Overview

NEXT AI is NEXT Canada’s flagship founder and venture development acceleration network for early-stage AI-enabled startups. Offered across Toronto (hybrid, March–August 2027) and Montreal/Remote (March–September 2027), the program combines graduate-level AI and business instruction from world-renowned faculty (including Yoshua Bengio, Joelle Pineau, and Ajay Agrawal) with 1:1 venture management, technical scientists-in-residence, and investor pitch preparation.

Benefits

• Free, equity-free participation
• Instruction from world-renowned AI faculty and scientists-in-residence
• In-kind perks and legal/cloud support from NVIDIA, AWS, and Osler
• Free office space in downtown Toronto and Montreal's AI hub
• Direct introductions to North American angels and VCs

Eligibility

Must be a Canadian-incorporated company majority-owned by Canadian citizens or permanent residents, where AI is core to the venture. Teams need at least one business co-founder and one technical co-founder (each intending to hold >=10% equity) with Canadian citizenship, permanent residency, or a valid work/study permit.

Required documents

• Online application (Technical or Business stream)
• Venture profile and AI technical architecture overview
• Co-founder backgrounds and equity breakdown
• IP ownership/licensing confirmation