Stoked Bio (CDL'25), a Canadian biotech company focused on the development of novel anti-infectives and cancer therapeutics, announced an oversubscribed $2.5M seed round.
Their biology-first approach integrates proprietary, disease-specific training data with machine learning to identify compounds with real biological effect and strong translational promise, instead of just a statistical signal.
CDL-London and Imperial College London are launching a Healthcare Robotics stream for founders commercializing innovations in medical robotics, active sensing, and physical AI. The program supports the development of hardware-enabled technologies that bring cutting-edge precision and automation into hospitals, homes, and communities to deliver personalized healthcare at scale.
Professor Mary Ryan, Vice Provost (Research and Enterprise) at Imperial College London said: “Healthcare systems worldwide are under increasing pressure, and robotics-enabled technologies will play a critical role in transforming how care is delivered. Imperial is a world leader in embodied intelligence, and this new Healthcare Robotics stream will bring together expertise across engineering, robotics, computing, medicine and entrepreneurship to accelerate the development of intelligent, real-world solutions.
Professor Peter Todd, Dean of Imperial Business School said: “As Europe’s only leading business school embedded in a world-class STEM university, we uniquely connect science and business. Through initiatives like CDL and the new Healthcare Robotics stream, we convene business thinking, scientific rigour and technological expertise to shape a better and healthier future for humanity.”
Applications are currently open.
Co-founder and CEO of Prefab Photonics (CDL-Toronto AI 2025/26), Dusan Gostimirovic came in knowing Creative Destruction Lab meant being part of something bigger. What surprised him was just how much the Rotman students brought to the table. Dusan says working with Rotman MBA students brought real intelligence, genuine curiosity, and work that actually moved the needle.
Prefab Photonics is developing an AI-powered platform that predicts how photonic integrated circuits will perform after fabrication, eliminating the costly trial-and-error that slows the entire industry down.
The Creative Destruction Lab is a a science‑ and technology‑focused venture accelerator founded at the Rotman School in 2012, and now operating globally across 16 locations. It supports seed‑stage, science‑ and technology‑based companies—especially those with the potential for massive scale.
Xona Space Systems (CDL'21) has closed a $170M Series C round. The funding will accelerate production of the Pulsar satellite constellation, a Low Earth Orbit navigation system that delivers stronger, more precise, and more secure positioning signals than legacy GPS, while remaining compatible with existing devices. #BuildSomethingMassive
Nearly a decade after going through the CDL program, Xanadu became the first company in Creative Destruction Lab's 13-year history to reach the public markets — listing on Nasdaq and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker XNDU.
CDL Mentors Barney Pell, Ken Nickerson, and Dennis Bennie recall their experience working with Christian Weedbrook during these formative years.
“Looking back, CDL was one of the first places where I was treated as a founder, not just a researcher. That shift in identity matters more than people realize. I was asked questions that my academic peers would never think to ask. That was uncomfortable at first, and that mindset stayed with me for years and is a part of how Xanadu got here,” says Christian Weedbrook, Founder and CEO of Xanadu.
Read more about Xanadu's journey - link in bio.
Rainfall Health (CDL'22), an AI-driven compliance and reimbursement platform for hospitals has closed a $15M Series A round. A new CMS mandate (TEAM) in the US launched, requiring hospitals to hit quality outcomes across the five highest-spend surgical procedures.
Rainfall's platform is a single-blueprint solution for navigating this new reimbursement era — automating complex regulatory requirements, streamlining hospital workflows, and improving patient outcomes. #BuildSomethingMassive
Legal AI startup Spellbook (CDL'20) has secured $40M USD in debt financing as it looks to scoop up smaller competitors amid faster-than-expected growth.
Spellbook is an AI copilot that allows lawyers and corporations to automatically draft, edit, and review legal contracts directly within Microsoft Word.
Hatch has joined CDL Minerals as a corporate partner to drive the future of mining innovation. With deep expertise in mineral processing, metallurgical engineering, and large-scale mine development across 150+ countries, Hatch is bringing operational insight to the CDL ventures turning scientific breakthroughs into real-world solutions. The CDL Minerals program runs out of CDL-Vancouver at UBC Sauder School of Business and CDL-London at Imperial College London.
“At Hatch, we’re committed to tackling some of the world’s toughest challenges, and this partnership is very much aligned with that,” said Tina Armstrong, global managing director, Metals at Hatch. “Working with CDL Minerals supports our efforts to confront critical issues in the mining industry with meaningful, practical innovation. We’re proud to support the mission of turning scientific excellence into solutions that lead to a materially better world.”
Cleantech company Cyclic Materials (CDL'23) has closed a $75M USD series C. The company has developed an innovative process to recover critical rare earth elements from end-of-life products like magnet production waste. #BuildSomethingMassive
Announced today by the Honorable Minister @timhodgsn.mt , and Honorable Minister @evanljsolomon , the Government of Canada, Creative Destruction Lab, @laurentianu , along with industry participants Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, Anglo American, BHP, Hudbay Minerals, Teck Resources Limited, and Vale signed a Declaration of Intent to explore collaboration on digitization of Canada’s geological drill core and exploring an AI-ready national geoscience platform.
Announced today by The Honourable @evanljsolomon , Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Creative Destruction Lab is receiving a Government of Canada investment, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario @feddevontario , to support its newly launched CDL Defence program.
CDL Defence provides founders with direct access to experienced mentors who’ve built dual-use companies, operators who understand defence requirements, and procurement expertise to bridge the gap from breakthrough research to scaled deployment. The announcement at @uoft@rotmanschool brought together CDL community members, @colchrishadfield , Mina Mitry (Kepler Communications), Ron Lloyd, Melanie Woodin, and many others to commemorate this partnership.
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) has launched CDL-Doha in Qatar, its first site in Asia.
Operated in partnership by ESMT Berlin (CDL-Berlin) and the collaboration of HEC Paris (CDL-Paris), CDL-Doha will provide a new platform for science-driven innovation in the region. The program is funded by founding partners Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Council (QRDI). CDL-Doha will launch with three streams focused on critical areas of global impact: CDL AI, CDL Health, and CDL AgriFood.
