Building Stronger Pathways for Founders: How Platform Calgary and Edmonton Unlimited Collaborated at Upper Bound 2026

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This May, Platform Calgary and Edmonton Unlimited came together at Upper Bound 2026 powered by Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii). As the largest AI conference in Canada, Upper Bound bridges world-class research with real business adoption. Together, our goal was to build intentional pathways for founders from both cities–creating a community-driven environment where builders can connect, learn from each other, and unlock new opportunities. 

Over four days in Edmonton, more than 11,000 participants gathered at Upper Bound to explore the future of artificial intelligence through technical sessions, venture conversations, research showcases, ecosystem events, and industry networking.

For founders, it created an opportunity to:

• Build relationships with investors and ecosystem leaders
• Explore partnerships and technology collaborations
• Connect with peers across Alberta and beyond
• Learn how AI adoption is evolving across industries
• Represent Calgary and Alberta’s growing innovation ecosystem on a national stage

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The Power of Showing up Together

Together, Platform Calgary and Edmonton Unlimited supported a group of founders and ecosystem partners attending the conference — helping create stronger connections before, during, and after the event.

The delegation included a mix of Platform Members, ecosystem builders, researchers, and investors:   

• Aimsio · Hamid Baghi · Field operations management for heavy industry
• Binoloop · Purvaja Soochit · AI for procurement and supply chain auditing
• Illumia Labs · Michael Guevarra · AI-driven manufacturing and quality control
• Moovez / Quotely · Simon Bullard · Logistics and moving marketplace tech
• OraQ · Edward McIntosh · Precision AI for dentistry
• Customer Maps · Mohammed Ahsen · Strategic customer journey and retention analytics
• ACS · Garvey Chui · All-electric robotic systems transforming industrial tank cleaning — eliminating hose failures, reducing downtime, and improving operations
• Praxus Health · Mandara Nagaraj · Non-profit driving systemic change in Canadian healthcare — 600+ partnerships, 10M+ Canadians reached
• White Whale AI · Peter Guo · Data analytics and engagement dashboards for wellness facilities 
• Genoptic - Darryl Copeland - A sovereign tech ip firm addressing food, energy, and infrastructure
• Dissipate - Michael McCulloch 

• Stealth Startup · Adam Delgado · AI-powered talent matching for startups — find your next role or your next hire · Also representing AI Tinkerers

• Calgary Economic Development · Rochelle Edwards, Thomas Armbruster, Nathan Karbonik - Calgary Economic Development acts as the "concierge" for the city's business community. Facilitating global market expansion, strategic export planning, and high-growth capital investment globalization. 
• Graphite VC · Adrian Mitchell - Seed-stage venture capital and operator-led support for B2B technology companies 

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Founders Arrive with Strategy- Not Just a Ticket.

Ahead of Upper Bound, Platform Calgary and Edmonton Unlimited co-hosted a Hack the Conference preparation session for attending founders. The session was designed to help founders approach one of Canada's largest Artificial Intelligence and technology conferences with intention, focusing on how to build meaningful relationships, identify opportunities, and maximize the return on their time and investment.

The session covered practical topics including:

• Developing a clear 30-second founder narrative
• Optimizing LinkedIn profiles and digital presence for networking
• Identifying high-value sessions, speakers, investors, and potential partners
• Creating conference goals and target connection lists
• Using the Upper Bound app strategically to schedule meetings in advance
• Effective networking tactics during sessions and events
• Building a post-conference follow-up process that turns conversations into relationships

To support founders on the ground, Edmonton Unlimited also opened its downtown office as a home base throughout the week. Founders could use the space between sessions for meetings, calls, focused work, and informal networking, creating a shared environment that strengthened connections across both ecosystems.

What started as a one-time preparation session has already evolved into something bigger. Platform Calgary and Edmonton Unlimited are now converting the materials into an evergreen conference playbook that can support future founder delegations, trade missions, and independent conference attendees. The goal is to create a repeatable framework that helps founders maximize opportunities wherever they show up.

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Strengthening Connections During Upper Bound

Throughout the week, Platform Calgary and Edmonton Unlimited worked collaboratively to support founders with introductions, navigation, and ecosystem connections.

Some notable moments included:

• Facilitating introductions between founders exploring crossover opportunities between AI systems and robotics
• Supporting Mohammed Ahsen (Customer Maps) in hosting a successful virtual community session during the conference week using Edmonton Unlimited's space and infrastructure
• Connecting with investors and ecosystem leaders during sessions and networking events across the conference
• Facilitating an introduction between Weave VC's Mark Mitchell and Yonathan Dattner of Dayy Photonics after Dayy was highlighted during a venture panel discussion
• Participating in the AI Tinkerers VC panel, hosted by Adam Delgado, which brought together investors from Weave VC, Yaletown Partners, Startup TNT, and Metiquity Ventures to discuss the current state of the AI investment landscape and emerging opportunities for founders
• Collaborating throughout the week on community activations including the Happy Hour, Community Coffee Takeover, and VC Breakfast events

The conference also created opportunities to strengthen relationships with ecosystem partners. Platform Calgary connected with the Calgary Economic Development team, including Rochelle Edwards, Thomas Armbruster, and Nathan Karbonik, to explore how organizations can better coordinate founder access to trade missions, conference delegations, and inbound international company visits.

These conversations reinforced an important theme throughout the week: 

supporting founders is not just about helping them navigate a single event. It's about building stronger systems, partnerships, and pathways that make it easier for Alberta companies to access opportunities wherever they emerge.

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What We Learned

For both Platform Calgary and Edmonton Unlimited, Upper Bound reinforced the value of intentional founder support and ecosystem collaboration.

Several themes stood out throughout the week:

• Strategic preparation helps founders get more value from large conferences, turning attendance into meaningful conversations and opportunities.
• Warm introductions and coordinated ecosystem support can accelerate access to investors, partners, customers, and peers.
• Collaboration between Calgary and Edmonton strengthens Alberta’s visibility and creates more opportunities for founders to connect beyond their local networks.
• The impact of conferences often extends well beyond the event itself, leading to new relationships, partnerships, and follow-on conversations that continue long after the conference ends.

The week also validated the importance of coordination between ecosystem organizations. 

By working together, Platform Calgary and Edmonton Unlimited were able to create a more connected experience for founders while identifying opportunities to strengthen future initiatives—from conference delegations and investor engagement to trade missions and inbound business development support.

This experience provided valuable insights that will help shape future collaborations designed to connect more founders with the people, opportunities, and resources they need to grow.

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Looking Ahead

Upper Bound 2026 is just the beginning.

Looking ahead, Platform Calgary and Edmonton Unlimited will continue exploring initiatives that help founders access conferences, markets, investors, and growth opportunities more intentionally. 

The lessons and relationships built through Upper Bound will help inform future founder delegations, ecosystem activations, and collaborative programs between the two organizations 

Because the bigger opportunity isn't simply helping founders attend conferences — it's building a more connected and collaborative innovation network in Alberta. 

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