23 Teams Join Dal Innovates’ AI2Market, Campus2Market and Lab2Market Launch 2026 Summer Accelerator
Article by Dal Innovates. Full article is available here.
Today, Dal Innovates welcomed 23 student-led entrepreneurial teams into Launch, its flagship summer accelerator. The 2026 Launch cohorts span AI2Market, Campus2Market and Lab2Market and represent 13 post-secondary institutions across Canada. The teams will spend 16 weeks building ventures that address real-world challenges across healthcare and wellness, applied artificial intelligence, education, and sustainability.
“Dal Innovates is helping connect Canada’s research enterprise with the skills, mentorship and market pathways needed to turn promising ideas into real-world innovation,” said Dr. Graham Gagnon, vice-president research and innovation at Dalhousie University, where Dal Innovates is located. “That work matters for Nova Scotia and Canada. By supporting research-driven venture creation, Launch is helping build the enterprises, talent and solutions we need to strengthen our economy, improve resilience and contribute to Canada’s long-term sovereignty.”
“Dal Innovates is headquarters for a suite of programs uniquely designed to equip students with the skills to take their solutions to market,” said Jeff Larsen, vice-president, innovation, entrepreneurship, commercialization and partnerships at Dalhousie University. “This year’s Launch accelerator brings students and researchers together across disciplines into an ecosystem where founders are supported at their earliest stages of venture creation and we can’t wait to see them take off.”
This summer also marks the first pilot of AI2Market Launch, expanding the flagship program to support students developing high-impact AI-driven ventures.
“When talented students have access to the right support, networks, and resources, they can turn strong ideas into real economic and social impact. ACOA is proud to support Dalhousie’s AI2Market, Campus2Market and Lab2Market Launch programs, creating conditions for innovation and strengthening the pipeline of early-stage startups led by diverse founders emerging from post-secondary research,” said Shannon Miedema, Member of Parliament for Halifax, on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
For the participants, Launch offers an opportunity to focus full-time on venture creation while learning directly from expert facilitators and industry mentors.
“I’m looking forward to the hands-on training, coaching, and mentorship to pressure-test our idea for making solar energy systems smarter and to learn what it takes to launch a startup,” said Abdussalam Mohamed, PhD candidate in Engineering, co-founder of NovaFlux AI, and part of the 2026 AI2Market Launch cohort.
“I’m looking forward to the hands-on training, coaching, and mentorship to pressure-test our idea for making solar energy systems smarter and to learn what it takes to launch a startup,” said Abdussalam Mohamed, PhD candidate in Engineering, co-founder of NovaFlux AI, and part of the 2026 AI2Market Launch cohort.
About Launch
The Launch streams of AI2Market, Campus2Market, and Lab2Market are full-time educational accelerators based on MIT’s delta v accelerator model. Lab2Market, Canada’s national network for innovation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship training, piloted its Launch stream from 2020 to 2024 at Dalhousie University, and has helped support the creation of 133 companies by equipping students and researchers to transform research-based ideas into real-world impact.
Campus2Market Launch, introduced as Collide in 2024, supports post-secondary students across Atlantic Canada as they develop early-stage ventures into market-ready businesses. Building on the momentum of Lab2Market Launch and Campus2Market Launch, 2026 marks the first pilot year of AI2Market Launch in partnership with Shiftkey Labs and Dalhousie’s Faculty of Computer Science.
Each Launch stream serves a distinct founder audience.
Lab2Market Launch supports research driven teams commercializing academic discoveries
Campus2Market Launch supports student founders developing solutions rooted in their lived experience and emerging market needs
AI2Market Launch supports student teams who are building a novel AI-first product addressing real-world problems across sectors
The Launch program offers each team:
Up to $10,000 in funding
Tailored instruction from industry experts
One-on-one coaching and mentorship from entrepreneurs and industry experts
Access to Atlantic Canada’s broader innovation ecosystem, and national accelerator pathways
Read the full article to meet the teams accepted into the 2026 Launch Accelerator.