ICUBE UTM

Name

ICUBE UTM

Legal name

ICUBE UTM

Website

https://icubeutm.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Incubation Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

akta.pro primary industry

DevOps, SRE & Platform Engineering (CI/CD, IaC, Containers) (EDABAFAC)

Keywords

• Business incubation services
• Startup accelerator programs
• Entrepreneurship mentorship
• Co-working space
• Pitch competitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Mississauga

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Incubator Services: ICUBE UTM is funded by the University of Toronto's Entrepreneurship department. It does not charge for most programs for U of T students, staff, and recent alumni. A nominal fee of $250 is charged for Peel region residents with no U of T affiliation for the Venture Forward program. The organization does not take any equity in ventures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ICUBE UTM is a university-based business incubator at the University of Toronto Mississauga that supports social entrepreneurs and early-stage startups through experiential programs, mentorship, co-working space, pitch competitions, and a student-led creative agency. Core offerings include the Ideation Lab, Venture Forward, the Indigenous Entrepreneurship Program, and the Creative Studio, with no equity taken from participating ventures. Services are delivered primarily to U of T students, staff, and alumni, and to Peel region residents.

Product overview

ICUBE UTM is a business incubator at the University of Toronto Mississauga offering a comprehensive suite of programs for entrepreneurs at different stages. The core programs include Ideation Lab for early-stage entrepreneurs with business ideas, Venture Forward for established startups with products seeking growth, the Indigenous Program for Indigenous entrepreneurs, and Creative Studio for design and development services. The organization also hosts multiple pitch competitions (Pride Pitch, Pitch with a Twist, Ideation Lab Pitch, Sauga Pitch), innovation challenges (Sustainable Innovation Challenge with Sobeys, AI Innovation Challenge with Weston Forest), case competitions, and the Social Entrepreneurship Weekend retreat. ICUBE UTM does not take equity from its ventures and provides co-working space, mentorship, training, and access to funding opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ideation Lab: Experiential learning program for early-stage entrepreneurs and anyone with a great idea wanting to make it happen, following the school semester schedule.
• Venture Forward
• Indigenous Entrepreneurship Program
• Creative Studio
• Pride Pitch
• Pitch with a Twist
• Sauga Pitch
• Sustainable Innovation Challenge
• Artificial Intelligence Innovation Challenge

Products and services

• Ideation Lab An experiential learning program following the school semester schedule, designed for anyone with a business idea wanting to make it happen. Includes a boot camp intensive, workshops, and mentorship to help early-stage entrepreneurs refine their business idea. Free for U of T students, staff, recent graduates (within 5 years), and Peel region residents.
• Venture Forward A one-year boutique-style remote accelerator program supporting business development and growth through one-on-one mentorship and access to student talent. Open year-round for businesses with an MVP or product already selling. Free for U of T students/staff and alumni within 12 months; $250 annual fee for Peel region residents without U of T affiliation.
• Indigenous Entrepreneurship Program A 14-week Indigenous business training program created by Redbird Circle Inc. in partnership with UofT Libraries, ICUBE UTM, and The Bridge at UTSC. Focuses on entrepreneurship through an Indigenous and non-Indigenous lens, with leadership, business creation, innovation, and strategy training. Open to self-identifying Indigenous people across the GTA, with preference given to U of T students, staff, and faculty.
• Creative Studio A student-led full-service creative studio serving the prototyping and design needs of ventures and small businesses. Offers brand development, web/app development, product design, SEO, graphic design, digital marketing, consultation, and CTO-as-a-Service. Open to any business in Canada, with 50% discounts for Ideation Lab (up to 25 hours) and Venture Forward (up to 50 hours) members; 10-hour purchase minimum.
• Pride Pitch Annual pitch competition during Pride month providing support and resources for 2SLGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. Offers $10,000 in cash prizes and is co-hosted with QueerTech, the City of Mississauga, the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, and UofT Entrepreneurship.
• Pitch with a Twist Annual pitch competition during International Women's Month celebrating women-identifying entrepreneurs, with cash prizes and in-kind rewards.
• Ideation Lab Pitch Competition Pitch competition for Ideation Lab program participants to compete for cash prizes following the completion of the program.
• Sauga Pitch Peel Region's flagship startup pitch competition co-presented by ICUBE, SpinUp at UTM, EDGE Entrepreneurship Hub at Sheridan College, and IDEA Mississauga, with support from FedDev Ontario. Offers $15,000 in cash prizes.
• Sustainable Innovation Challenge Competition in partnership with Sobeys Inc. dedicated to advancing sustainability through student-industry collaboration, encouraging innovative solutions to sustainability challenges such as renewable energy, waste management, sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, and water conservation.
• Artificial Intelligence Innovation Challenge Competition in partnership with Weston Forest dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence through student-industry collaboration, encouraging AI solutions to help find new revenue opportunities.
• Social Entrepreneurship Weekend A 2-day retreat designed to help social entrepreneurs reflect on their journey, what drives them, and what is next for their social enterprise, with self-care and strategic thinking components. Co-facilitated with the Social Venture Circuit (founded by Zahra Qureshi).
• Case Competitions Annual case competitions held in partnership with industry partners to promote innovative thinking among students, with cash prizes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ startups supported
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Redbird Circle Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRedbird Circle Inc. is a partner in the Indigenous Entrepreneurship Program at ICUBE UTM. They offer business training programs created by Indigenous experts, focusing on leadership, business creation, innovation, and strategy through an Indigenous lens. Jonathon Araujo Redbird serves as co-founder and lead instructor.
• UofT LibrariescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Indigenous Entrepreneurship Program, collaborating with Redbird Circle Inc. and The Bridge at UTSC
• The Bridge at UTSCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Indigenous Entrepreneurship Program, collaborating with Redbird Circle Inc. and UofT Libraries
• Sobeys Inc.flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresenting sponsor of the Sustainable Innovation Challenge, seeking innovative solutions for sustainability challenges faced by Sobeys in areas such as renewable energy, waste management, sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, and water conservation
• Weston ForestflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresenting partner of the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Challenge, seeking AI solutions to create new revenue opportunities for the company
• FedDev OntarioflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerFederal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario partnered with ICUBE, SpinUp, EDGE Sheridan, and IDEA Mississauga for the Sauga Pitch competition
• EDGE Entrepreneurship Hub at Sheridan CollegeflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-presenting partner of Sauga Pitch, one of the four startup incubators/accelerators supporting entrepreneurship in the Peel region
• SpinUp at UTMflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-presenting partner of Sauga Pitch, one of the four startup incubators/accelerators supporting entrepreneurship in the Peel region
• IDEA MississaugaflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-presenting partner of Sauga Pitch, one of the four startup incubators/accelerators supporting entrepreneurship in the Peel region
• QueerTechflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for Pride Pitch, providing support and resources for 2SLGBTQ+ entrepreneurs
• The City of MississaugaflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner in Pride Pitch event, supporting 2SLGBTQ+ entrepreneurship in the region
• Schwartz Reisman Innovation CampusflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-host of Pride Pitch event with ICUBE and UofT Entrepreneurship
• UofT EntrepreneurshipcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCentral entrepreneurship department of University of Toronto, partnering on various programs and events including Pride Pitch
• SLC LawminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor providing Canadian trademark application support for competition winners
• CDD VaultminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Sauga Pitch competition
• BetakitminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Sauga Pitch and startup ecosystem supporter
• MitacsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor supporting innovation and research internships, featured in partner logos
• Social Venture CircuitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNot-for-profit community network for social enterprise leaders, co-facilitating the Social Entrepreneurship Weekend retreat with Zahra Qureshi as founder

