnosticsCascade AiCase45CasectrlCashewCatena BiosciencesCauraCDLCelerity Craft Inc.Cell BauhausCell Chorus companyCellbricksCellensCellfeCellgro TechnologiesCense AgCentinelCerebri AICerecura NanotherapeuticsCeres SolutionsCetos WaterChargeLab +MoreChargespotCheckstepChemFinityChild Health ImprintsChinova BioworksChisel Artificial IntelligenceChroma TechnologiesChrysalabsCibotica IncCielara AiCipher SkinCircadian Positioning Systems, Inc.Circe IndustriesCircuit Mind LimitedCisLunar IndustriesCitizen HexClanzClarityClean O2Cleancard companyClear Cost Agtech IncClear CurrentClee MedicalClimatexCliniaClirCloreCloverleaf BioCo ReactiveCo2BrewCoalesce.ai Artificial IntelligenceCoastal Genomics IncCobionixCogitatCogniFrame Inc.Cognitive Network SolutionsCognitive SpaceCogniviveCogramCogwear LlcCohesicCohesysCoLabColoursmith PrimeCompass LabsCompatioCompression.ai PrimeConcarloConcha LabsConcordConnect EarthConnekticaConry TechContinuum IndustriesContxtfulConvergence Medical SciencesCooper Pet CareCopoly.ai Biomedical EngineeringcopperstoneCordance MedicalCorolDalhousie University Faculty of ManagementEsmtHecPolimiTamuUnibocconiUtUw

Exits · 1

IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolio

ComcastNYSE: CCZ

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) made?
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) has 422 tracked investments, including 3 dated in the last 24 months.
What stage does Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) invest at?
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
What is Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)'s typical check size?
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) typically writes checks of $50K – $250K.
What sectors does Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) focus on?
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) focuses on Advanced Manufacturing, AgTech, AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Cleantech, Climate Tech, Crypto & Web3, Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Digital Health, EdTech, Energy, Fintech, Healthtech, Logistics & Supply Chain, Mobility & Transportation, New Materials, Quantum Computing, Robotics, Sector Agnostic, Space Tech.
Where is Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) located?
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is headquartered in Toronto, CA.
Does Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) lead rounds?
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
Who does Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) co-invest with?
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) most often shares deals with Y Combinator, Techstars, Foresight, among 275 tracked co-investors.

Images

Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) photoCreative Destruction Lab (CDL) photoCreative Destruction Lab (CDL) photo

Co-investors · 20

Eclipse Ventures

Eclipse is a venture firm that backs entrepreneurs building companies in the physical and essential economy — industries tied to resilience, competitiveness, and security.

Both backed · 1
$200K – $5M
Spider Capital

Spider Capital is an early-stage venture firm backing founders using applied AI to modernize complex enterprise industries, supported by experienced enterprise cloud operating executives.

Both backed · 1
$500K
Builders VC

Builders VC is a venture firm run by operators and investors that backs founders solving complex, mission-critical problems in industries dominated by legacy systems.

Both backed · 1
Sequoia Capital

Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build technology companies.

$4.4M – $214M
GV (Google Ventures)

GV (Google Ventures) is a venture capital firm that has invested in artificial intelligence and machine learning since its early days, building a global portfolio of more than 100 AI companies across infrastructure, life sciences, and applications.

$250K – $50M
Founder Collective

Founder Collective is a seed and pre-seed stage venture capital firm that invests across sectors, describing itself as sector agnostic and anti-thematic.

True Ventures

True Ventures is a venture capital firm established in 2005 that focuses on early-stage technology companies, with operations based in Silicon Valley.

$500K – $3M
Balderton Capital

Balderton Capital is a European venture capital firm that backs technology startups.

$5M – $50M
Battery Ventures

Battery Ventures is a global investment firm that has backed more than 450 companies over its 40-year history, operating its investment staff as a single global unit.

$500K – $100M
Madrona Venture Group

Madrona Venture Group is a Seattle-founded venture firm that partners with founders across early and acceleration stages, providing capital plus hands-on support in recruiting, strategy, business development, and fundraising.

$2M – $10M
Flybridge Capital Partners

Flybridge Capital Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs building companies with global reach. The firm focuses on supporting innovative ventures from their initial funding stages.

$250K – $10M
IA Ventures

IA Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage software and frontier technology companies.

$1M – $3M
8 more co-investors

Costanoa VenturesZetta Venture PartnersWork-BenchMango CapitalPioneer Square LabsVisionaire VenturesMetamorphic VenturesOVO Fund

Firms observed investing alongside Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)'s recorded portfolio.

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