From frontier research to fundable company.
Arc is a 3-week invitation-only sprint for elite AI researchers in Canada ready to commercialize.
July 2026 · Toronto
8–10 Researchers · By Application Only
The Program
3 Weeks
15 Sessions
8–10 Researchers
Arc is a concentrated commercialization sprint. Not a course. Not an accelerator. A peer cohort of elite researchers, guided by operators and investors from Canada and the US, building toward fundable companies or placement as founding engineers.
The 3 Weeks
1
From Research to Market
- What is fundable in AI in 2026Virtual · US-heavy
- Enterprise AI reality checkIn-Person · Northeastern
- Research to wedge product workshopVirtual
- Early enterprise sales & PoC structuringIn-Person
- Founder mindset & company formationVirtual
2
Building the Company
- Building AI infra in a capital-efficient wayVirtual
- Legal & incorporation workshop — SponsoredIn-Person
- Cloud & compute strategyVirtual · AWS / GCP
- Building the founding teamIn-Person
- AI security, compliance & riskVirtual
3
Fundability & Positioning
- How to build a fundable AI narrativeVirtual
- Pitch architecture intensiveIn-Person
- US market entry & cross-border strategyVirtual
- Investor office hours + mock boardIn-Person
- Demo Day — Toronto to US BridgeHybrid · Friday
Who You'll Learn From
🇺🇸 US
NY in-person · Bay Area virtual
Sarah Chen
General Partner
AI Seed Fund
Marcus Rivera
Co-Founder & CEO
Series B AI Infra Co.
James Park
Former Research Lead
Top AI Lab
Priya Sharma
CTO
Bay Area AI Startup
🇨🇦 Canada
MaRS, Shopify, Georgian, Law firms
David Thornton
Partner
Georgian Partners
Michelle Tran
Director, AI Programs
MaRS Discovery District
Alex Okafor
Staff Engineer, ML Platform
Shopify
Nadia Kowalski
Partner, Tech & IP
AI-Focused Law Firm
Placeholder speakers shown. Final roster announced upon cohort confirmation.
This Is For You If
You've built something real in a lab
PhD, research scientist, or AI engineer with a publishable result or production system.
You suspect there's a company in your work
You've been told your research is interesting. You want to know if it's fundable.
You're done waiting for permission
You want to move fast, surround yourself with operators, and pressure-test your ideas.
You want the Canada + US bridge
Access to both ecosystems. Canadian roots, US fundraising trajectory.
Program Partners
Law Firm Sponsor
Legal workshop + Demo Day presence
Cloud Partners
AWS · Google Cloud — startup credits + compute office hours
AI Credits
Nvidia · OpenAI startup programs
Interested in sponsoring Arc? Contact us
FAQ
Ready to commercialize your research?
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Cohort is capped at 8–10.
arcfounders.ca · Toronto, Canada