University of Waterloo ranks best in Canada for producing successful entrepreneurs

The University of Waterloo (UW) is among the top universities in the world when it comes to producing successful entrepreneurs with undergraduate degrees, according to the 2024 PitchBook rankings.

“For another year, Waterloo has been ranked number one in Canada,” said Adrien Côté, executive director at UW’s startup incubator Velocity.

PitchBook, which tracks investments in venture capital and private equity markets, reveals that UW has produced 562 founders, 478 companies and $20 billion USD in capital.

The university currently ranks 21st in the world.

“We have a really strong engineering, computer science, math and science facilities that combines with world-class research, but also combines with the cooperative education program,” Côté explained.

The report also ranks UW second in Canada for producing female founders, and the university remains in the top 100 for graduate-degree founders.

“I wasn’t really surprised,” said Ethan Alvizo, with startup PatientCompanion. “I know a lot of entrepreneurs in the Waterloo area, so it wasn’t shocking for me to hear that.”

Alvizo and Christy Lee have found success with their intuitive app, which allows patients to articulate their needs clearly and quickly through an app with icons, words or voice-to-text.

There’s also Justin Cheng from Mycro Harvest, which got its start at Velocity. That company uses artificial intelligence to give mushroom farming a boost.

Cheng said the proximity to large tech companies locally has contributed the school’s success and high ranking.

“Whether that’s founding their own company or being a part of early-stage startup where they can build those really scrappy engineering skills and start their career off and in an impactful position,” said Cheng.

Household names have also come out of UW, like businessman Kevin O’Leary, the star of shows like Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank.

BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis also studied at UW.

The school’s startup incubator will take a big step forward in the fall as they expand and move into their new home at Innovation Arena in downtown Kitchener, Ont. The hope is it will help them continue climbing the ranks. 

“It feels we’re just getting started,” Côté said.