ventureLAB Announces Partnership With TSMC to Expand Canada’s Hardware and Silicon Ecosystem

MARKHAM, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ventureLAB is pleased to announce a new partnership with TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, to expand the Hardware Catalyst Initiative's reach and further support innovative Canadian tech firms. The Hardware Catalyst Initiative (HCI) is Canada’s first hardware and silicon lab and incubator, accelerating the commercialization and reducing barriers of development for emerging hardware and silicon leaders.

As the HCI’s primary foundry partner, TSMC will support qualifying companies participating in the HCI with expanded access to prototype silicon production and manufacturing multi-project wafers (MPW). The partnership with TSMC will reduce the barriers for multi-project wafers design and manufacturing and make them accessible for start-ups and scale-ups, enabling their silicon innovation with fast time-to-market.

“For hardware and silicon start-ups and scale-ups, commercializing their products can be a lengthy and expensive process. This new partnership between ventureLAB and TSMC reduces barriers for innovative tech firms, enabling their business growth and reducing their time to market,” said Melissa Chee, President and CEO, ventureLAB. “We are excited to partner with TSMC to enable Canadian tech firms to become globally competitive.”

“As the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, TSMC knows the challenges that semiconductor start-ups face in growing their companies and commercializing their products,” Bradford Paulsen, Senior Vice President of Business Management, TSMC North America. “TSMC is pleased to be part of the effort in the scaling of these emerging tech leaders, reducing barriers for breakthrough tech companies and helping them achieve first-time silicon success.”

Join the Hardware Catalyst Initiative

Applications for the highly competitive Hardware Catalyst Initiative are open until October 15, 2020. The program will select up to ten qualified companies to participate in its second cohort.

To learn more about the Hardware Catalyst Initiative, visit www.venturelab.ca/HCI.

About The Hardware Catalyst Initiative

ventureLAB’s Hardware Catalyst Initiative is Canada’s first hardware and silicon-focused lab and incubator. Funded in part by the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), this competitive program helps southern Ontario-based tech SMEs accelerate their time to market in a sector that normally incurs lengthy entry and scale times, enabling Canadian hardware and silicon companies to grow and scale locally, and compete globally.

About ventureLAB

ventureLAB is a leading technology hub located in Markham in York Region, Canada’s second largest tech cluster. Through its programs focused on capital, talent, technology, and customers, ventureLAB has supported over 2,000 tech companies and entrepreneurs, including 100 companies that have raised over $100 million and created close to 4,000 jobs. ventureLAB’s innovation hub is a 50,000 square foot facility that is home to over 45 tech companies and partners that employ more than 300 people. At ventureLAB, we grow globally competitive tech titans that build-to-scale in Canada.