Elle, MD, Hiive, and LiORA Among Latest CIX Startup Awards Winners
•February 10, 2026
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Companies Mentioned
Why It Matters
The awards showcase Canada’s deepening tech talent pool and growing emphasis on impact and gender diversity, reinforcing investor confidence in the nation’s next‑generation innovators.
Key Takeaways
- •94 investors chose 14 winners from 370+ applications.
- •Winners cover fintech, climate, health, defense, and sales automation.
- •Impact ventures represent 50% of awardees.
- •Female founders or leaders in 75% of companies.
- •Winners will pitch at CIX Summit March 25, Toronto.
Pulse Analysis
The CIX Startup Awards have become a bellwether for Canada’s high‑growth technology sector. By filtering more than 370 applications through a rigorous, investor‑led selection process, the program highlights companies that demonstrate strong business models, scalable markets, and innovative solutions. The three‑tier structure—Emerging, Early and Growth—ensures that startups at different stages receive tailored recognition, while the public presentations at the CIX Summit provide a platform for networking, partnership, and capital raising.
This year’s cohort reflects broader industry trends toward sustainability and inclusive leadership. Half of the awardees are classified as impact ventures, ranging from geothermal energy developer Eavor to soil‑remediation platform LiORA, underscoring the rising investor appetite for climate‑tech and socially responsible businesses. Moreover, the fact that three‑quarters of the winners have female founders or C‑suite executives signals a shift toward greater gender parity in Canada’s tech ecosystem, a factor increasingly linked to superior financial performance and innovation.
Looking ahead, the March 25 summit in Toronto will bring together over 600 entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders, creating a high‑visibility stage for the winners to showcase traction and secure follow‑on funding. Companies like Hiive, Loopio, and Venn are poised to leverage this exposure to accelerate market penetration, while emerging health‑tech firms such as Elle, MD and Sonaro can attract strategic partnerships. The awards not only validate the winners’ growth potential but also catalyze broader ecosystem momentum, positioning Canada as a fertile ground for next‑generation tech enterprises.
Elle, MD, Hiive, and LiORA among latest CIX Startup Awards winners
Elevate has announced the 14 winners of its 2026 CIX Startup Awards, which each year recognize some of Canada’s top emerging, early- and growth-stage tech startups.
Ninety-four investors from the CIX Selection Committee chose the winning companies from a pool of more than 370 applications.
This year’s recipients include Vancouver-based venture capital secondary marketplace Hiive, Calgary geothermal tech developer Eavor, Calgary- and Saskatoon-based soil remediation platform LioRA, Oakville aerial defence business Xubin Aerospace, Toronto-based sales automation company Loopio, Montréal cardiovascular ultrasound startup Sonaro, and Nova Scotia-based birth control-focused biotech firm Elle, MD Biotechnologies, among others.
Ninety-four investors from the CIX Selection Committee chose these companies from a pool of more than 370 applications. Winners were evaluated based on the strength of their business model, offering, innovation, market opportunity, team, and diversity, equity, and inclusion among their leadership.
Each winner will present on stage at Elevate’s CIX Summit on March 25 in Toronto, at the Design Exchange. More than 600 entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and investors are expected to come together for the event.
RELATED: Basetwo emerges from CIX Summit 2025 as Canada’s representative for the Startup World Cup
Like in 2025, this year’s CIX Startup Awards has three categories based on company maturity. “Emerging,” which was launched last year, is targeted at pre-seed and seed companies that are less than two years old with under $2 million CAD in annual revenue. Elle, MD, Sonaro, and Xubin were among the five recipients in this group.
“Early,” which is geared towards Series A and B startups launched two to five years ago with $2 million to $10 million in yearly sales, had five winners, including LiORA, Kitchener wearable dialysis machine maker Qidni Labs, and Toronto pharmacy software provider MedMe Health.
As for “Growth” companies (five-to-10-year-old businesses at the Series C stage or beyond with more than $10 million in annual revenue), the four recipients were Eavor, Hiive, Loopio, and Toronto-based business banking platform Venn.
According to Elevate, half of the 2026 CIX Startup Award winners are impact ventures–which are often defined as ventures designed to create positive social or environmental impacts–while three-quarters of all recipients have female founders or C-suite leaders.
Past CIX award recipients include Clio, Float Financial, League, and Wealthsimple, among others.
You can find the full list of 2026 winners below.
Emerging startup recipients:
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PRE Inc. (marketing tech) – Toronto, ON
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Sonaro (healthtech) – Montréal, QC
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Cashew Research (marketing tech) – Calgary, AB
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Elle, MD Biotechnologies (healthtech) – New Minas, NS
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Xubin Aerospace (defense tech) – Oakville, ON
Early startup recipients:
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Qidni Labs (medtech) – Kitchener, ON
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WeavAir (climate tech) – Toronto, ON
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Pontosense (medtech) – Toronto, ON
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MedMe Health (healthtech) – Toronto, ON
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LiORA (climate tech) – Calgary, AB
Growth startup recipients:
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Venn (FinTech) – Toronto, ON
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Eavor Technologies (climate tech) – Calgary, AB
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Loopio (sales automation) – Toronto, ON
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Hiive (FinTech) – Vancouver, BC
Feature image courtesy Elevate.
The post Elle, MD, Hiive, and LiORA among latest CIX Startup Awards winners first appeared on BetaKit.
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