Waterloo’s tech scene is alive and well as five local companies have earned spots on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50™ and Fast 500™ lists.
The Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ program recognizes the world-class achievements of Canada’s leading technology companies, highlighting their commitment to innovation, strong leadership and rapid revenue growth.
This year, Waterloo continues to show its strength as one of North America’s leading tech hubs, with representation from local companies across the program’s five categories.
Editor’s note: Our community is home to three cities and four townships. We have identified the community where you’ll find each of these companies in parentheses below. Together, we are known as Waterloo.
In the Technology Fast 50 category, which honours Canada’s 50 fastest-growing technology, media and telecommunications companies based on their revenue growth percentage over the last four years, RideCo (Waterloo) takes the #4 spot with a whopping 3,162% growth.
As a leader in on-demand transit technology, RideCo has revolutionized ridesharing for transit systems globally, delivering efficient and cost-effective solutions that benefit both agencies and riders alike.
The Enterprise–Industry leaders category recognizes enterprise-level fastest-growing technology, media and telecommunications companies by revenue-growth percentage over their last four years of operation. Local edtech company ApplyBoard (Kitchener) ranked #10 with an impressive 476% growth.
ApplyBoard is an online platform that eases the process of studying abroad for international students. Since 2015, the company has worked with over 1,750 educational institutions and more than 10,000 recruitment partners to promote diversity in educational campuses globally.
“We are honoured to be recognized for the fifth consecutive year by Deloitte. ApplyBoard is continuing to grow and create a positive impact in the education and technology sectors, and the recognition of being named to the Enterprise–Industry leaders category this year is a real testament to the hard work of our team members and our ongoing evolution as Canadian technology leader,” says Meti Basiri, Co-Founder and CEO, ApplyBoard. “We’re proud to be named alongside other successful, growing companies in Waterloo Region who made this year’s list.”
Learn about ApplyBoard’s journey to become an Enterprise–Industry Leader here.
" We're proud to be named alongside other successful, growing companies in Waterloo Region who made this year's list. "
Meti Basiri
Co-Founder and CEO, ApplyBoard
In the Clean Technology category, which ranks companies that offer products, services or processes that reduce environmental impact based on their revenue growth over the last four years, Alert Labs (Kitchener) secured the #5 position with a substantial 933% growth and LiftWerx (Cambridge) also cracked the top-10, achieving 332% growth.
Alert Labs’ commitment to sustainability is evident in their development of smart sensors and software that protect assets and increase operational sustainability for over 10,000 buildings across North America.
LiftWerx offers specialized crane-less technology for major corrective repairs. Their solutions provides countless benefits over the use of traditional cranes, including reducing mobilization costs, avoiding delays due to high wind speeds and decreasing the overall carbon footprint.
The Companies-to-watch category ranks Canadian technology companies with the potential to be future Technology Fast 50™ candidates by their revenue growth percentage over their last three years of operation. VueReal Inc. (Waterloo) stands out at #6 in this category, growing by 1,421%.
VueReal’s cutting-edge microSolid printing technology is setting new standards in the manufacturing of micro- and nano- devices, enabling a variety of innovative electronic systems and displays.
Moving to the larger stage, the Technology Fast 500™ list ranks the fastest-growing North American technology companies. 98 Canadian companies made the top-500 list, including three from our region: RideCo (#49), ApplyBoard (#282) and LiftWerx (#386).
Fast-growing companies wanted
This recognition not only highlights these individual companies’ success stories, but also the collective momentum and growth of Waterloo’s tech sector. Deloitte’s lists serve as a call to action for businesses looking to scale to new heights.
The stories of RideCo, ApplyBoard, Alert Labs, LiftWerx and VueReal Inc. are proof that with the right mix of innovation, leadership and vision, huge growth is within reach – and it’s possible in Waterloo.
Find all this year’s winners at the links below:
Eligibility criteria: Applicants to the Technology Fast 50 program must be headquartered in Canada, invest a minimum of five percent of gross revenue in R&D and own proprietary technology which must be sold to customers in products or services that contribute to a majority of the company’s operating revenues. Companies can only apply to one category. Find out how to apply here.
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