VANCOUVER, BC, May 13, 2026 /CNW/ - UBC Sauder School of Business will debut its new Scale Up Program at the UBC Sauder School of Business and Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)-Vancouver Alumni Showcase, taking place from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at TELUS Garden during Web Summit Vancouver, introducing a focused effort to help high-potential Canadian companies scale into defence, dual-use, and advanced industrial markets.

The Scale Up Program is led by the UBC Sauder School of Business, from the team that operates CDL-Vancouver. The program provides support for procurement, enterprise adoption, export growth, and integration into allied supply chains as British Columbia's defence-innovation ecosystem gains momentum and Canada sharpens its focus on sovereignty, commercialization, and industrial capacity.

Accelerating Defence and Dual-Use Commercialization

The program focuses on ventures advancing AI, autonomy, sensing, cybersecurity, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and other dual-use technologies with commercial and strategic relevance. These companies often face complex barriers in moving from technical success to deployment, including multi-layered procurement processes, long sales cycles, management constructs, financing constraints, and integration with existing supply chains in Canada and allied markets.

The Scale Up Program helps close those gaps by connecting founders with operators, procurement specialists, and industry leaders who understand commercialization in defence and adjacent industrial sectors.

Program Structure and Venture Support

The program will support at least two British Columbia–based cohorts per year, with approximately 30 ventures annually across the broader UBC Sauder venture ecosystem.

Selected ventures receive:

• Mentorship from senior operators and defence-sector experts
• Commercialization and procurement readiness programming
• Curated introductions to corporate, government, and allied partners
• Venture diagnostics, leadership development, and applied scaling support
• Training in AI adoption, operations, and deployment strategy
• Exposure to defence primes, investors, and global collaborators

The Scale Up Program builds on British Columbia's growing defence-innovation momentum, strengthened by recent federal support for commercialization initiatives involving institutions such as UBC and Simon Fraser University, and aligns with federal efforts to expand Canada's defence and dual-use capacity, including initiatives delivered through PacifiCan and Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).

"The Government of Canada is making generational investments in defence, and British Columbians are ready to deliver. We are helping some of Canada's most promising defence and dual-use innovators unlock new opportunities, integrate into allied supply chains, and bring Canadian technology to the world. These investments strengthen our sovereignty, create good jobs, and build a more resilient economy for B.C. and Canada."

— The Honourable Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan)

"Canada's ability to build, scale, and deploy critical technologies—including those with dual‑use applications—will define its leadership in defence and across allied markets. Initiatives like UBC Sauder's Scale Up Program are exactly what BDC's Defence Platform is designed to support, helping companies navigate procurement, integrate into supply chains, and deliver at home and internationally."

— Peter Dawe, Vice President, Defence Strategy, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

A parallel Innovation Leadership program will support corporate and public-sector leaders who work on procurement innovation, AI transformation, and collaboration with emerging technology companies.

Pilot Cohort and Early Momentum

The inaugural pilot cohort concludes on May 20, 2026, following programming focused on procurement navigation, commercialization strategy, AI-enabled operations, and leadership development. After the pilot, founders will join a business-development delegation to CANSEC 2026, Canada's largest defence and security trade show.

Over its first three years, Scale Up is expected to support around 60 ventures, accelerating commercialization of Canadian technologies, attracting private investment, and deepening integration of British Columbia companies into allied supply chains.

"Our pilot cohort has already demonstrated the potential of Canadian ventures to scale into defence and dual-use markets. We are excited to expand support and help more companies integrate into domestic and allied supply chains."

 — Darrell Kopke, Executive Director at UBC Sauder Scale Up Program

Partners

The initiative is being developed with partners across academia, industry, government, and the defence innovation ecosystem. Foundational support has come from partners including Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan), Innovate BC, Fasken as well as BDC.

The launch comes as sovereignty, AI, autonomy, and advanced technologies take centre stage across the city, drawing global founders, investors, and policymakers to British Columbia for Web Summit Vancouver.

About UBC Sauder and CDL-Vancouver Alumni Venture Showcase

The UBC Sauder and CDL-Vancouver Alumni Venture Showcase offers a high-profile platform to introduce Canada's most promising dual-use and defence, and advanced industrial ventures emerging from the UBC and CDL ecosystem. The event features ventures raising Seed through Series A/B capital and brings together founders, corporates, and ecosystem partners from across Canada and international markets.

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SOURCE UBC Sauder School of Business