OVIN Incubators – New Venture Creation Program

The New Venture Creation Program helps turn leading Ontario academic research into promising new ventures that address the key challenges of the automotive and mobility sector, supporting early-stage technology development from concept to prototype as a first step in attracting commercial investment.

Benefits to Applicants:

• Commercialization of Ontario-made technologies
• Demonstration of Ontario-made technologies for potential customers
• Development of market-ready solutions to current industry challenges
• Supporting early-stage companies to grow and scale

Benefits to Society:

• Introduction of innovative new products and services to improve mobility 
• Reduced environmental and carbon footprint 
• Increased economic development outcomes in Ontario
• Increased competitiveness of Ontario’s automotive and mobility sector

Applicant

• An Applicant may be a researcher(s) from an Ontario Post-Secondary Institution at the time the application is submitted; however, the recipient of OCI funds must be an incorporated Ontario-based small- and medium- sized enterprise (SME):
• Incorporated: active corporation with a Business Number issued by the Canada Revenue Agency.
• Ontario-based: registered operations (R&D, manufacturing, product management, etc.) in Ontario.
• SME: fewer than 500 global full-time employees.
• May be an Applicant on only one New Venture Creation project at a time.
• The Applicant is a co-signatory to the Funding Agreement.

Project

• One Applicant. 
• Project activities are carried out in Ontario. 
• Minimum 1:1 contribution match by Applicant. 
• Project duration can be between 4 and 10 months. 
• This program is intended to support technology development from conception to prototype (i.e., moving from Technology Readiness Level 2 at the start of the project to Technology Readiness Level 4 or higher at the end of the project) 
• Typical project activities include proof-of-concept, technology development, and demonstration. 
• Intellectual Property (IP) arising from a project will be managed by project Applicant as OCI does not claim or manage IP rights. 
• At the conclusion of each project, a demonstration event will occur through which the Applicant will present project outcomes. 

Applications to the OVIN Incubators New Venture Creation Program are accepted on a rolling intake basis – there are no deadlines while the program is open.  

1. To begin the Full Application submission process, please complete a client intake form:  

• Please note: Completion of this form does not constitute an application for funding. 
• An OCI Business Development Manager (BDM) will contact you to discuss the opportunity and assist you with developing your proposal. 

2. Applicants submit their Full Application for internal and external review. 
3. Your BDM must endorse your application for eligibility and suitability prior to submission. 
4. External reviewers score your application. Applications which meet a minimum scoring threshold are recommended for funding recommendation to OCI’s Internal Review Panel (IRP). 
5. IRP, comprised of senior OCI staff, makes the final decision. 
6. Successful Applicants will be notified by OCI and provided an outline of conditions and additional information necessary to activate the project. 
7. Applicants who are not selected will be notified by OCI. Feedback on the decision can be provided by their BDM. 

Reference documentation (the Program Guidelines, the OCI Funding Agreement, the Eligible Expenditures Guide, the Full Proposal Questionnaire, the Letter of Support Template, and the Data and Information Sharing Protocol (DISP) documents) are available on the OVIN Resource Document Page.