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With investments and cash prizes in NextGen Sound and ARKI, DMZ celebrates 15 years of supporting startups and one year of putting capital behind founders through DMZ Ventures’ fund.
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Toronto, ON, June 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As part of Toronto Tech Week, DMZ hosted its exclusive startup showcase, DMZ Insiders, featuring a selection of its most promising portfolio companies. Startups had the chance to pitch their businesses in front of a curated audience of investors, corporate leaders and DMZ’s global partners.
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The event arrived at a landmark moment for DMZ, as the incubator and startup ecosystem celebrates 15 years of entrepreneurship support and marks one year since the launch of DMZ Ventures’ investment fund.
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The live pitch lineup at DMZ Insiders included Kelsey Hahn, Co-Founder and CEO of Monark; Julian D’Angelo, Co-Founder and CEO of Talin; Stephen McCabe, Co-Founder and CEO of QuickCasa; Lynn Banks, Founder and CEO of NextGen Sound; and Natalia Bakaeva, Co-Founder and CEO of ARKI.
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NextGen Sound, an AI-driven platform transforming marketing for creators and brands, secured the top spot—earning a $150,000 investment from DMZ Ventures.
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“As a woman founder in tech, getting this kind of support really means a lot,” said Lynn Banks, Founder and CEO of NextGen Sound. “I love that DMZ makes it a priority to back women entrepreneurs — it’s a reminder that we can build big, successful companies in this space. This funding will allow us to grow faster, enhance our product capabilities, and ramp up marketing so we can scale both our user base and the overall experience.”
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This year’s DMZ Insiders introduced a $5,000 People’s Choice Award, voted on by the community. ARKI, an AI tool enhancing design workflows through smart reuse of past project data, earned the crowd’s vote and took home the cash prize from DMZ.
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“With the first Toronto Tech Week in full swing, there’s no better time to celebrate what sets our ecosystem and city apart, said Abdullah Snobar, Executive Director of DMZ and CEO of DMZ Ventures. “Building a company in Canada isn’t for the faint of heart right now. Capital is tighter and markets are unpredictable. But moments like today — where founders put it all on the line and get the support they’ve earned — are what it’s all about. The calibre of startups we heard from today was top notch and I’m proud that DMZ Ventures can put meaningful investment behind them.”
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Since publicly launching at DMZ Insiders in 2024, the DMZ Ventures Fund has invested in promising early-stage startups, including Leasey AI, Flowjin, Fibra and more. With a focus on inclusive innovation, the fund has supported founders from across Canada — including women entrepreneurs and newcomers — all demonstrating strong early momentum.
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Earlier in the week, DMZ partnered with BetaKit to host “The Most Ambitious Launch Party”, an event celebrating its 15th anniversary and the launch of BetaKit’s Most Ambitious issue. To date, DMZ has supported 2450+ startups in raising $2.95 billion in capital and has created over 25,000 jobs.
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