Southern Ontario’s Innovation Corridor is among Canada’s largest tech ecosystems and home to 15,000+ tech companies and 200,000+ tech workers.
Regarded worldwide as a major driver for tech talent and a hub for disruptive emerging technologies, the innovation corridor includes tech giants and a rich network of startups and early-stage companies.
Gowling WLG, an international law firm with offices across Canada and around the world, has a strong presence in the Corridor’s key communities of Waterloo Region, Hamilton, and Toronto.
“We’ve been working in the tech space for decades, partnering with startup companies and multinationals alike to provide strategic legal advice at every stage of their growth cycle. We want to help companies in our communities become the next tech superstar,” said Viona Duncan, co-chair of Gowling WLG’s global Tech Sector Group, comprised of roughly 300 legal professionals worldwide.
“The Innovation Corridor continues to be a leading tech hub in Canada and beyond. We live and work here too and it’s exciting to talk with entrepreneurs and other clients about how we can build this ecosystem with them. Because of our global reach, we also help these clients scale-up and grow internationally,” Duncan added.
For Gowling WLG, supporting the success of Ontario’s tech companies means staying close to those who are driving progress. The Toronto office has a longstanding presence in the heart of the city’s Financial District, where new and emerging technologies including fintech, blockchain and AI are constantly evolving. Earlier this year, the firm moved its Kitchener office to the city’s Innovation District, a dynamic hive of tech activity in the centre of Waterloo Region. In the coming years, Gowling WLG’s Hamilton office will move to McMaster Innovation Park alongside pioneering research across multiple sectors, from health sciences to advanced manufacturing.
“It’s companies that combine innovative business ideas, informed legal strategy, and strong relationships within their community networks that have the greatest chance of succeeding,” Duncan said. “Our clients, and the incubators and accelerators with whom we work closely, know we’re able to use our global connections, national and local partnerships, and broad industry knowledge to make a real difference for them.”
Enedym Inc.’s journey to becoming a global company is a prime example of a tech startup that Gowling WLG has assisted in the Corridor. Enedym enlisted Hamilton’s Sacha Babic and his team to support the company’s transition from the research lab to the market. Helmed by Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate Ali Emadi, Enedym is striving to significantly cut the cost of traditional electric propulsion motors and usher in what they call a “new paradigm” in the electric motor industry.
“For companies like Enedym, the potential to disrupt well-established industries is limitless,” said Babic. “That’s not to suggest the road from startup to global influencer is clear cut. Every company has its own journey, and with that, a unique set of legal hurdles to overcome. That’s where we come in: we’ve seen it all and done it all and it’s this experience we bring to our clients.”
Earlier this year, Gowling WLG helped bring together a group of investors in facilitating a $15M funding boost for Enedym that will accelerate their entry into the massive global electric motor business. Most recently, the firm helped complete a licensing agreement that forms an exciting partnership with one of India’s leading suppliers of automotive electronic products.
“Our teams in the Corridor are just one component of the firm’s diverse roster of tech professionals who also span Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and internationally,” explained Babic. “Our collective job is to help position tech entrepreneurs and companies to achieve their goals, from startups to exits and everything in between.”
Gowling WLG’s Tech Group offers companies a full suite of services, including corporate commercial law, M&A, intellectual property, capital markets, and private equity to help your company take flight.
Connect with Gowling WLG’s tech team: www.gowlingwlg.com/tech
