Hello to Canada’s SaaS and AI Community,
Canada has never lacked innovation. Turning that innovation into enduring businesses remains the harder challenge.
During a SAAS NORTH 2025 discussion moderated by Leo Lax of L-SPARK, Kevin Ford (Calian Group), Jil Macdonald (Walnut Insurance) and James Povitz (NAventures) explored how startups, investors and enterprises can work together to bridge that gap.
Months later, many of the ideas shared on stage feel just as relevant.
Key takeaways:
- Partnerships often move forward by reducing uncertainty.
- Early validation builds momentum.
- Corporate venture plays by different rules than traditional VC.
- Commercialization depends on stronger ecosystem connections.
Co-Founder/Producer, SAAS NORTH Conference Editor, SAAS NORTH NOW
The Innovation Gap Canada Continues To Discuss
Leo opened the session with an observation that framed the conversation.
“We are home to 10% of the world’s top-tier AI researchers today, yet when it comes to commercialization, we lag far behind.”
He also highlighted a statistic that underscored the challenge: only six percent of Canadian public companies generating more than one billion dollars in annual revenue actively participate in direct venture investment, compared with forty percent in the United States.
The issue is rarely a lack of ideas.
Canada continues to produce exceptional founders, researchers and technical talent. One challenge that repeatedly surfaces, however, is how to create the conditions that allow more of those innovations to scale domestically.
The question is particularly relevant today, as AI reduces the barriers to building software, differentiation increasingly extends beyond product development alone.
Distribution, trust and the ability to navigate complex buying environments may matter more than ever.
De-Risking Is Often The Real Value
One of the strongest themes throughout the discussion was that successful partnerships are rarely built through large commitments at the outset.
Instead, they often begin by reducing uncertainty.
For Walnut Insurance, that meant proving value before expecting scale.
To launch National Bank’s embedded travel insurance offering, Walnut developed and deployed the solution in just 90 days while intentionally keeping the initial engagement financially accessible.
“We built up the technology … in 90 days,” explained Jil Macdonald. “We did that for a very, very small dollar figure … just to really get the ability to show how we can work together.”
The example illustrates a broader principle: smaller experiments can sometimes create the confidence needed for larger commitments.
Why 90 Days Matters
Leo highlighted another important aspect of Walnut’s experience.
The proof point happened quickly.
“It wasn’t a six-month program. It wasn’t a two-year program,” he noted. “Proofpoint happened within 90 days.”
That observation feels particularly timely in 2026.
AI has compressed development cycles across SaaS. Products evolve faster, markets shift more quickly and customer expectations continue to rise.
In environments where change happens rapidly, organizations may benefit from creating mechanisms that allow them to learn and adapt faster. Early validation does not eliminate risk, but it can help inform where additional investment and effort should go.ing materials and clear documentation can often move faster and communicate more consistently.
Corporate Venture Is Not Traditional Venture Capital
James Povitz offered another important distinction.
“You can’t put a venture capital team in a corporate venture structure and expect it to be successful,” he explained. “The corporation does not care about your TVPI … they care about the strategic returns.”
That difference shapes how partnerships evolve.
Traditional venture capital often focuses primarily on financial outcomes. Corporate venture teams may prioritize strategic learning, ecosystem development, customer access and long-term business value.
Neither approach is inherently better.
The important consideration is alignment.
Understanding how a corporate venture team measures success, and how closely those objectives connect to the broader organisation, can help founders determine whether a partnership is likely to create value on both sides.
The Case For Strategic Flexibility
Kevin Ford described innovation through what he called a three-legged stool: organic growth, acquisitions and ecosystem partnerships.
“There’s only so much capital any given day,” he said. “You’ve got to identify where your priorities are … and then get at it, though be willing to change.”
The point feels increasingly relevant.
As conditions continue to evolve, organizations may need to reassess how they pursue growth and where they place their bets. Strategies that worked in one environment may require adjustment in another.
Flexibility alone is not a strategy but the willingness to adapt may become an increasingly important capability.
Building Stronger Connections
What stood out most from this discussion was not the mechanics of corporate venture capital itself.
It was the recognition that commercialization rarely happens in isolation.
Founders need customers. Corporations need ways to explore emerging technologies. Investors seek pathways to value creation, while policymakers continue searching for ways to strengthen the broader ecosystem.
The challenge, as several panellists suggested, is ensuring those groups have opportunities to work together effectively.
As Leo concluded:
“Help build connective tissue … create a mechanism by which these very siloed entities in the past can now collaborate.”
Why This Conversation Matters
Canada continues to produce exceptional ideas, talent and technical expertise.
The opportunity may lie in creating more pathways for those strengths to translate into enduring businesses.
Revisiting this conversation months later serves as a reminder that commercialization is rarely driven by a single investor, corporation or founder. It is shaped by relationships, incentives and systems that make collaboration possible.
SAAS NORTH is Canada’s hub for scaling AI-SAAS companies. Founders, teams and investors come to learn, connect and grow with the country’s largest in-person tech community.