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IDEA Mississauga: City of Mississauga-affiliated small business and innovation centre serving Peel-region entrepreneurs with advisory, training, and pitch competitions; co-presents Sauga Pitch with ICUBE, serving an overlapping local founder base.
• The Forge (McMaster University): McMaster University's student entrepreneurship hub providing incubation, mentorship, and co-working for student founders; a closely comparable university-affiliated incubator serving a similar student-founder audience.
• Velocity at University of Waterloo: University of Waterloo's flagship startup incubator and accelerator offering workspace, mentorship, and programming to student and alumni founders; comparable in mission, university-anchored model, and founder-stage focus.
• DMZ (Toronto Metropolitan University): Leading Canadian university-based startup incubator at Toronto Metropolitan University providing mentorship, co-working, and programming for early-stage ventures; directly comparable as a GTA university-affiliated incubator, though at significantly greater scale.
• EDGE Entrepreneurship Hub at Sheridan College: Sheridan College's on-campus entrepreneurship hub serving students and Peel-region founders with co-working, mentorship, and pitch competitions; a direct co-presenter of Sauga Pitch with ICUBE, targeting the same audience and corporate sponsors.
• SpinUp at UTM: University of Toronto Mississauga's science- and technology-focused venture accelerator, operating out of the same campus as ICUBE and co-presenting Sauga Pitch; closely comparable in mission, target founder, and Peel-region footprint.

Regional players

• Lazaridis Scale-Up Program (Wilfrid Laurier University): Wilfrid Laurier University's technology and growth-stage accelerator serving Canadian founders; comparable in Canadian university-affiliated accelerator model but focused on later-stage scaling ventures than ICUBE.

Broad incumbents

• Creative Destruction Lab (CDL): University of Toronto-affiliated seed-stage accelerator for massively scalable, science- and technology-based ventures; comparable in university affiliation but serves a more advanced, venture-scale cohort than ICUBE's early-stage focus.
• MaRS Discovery District: Toronto-based innovation hub supporting high-impact startups with programming, capital, and corporate partnerships; comparable as a Canadian innovation hub but operates at vastly larger scale and serves more mature ventures than ICUBE.
• Founder Institute: Global pre-seed accelerator running cohort-based programs for idea- and pre-revenue founders; comparable in early-stage founder focus and structured programming, but operates as a paid, equity-aligned global franchise rather than a university-funded local incubator.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IcubeUTM
• Facebookfacebook.com/ICUBEutm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icube-utm
• Instagraminstagram.com/icubeutm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ICUBE UTM