PitchFest: AI Edition
Where the next generation of AI-SaaS companies pitch live.
Discovering Canada’s Next Generation Of AI-SaaS Founders Together
Presented by:
In collaboration with:
The AI Gold Rush Is Crowded
Everyone has an AI demo.
Very few are building products that teams genuinely depend on.
PitchFest (Presented by Osler) is for the founders building past the hype: real adoption, operational value, and businesses that last longer than the demo clip.
Cool demos don’t survive procurement.
AI Has To Be The Point, Not A Feature You Bolted On.
We take two kinds of companies:
Frontier AI. You’re building new capabilities, models, or infrastructure that push the technical edge forward. You may be early on revenue and deep on technical risk. That’s fine.
Applied AI. You’re using existing models to deliver a defensible, outcome-driven product through proprietary workflows, data loops, or a business model that holds up. You own the workflow and the outcome.
The Stage: Pre-ARR companies with design partners or pilots, through early-growth. Either way, you need early signals of product-market fit. Pilots, active users, or real revenue. Something working.
Phase 1: Screening. Applications close September 10. We read every one.
Phase 2: Live Semi-Finals. Shortlisted companies pitch on the Gateway Stage at SAAS NORTH.
Phase 3: The Finals. The top 4 take the Main Stage. One company wins, live, in the room.
$10,000 CAD Grand Prize.
Plus in-kind prizes from our partners.
The bigger prize is the visibility. You pitch in front of the AI and SaaS ecosystem and a panel of qualified investor judges. For most founders, the room is worth more than the cheque.
Making The Shortlist Pays Off Before You Ever Hit The Stage.
A full-access pass. Every shortlisted semi-finalist gets one complimentary full pass to SAAS NORTH 2026.
Real visibility. A feature profile in our pre-event marketing, in front of 2,500+ SaaS and AI-native founders and investors.
Pitch coaching. A virtual session with facilitator and coach Michaud Garneau to sharpen your reason to win before you go up.
Good Company.
Eight years of PitchFest winners.
Winning the SAAS NORTH Pitchfest 2025 was a turning point for Xena Intelligence, giving us the validation and visibility that opened doors we'd been knocking on for years. If you have a story worth telling and the conviction to back it, this is the room where it gets heard. Getting voted on my hundreds in the audience as the best pitch is quite a feeling
Participating in the SAAS NORTH Pitchfest was an absolutely exhilarating experience, especially given the nail-biting nature of the 1-minute finale with the audience voting on the winner. By putting us on a stage in front of the Canadian investment community, it provided us with significant boost to accelerate our growth.
SAAS NORTH was AMAZING! As a tech founder, there were so many rich opportunities to connect with quality investors, inspiring tech founders, and invaluable supporters of the eco-system at large. The Conference created opportunities to bridge new relationships and deepen existing ones. It was a truly unforgettable conference that I plan to attend every year!
Winning the Pitchfest at SAAS NORTH definitely opened a lot of doors for us, being able to speak to such a large public about our startup and having access to the networking that happens on the event, was pivotal for the growth of our company in Canada
Winning the Pitchfest was a pivotal turning point for MedStack; of course we were pushed to tailor our story for the intense, short-form environment, but we were able to do so with the great feedback, coaching and transparency in the process. We were so thoroughly impressed with the other competitors and their innovative, courageous ideas, and were glad to be in such great company. The feedback we got in the process, and of course brand value from winning and generous prizes themselves, all helped us build our company to the traction we have today.
SAAS NORTH’S Pitchfest is an incredible opportunity to showcase your company in front of potential customers and investors. Plus, winning $10,000 cash—and holding a massive cheque on stage—is the cherry on top. If you’re the founder of an early-stage startup, this opportunity is a no-brainer.
Participating in and winning the SAAS NORTH Pitchfest gave our business a ton of exposure early on. It created financing opportunities and helped us sign up several new clients.
Pitch In Front Of The Right Room
You’re not pitching into a void.
The people in this room actively shape what happens next in SaaS.
Apply To Pitchfest
Applications are now open.
