The Canadian Explorers

I’m hosting four Canadian defence founders and CEOs with @nectarios in Montréal. Canada’s defence industry is going through a generational moment. We want to connect the industry with the startup and tech community. Keynote by Samuel Witherspoon, the co-founder and CEO of ANVIL, with a panel including Marconi, Reaction Dynamics, and @bloomsco_co. Presented by @bdc_ca, with support from MNP, @Deloitte and Marcus & Millichap Montréal. November 26th. Register here: luma.com/2ouy5li5 @amiralvc @TheCadExplorers

Canadian founders are building the future of transportation. 🇨🇦 @fly_ribbit is turning existing airplanes into autonomous aircraft that can carry more cargo at a lower cost by freeing up cockpit space. I spoke with co-founder Jeremy Wang about the technology and what it could mean for resupplying and protecting Canada’s Arctic. Full article out Thursday on canadianexplorers.ca. Subscribe now.

Canada has identified eight critical sectors in its new national security strategy: 1. Emerging technologies 2. Critical minerals 3. Defence 4. Energy 5. Transportation 6. Pharmaceuticals and biotech 7. Food security 8. Payments, settlement, and investment The Canadian Explorers is highlighting the founders and startups building in Canada's most critical industries. CanadianDynamism.ca

Bloomsco, a Canadian defence-tech startup, has raised a C$1m pre-seed round co-led by @bdc_ca's Seed Venture Fund and Telegraph Ventures. 🇨🇦 Its AI software helps military teams turn dense manuals and doctrine into tailored training plans, learning materials and simulation scenarios on demand. I spoke with Hugh McGuire, co-founder and CEO of @bloomsco_co, about the raise and what comes next on @TheCadExplorers Live. In a time of rapid technological advancement, military training must keep pace with innovation.

North Vector Dynamics, a Canadian missile startup 🇨🇦, has closed a Series A round of over US$20m (C$29m), valuing the company at more than US$90m. I spoke with co-founder and CEO @ziade_paul on @TheCadExplorers Live about the raise and what comes next. The funding will help scale manufacturing and assembly of its CM-70 interceptor, designed to neutralize high-speed drones threatening Western allies and partners in Ukraine and the Gulf. @NV_Dynamics plans to open a 25,000-square-foot facility in Canada and is targeting production of thousands of missiles annually in 2027. It also plans to open new offices in Ottawa and Europe and to expand hiring and bring talent back to Canada. The round was led by Tech Horizons, with participation from ONE9, @GarageCapital, @CSG_global, @ripple_ventures, Feld Ventures and Conconi Growth Partners.

Raising your first round for a Canadian defence startup? Matthew McLeod has published a practical seven-step guide with @TheCadExplorers to help founders navigate the complexities of pre-seed and seed financing in the defence industry. This free guide is sponsored by Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. Read here: canadianexplorers.ca/p/canad…

Why is Canada investing C$195m in its largest quantum manufacturing project ever? 🇨🇦 @XanaduAI, a Toronto-based company, is betting that quantum computing will be a bigger revolution than artificial intelligence. These computers can solve certain problems that could take a conventional computer millions of years, with potential use cases ranging from developing new life-saving drugs to designing new materials. I spoke with @_cweedbrook, CEO and founder of Xanadu, about building large-scale quantum computers in Canada and what that could mean for the world. Read the 20th Explorer Spotlight on @TheCadExplorers: canadianexplorers.ca/p/xanad…

The world’s fastest supercomputer would have taken 7 million years to solve a problem that @XanaduAI’s Borealis solved in two minutes. 🇨🇦 Read the full conversation with founder and CEO @_cweedbrook tomorrow on @TheCadExplorers: “Building Canada’s Quantum Future.”

The 20th spotlight on CanadianExplorers.ca launches tomorrow. @XanaduAI @_cweedbrook

Reaction Dynamics, a Canadian rocket company, unveils its new medium-lift rocket, Borealis, with its first launch targeted for 2031. 🇨🇦 I spoke with Bachar Elzein on @TheCadExplorers Live about the announcement of its medium-lift vehicle. @Reactiondyn is helping Canada reach orbit on its own terms. Borealis, designed to deliver 6 tonnes of payload capacity to low Earth orbit, builds on Reaction Dynamics’ light-lift foundation with Aurora, whose first orbital flight from Canadian soil is targeted for Q4 2028. This leverages Reaction Dynamics’ recent transition to liquid propulsion. The company focuses on non-cryogenic propellants that can be stored at ambient temperature, simplifying ground infrastructure, extending readiness and improving flexibility. Reaction Dynamics is targeting an eventual Borealis launch capacity of 24 missions per year. Since its 2017 founding, the company has secured around C$50m in funding and commitments, and developed a commercial pipeline representing more than US$5 billion in potential launch opportunities. Through 2031, they plan to raise an additional C$350m in private investment, move from 68 to more than 350 employees, and plan approximately 375,000 square feet of manufacturing and integration capacity in Quebec.

