Gideon Hayden, co-founder and managing partner at Leaders Fund, a venture capital fund, in Toronto, on Sept. 19. Leaders Fund found that just 32.4% of Canadian-led 'high-potential' startups launched in 2024 were headquartered in Canada.

Gumloop began as a classic tech startup : two friends furiously coding in their bedrooms. It’s the kind of promising company Canada has banked on to help improve its lagging economic growth. Gumloop uses artificial intelligence to automate workflows, counts Instacart CART-Q and Shopify SHOP-T as customers and raised US$17-million in venture capital this year.

But after completing San Francisco’s famed Y Combinator accelerator program in 2024, “you drink the Kool-Aid,” co-founder Max Brodeur-Urbas said. “They convince you by the end to stay.” Gumlo

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