Where did Adrien Cote go to school?

Adrien Cote studied at University of Waterloo (B.Sc., Applied Chemistry, Co-op; NSERC Undergraduate Research Associate); University of Calgary (PhD, Inorganic Supramolecular Chemistry; NSERC Postgraduate Scholar).

Adrien Cote

Investor

Board of Directors; CEO of Existent at Waterloo Accelerator Centre

Greater Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Metropolitan Area

Find your path to Adrien

373 people in our graph share verified history with Adrien — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Paul BrownunlockedAdrien: together at University of Michigan (2004–2006)

×2Adrien: together at University of Waterloo

×2Adrien: together at University of Michigan

×6Adrien: together at University of Calgary

About

Adrien Cote is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Existent, which develops industrial separation and carbon capture technologies using next-generation sorbent materials. Previously, he served as Executive Director of Velocity, the University of Waterloo's entrepreneurship center, where he expanded programming and oversaw development of the Innovation Arena startup facility and Velocity Fund; companies from that ecosystem have achieved over $40 billion in combined enterprise value. His background includes materials science research and commercialization experience at Xerox, where he co-invented and scaled a materials platform and contributed to over 50 patents, as well as academic work in inorganic chemistry and porous materials with publications in Science and Nature.

Experience

ExistentChief Executive Officer, Co-Foundercurrent2025 — presentGreater Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Metropolitan Area
University of WaterlooSpecial Advisor, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Strategy2025 — 2026Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
VelocityExecutive Director2020 — 2025Greater Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Metropolitan Area
VelocityBusiness Advisor, Velocity2017 — 2019Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Xerox Research Centre of CanadaPortfolio and Strategic Relationship Manager; Senior Scientist2012 — 2017Greater Toronto Area, Canada
Xerox Research Centre of CanadaResearch Scientist2007 — 2012Greater Toronto Area, Canada
UCLA, California NanoSystems InstitutePrincipal Investigator - Group Manager2006 — 2007Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
University of MichiganNSERC Postdoctoral Fellow - w/ Omar M. Yaghi - Materials Design and Discovery Group2004 — 2006Detroit Metropolitan Area
ValeResearch Associate1997 — 1998Greater Toronto Area, Canada
Teck Resources LimitedResearch Process Technician1996Greater Vancouver Metropolitan Area
City of BrantfordResearch Assistant (Water Treatment)1996Ontario, Canada

Skills & more

Cross-functional Team LeadershipStrategic Leadership

Languages English

From Adrien's professional profile.

Colleagues at Waterloo Accelerator Centre

Adam Dougall

Program Manager at Waterloo Accelerator Centre

Alicia Pereira

Vice President Marketing & Communications at Ontario Centre of Innovation

Angela Larraguibel

Board of Directors; Chief Operating Officer at Toronto Business Development Centre at Waterloo Accelerator Centre

Ben Richmond

Manager, Coworking and Facilities at Waterloo Accelerator Centre

Benton Leong

Board of Directors; Archangel Funds; Investor at Golden Triangle Angel Network at Waterloo Accelerator Centre

Brenda Halloran

Board of Directors; District Governor at Rotary International at Waterloo Accelerator Centre

Catalina Ochoa

Director, Finance at Waterloo Accelerator Centre

Charmaine Dean

Board of Directors; Vice-President of Research and International at University of Waterloo at Waterloo Accelerator Centre

Frequently asked questions

Who is Adrien Cote?: Adrien Cote is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Existent, which develops industrial separation and carbon capture technologies using next-generation sorbent materials. Previously, he served as Executive Director of Velocity, the University of Waterloo's entrepreneurship center, where he expanded programming and oversaw development of the Innovation Arena startup facility and Velocity Fund; companies from that ecosystem have achieved over $40 billion in combined enterprise value. His background includes materials science research and commercialization experience at Xerox, where he co-invented and scaled a materials platform and contributed to over 50 patents, as well as academic work in inorganic chemistry and porous materials with publications in Science and Nature.
Where does Adrien Cote work?: Adrien Cote is Board of Directors; CEO of Existent at Waterloo Accelerator Centre.
Where did Adrien Cote go to school?: Adrien Cote studied at University of Waterloo (B.Sc., Applied Chemistry, Co-op; NSERC Undergraduate Research Associate); University of Calgary (PhD, Inorganic Supramolecular Chemistry; NSERC Postgraduate Scholar).

Same school

Also attended University of Waterloo541

Chamath PalihapitiyaFounder & CEO of Social Capital Apoorva MehtaFounder of Instacart; founder of Cloud Health Systems Achintya ChaudhariInvestor at Lightbank Karim GillaniGeneral Partner at Luge Capital Rohan MongaInvestment Associate at Luge Capital Andrew MiklasGeneral Partner at Y Combinator

+ 535 more

Also attended University of Calgary156

Garrett CampCo-founder of Uber and StumbleUpon; founder of Expa Laura BuhlerPartner, Head of Community at Felicis Ventures Leah GosbeeCFO at Version One Ventures Raghu BhaskarInvestment Manager – Sector Specialist Industrial IT and AI at Emerald Technology Ventures Ag Chris EricksonFounder at Pangaea Ventures Us Inc.Bryan ChowInvestor at Side Door Ventures

+ 150 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Existent2

Gabbi CahanePartner at Stride VC Will BrooksFounder and Director at Portfolio Ventures

Also worked at University of Waterloo118

Rohan MongaInvestment Associate at Luge Capital Kartik TalwarGeneral Partner at A.Capital Ventures Wael NafeeGeneral Partner at RAED Ventures Leah MorrisExecutive Director, Encode: AI for Science at Pillar VC Inshaal QadirAnalyst at Panache Ventures Dominic BartonPartner at Radical Ventures

+ 112 more

Also worked at Velocity5

Zach WaterfieldInvestor at Ripple Ventures Moazam KhanDirector at GTAN | Angel to Series A Investments Aileen AgadaAnalyst at Emerald Technology Ventures Jay ShahFounder at BufferBox Youssef HelwaFounder at Fluid AI Website

Also worked at Xerox Research Centre of Canada62

Yu-Hsin WangAssociate at Quantonation Mark MavroudisManaging Director and Chief Operating Officer, Ares Venture Capital and AI & Innovation Groups at BootstrapLabs Jonathan LimPartner at SignalFire Benedek OrbanHead of Ecosystem, CV VC & CV Labs at CV Labs Gil AddoOperating Partner at Waterline Ventures Chris HillockVP, Portfolio Development at Dell Technologies Capital

+ 56 more