Pelagos has signed its first customer purchase order for Vantage, a compact autonomous underwater vehicle. 🇨🇦 I spoke with co-founder and CEO Samuel Scrivens on @TheCadExplorers Live about the announcement and what comes next. The startup’s ambition is to make underwater ISR as deployable as a quadcopter Built in Waterloo, Ontario, @Pelagosfrontier's Vantage is designed to fit in a backpack and be rapidly deployed by a single operator, dramatically reducing the cost and complexity of maritime reconnaissance in coastal environments

There is no other option but to build for Canada. 🇨🇦 Mike Nelson, CEO and Founder of TACTIQL. Full interview: canadianexplorers.ca/p/tacti…

October’s Highlighted Startup Opportunities ⠀ Strategy & Operations Co-op (Winter 2027) at Canada Rocket Company: ats.rippling.com/canada-rock… ⠀ Engineering Intern (Labs) at @csmc_space: csmc.bamboohr.com/careers/51 ⠀ Electrical Engineering Co-op (May 2027) at @gx_space_: gx.space/careers/electrical-… ⠀ Embedded Software Engineering Intern (January 2027) at Kepler Communications: jobs.lever.co/kepler/2ad02ce… ⠀ Launch Systems Engineering Intern at @Nord_Space: secure.collage.co/jobs/nords… ⠀ Mechanical Engineering Intern – Fluid Systems (Winter 2027) at @Reactiondyn: datocms-assets.com/166697/17… ⠀ Product Manager at ANVIL: anvil.bamboohr.com/careers/8… ⠀ Director, Business Development at Daedal Systems: careerspage.io/daedal-system… ⠀ Mission Autonomy Development Engineer at @DominionDynamic: jobs.ashbyhq.com/Dominion%20… ⠀ Project Manager at @NV_Dynamics: jobs.ashbyhq.com/northvector… ⠀ See all 68 jobs in the full October roundup on The Canadian Explorers: canadianexplorers.ca/p/canad…

Don't chase venture capital. Focus on the customer. Despite investor interest, TACTIQL is willing to stay bootstrapped to protect its mission. The startup was founded by a 4th-generation @CanadianForces veteran in 2022, before defence was cool. Full interview on @TheCadExplorers: canadianexplorers.ca/p/tacti…

Canadian military data is often segmented and communicated through radio and manual entry. After 13 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, Michael Nelson, a fourth-generation veteran, left to solve a problem that he couldn’t address in uniform. TACTIQL was founded to make sensor data usable across different military systems. “We cannot keep up with the pace of change in the modern battlespace.” Read the 19th The Canadian Explorers Spotlight, “The Data Between the Machines”: canadianexplorers.ca/p/tacti…

A Canadian 4th-generation veteran left the Canadian Armed Forces to bootstrap his own defence startup. 🇨🇦 Now, as a founder, he feels he serves just as much, if not more, than he did in the military. Mike Nelson, founder and CEO of TACTIQL. Full interview tomorrow on @TheCadExplorers. CanadianDynamism.ca

Today, @TheCadExplorers reached 500 subscribers on Substack. The voice for the founders operating in Canada's most critical industries. Thank you to everyone who has been supportive of the mission. Excited to see how far I can take it before the year is finished. CanadianDynamism.ca

Which Canadian defence and deep-tech startups are hiring? 🇨🇦 @TheCadExplorers is highlighting openings across 24 of Canada’s most ambitious companies, including internships, co-ops and early-career opportunities. canadianexplorers.ca/p/canad…

“A lot of people are chasing the Arctic, and that’s fantastic, but we’re not an Arctic planet. We’re an ocean planet. We think about archipelagos. If you can prove it in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, you’ve pretty much proven it for most of the planet.” Meiz Majdoub Jr., founder of Mostar Labs. canadianexplorers.ca/p/mosta…