evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

Velocity — University of Waterloo's Startup Incubator

Canada · Waterloo · See the Canada profile · See the Waterloo profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 42% 71/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Founded in 2008, the University of Waterloo's Velocity incubator has supported 400+ companies whose alumni had raised $4.3bn and created 5,000+ jobs by 2023, calling itself the world's largest free startup incubator after a further expansion.

$2.4 billion
Alumni company funding (cumulative) (mid-2021)
$3.6 billion
Alumni company funding (cumulative) (January 2022)
$4.3 billion
Alumni company funding (cumulative) (May 2023)
400+
Companies supported
5,000+
Jobs created by alumni companies
45,000 sq ft
Innovation Arena expansion space

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
University of Waterloo (Velocity)
Period
2008–present
Keywords
University technology transfer, startup incubation

Context

Velocity is the University of Waterloo's startup incubator, founded in 2008 to help students, staff and alumni turn research and side projects into companies, free of charge, alongside a separate early-stage seed fund (the Velocity Fund).

Objectives

It aims to give early-stage, technology-based startups founded by University of Waterloo students, staff and alumni free access to workspace, mentoring, pitch competitions and seed-funding connections.

Activities

Velocity runs a dedicated 'Velocity Garage' space and, more recently, a 45,000-square-foot 'Innovation Arena' in Kitchener's innovation district, while connecting founders to funding through the affiliated Velocity Fund.

Results

University of Waterloo reporting -- independently corroborated by The Globe and Mail -- shows alumni company funding rising from $2.4 billion (mid-2021) to $3.6 billion (January 2022) to $4.3 billion (May 2023), with more than 400 companies supported and over 5,000 jobs created; notable alumni ventures include ApplyBoard and Embark Trucks.

Conclusions

The funding and jobs figures are self-reported by the university, though consistently repeated across university updates and confirmed by independent press coverage; no comparison against similar incubators or a counterfactual baseline is provided.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Provided free of charge to student/alumni founders; funded by the university alongside a dedicated seed fund (Velocity Fund) and a 45,000 sq ft facility expansion in Kitchener.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Operating continuously since 2008, with growth phases including the Velocity Garage and a subsequent Innovation Arena expansion (reported as of 2023).
Staffing & skills
University of Waterloo (Velocity) programme staff and mentors, Affiliated Velocity Fund for seed-stage investment

Conditions for success

  • Embedded within a research university with a strong co-op/entrepreneurship culture
  • Free access for students, staff and alumni removes the cost barrier to incubation
  • Dedicated seed-funding vehicle (Velocity Fund) alongside physical incubation space

Where it fits

Governance type
university-run
Scale
institutional, with regional (Kitchener innovation district) expansion
Income level
high-income (Canada)

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Similar practices you may find useful