Tech@RBC Momentum Grants
Accelerating the growth of the next
generation of U of T technology startups
The 2025 Tech@RBC Momentum Grants will award $25K to four U of T ventures to help them scale faster.
Overview
Introducing the Tech@RBC Momentum Grants, designed to provide non-dilutive financial support to early-stage tech startups. Four grants, valued at $25K each, will be awarded to successful applicants who are leveraging technology and innovation to solve big problems.
What can the Momentum grant be used for?
The $25K Momentum grant can be used to cover the costs of products and services that are critical to helping companies scale, including but not limited to:
- Legal, financial, accounting, and other professional services
- Protecting intellectual property (IP)
- Marketing (brand development, web design, customer acquisition, advertising, PR)
- Product design and development
Momentum grant recipients will also receive:
- Mentorship
- Two mentorship sessions with the RBCx Early-Stage Ventures team focused on advising, mentoring, and supporting pre-Series A tech startups across Canada
- Additional opportunities to engage with a broad range of domain experts at RBC
- ONRamp Membership
- Access to U of T Entrepreneurship’s co-working and community space at the new Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus
- Access to our exclusive Startup Perks program
- Includes up to three (3) ONRamp one-year memberships for team members
- Demo Booth
- A demo booth at the True Blue Expo @ U of T Entrepreneurship Week (March 6, 2025)
How it works
To be eligible for a Tech@RBC Momentum Grant, ventures must:
- Have current, full-time U of T students*, or recent alumni (i.e. graduated no earlier than June 2022), form at least half of the founding team.
- Lead applicant must be a current U of T student and a member of the founding team.
- Be incorporated by the time the funds are awarded.
- Have secured less than $250,000 in total funding and generated less than $100,000 in revenue since inception.
- Have completed Level 1 of U of T’s IP Education Program (each student)
- Be available for in-person interviews the week of February 13, 2025
*This includes U of T students from all three campuses, international students, undergraduate, masters, graduate, post-doc and professional degree students.
In addition, we strongly encourage applications from teams that are diverse and representative of the U of T student body.
We also strongly encourage teams to be active members of one of U of T’s 12+ campus accelerators.
Successful teams will demonstrate the following on their application:
Traction – Early revenue, customers, minimum viable product, letters of interest from potential clients, etc.
Impact – Working on a solution that will have a broad and positive impact on society.
Use of funds – Outline how (and for what purpose) the funds will be used and how it will impact the growth of the company. E.g. “If I receive the grant I will hire a marketing person who will help me potentially grow my business by X% in the coming two quarters.”
Team – Domain expertise, skillset, commitment, additional supports (advisors, mentors, etc.)
Please direct all questions regarding the Tech@RBC Momentum Grants or application process to:
entrepreneurs@utoronto.ca
Subject line: Questions: Tech@RBC Momentum Grants
2025 Grant Recipients
Dekki
Dekki is an AI edtech platform that helps students optimize their learning by deciding what they should study and when. Using evidence-based memory algorithms, Dekki improves retention and reduces study time – like Duolingo, but for any subject you need to master.
Oculum
Oculum enables surgeons to see invisible tissues during eye surgery with AI-powered real-time visualization system.
Re:Pair Genomics
Re:Pair Genomics is a biotechnology company that uses AI to design compact synthetic promoters, which are DNA sequences required for gene therapies to target specific cell types. Rather than spending six months to a year to design and validate promoters manually, our algorithm can produce designs ready for testing within a day.
Vrit
Vrit is transforming surgical care with a handheld bioprinter that eliminates the need for autografts, enabling advanced, minimally invasive procedures. Our innovative product line includes novel bioinks and the handheld bioprinter, empowering surgeons with cutting-edge tools for improved patient outcomes.
2024 Grant Recipients
Spero Analytics
Spero Analytics builds automated IoT solutions for large-scale greenhouse gas monitoring, enabling landfills and oil refineries to track and mitigate methane emissions in compliance with environmental regulations.
Pendium Health
Pendium Health, founded by a group of physicians, is developing a suite of AI-powered tools to improve physician productivity and support comprehensive patient care.
SilicoLabs
SilicoLabs has developed a no-code behavioural analytics platform for creating real-world simulations for humans and AI.
Factors Education
Factors Education built the first worksheet as a conversation tool driven by AI for K-12 classrooms. The idea is to save our teachers 90% of time prep-ing and marking assignments, and offer students a fully personalized discussion on any subject with immediate feedback.
Delivered by U of T Entrepreneurship in partnership with RBC
