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MaRS announces participants in its Food and Agtech accelerator

Nine Canadian ventures join the year-long accelerator to advance solutions that will help strengthen the country’s food supply chains. 

TORONTO, December 2, 2025 – MaRS Discovery District today announced the nine ventures selected for the Food and Agtech venture accelerator. 

As part of the Mission from MaRS: Food and Agtech, powered by Farm Credit Canada (FCC), the venture accelerator is designed to fast-track the commercialization of made-in-Canada innovations addressing the sector’s most pressing challenges. This inaugural accelerator is focusing on solutions that can build supply chain resiliency.

These ventures, working across logistics, traceability, waste, automation, packaging and controlled environment agriculture, will receive one year of tailored support to help scale technologies critical to the future of Canada’s food system.

The new Mission from MaRS: Food and Agtech venture accelerator participants include: 

Luke Scales, co-founder of Arbia (Formerly known as Stocky AI)
Arbia is an AI-powered operating system for food suppliers that automates workflows, optimizes sales channels and buyer discovery through a B2B marketplace. 

Corey Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Growcer
Manufacturer of modular hydroponic farms that provide a simple solution to locally grow and sell fresh, profitable crops year-round, regardless of the climate.

Pierre-Xavier Roy, COO and co-founder of Hydro Cool Systems
Hydro Cool Systems is developing an intelligent, zero-carbon, mobile refrigeration system optimized for delivering food. 

Lourdes Juan, CEO and founder of Knead Tech
Knead Tech is a software company that enables scalable food recovery solutions, helping food rescue organizations track and coordinate donations, ensure food safety and measure impact. 

Francois Menard, CEO and founder of PULR Technologies
PULR Technologies provides foundational infrastructure for Industry 5.0 with AI-enabled regenerative electronics to improve traceability and optimize shelf life of ingredients and products.   

Marcia Woods, CEO and founder of Purchs
Purchs is a B2B SaaS platform that automates the entire order-to-cash workflow for brands, distributors and retailers working in consumer packaged goods.   

Wayne McIntyre, CEO of Relocalize
Relocalize has developed autonomous micro-factories to create packaged ice and water cold packs that cut both costs and carbon emissions.

Yun Yao, CEO and co-founder of SoraLink
SoraLink provides a predictive maintenance service for industrial machines using AI and machine learning to analyze data and prevent equipment breakdowns for food processors. 

Gaurav Tewari, CEO and president of Tewari De-Ox Systems
Tewari De-Ox Systems has invented and patented packaging technique for extending the shelf life of meat and poultry.

These nine Canadian ventures will be showcased to all attendees at the MaRS Climate Impact conference on December 2, 2025. 

“We are excited to join the cohort because it gives Knead Tech access to the advisors, industry partners and resources that can help accelerate our impact in food waste reduction. We are looking forward to strengthening Canadian food systems together,” says Lourdes Juan, CEO and founder of Knead Tech, one of the nine selected ventures. 

“Joining the Mission from MaRS Food and Agtech Accelerator directly aligns with our core mission to reduce food waste and build more resilient supply chains,” says Luke Scales, CEO of Arbia, who is also participating in the program. “We’re excited to collaborate with industry adopters and fellow innovators to accelerate the real-world deployment of AI solutions that help Canadian food businesses operate more efficiently, profitably and sustainably.”

National coalition: Uniting industry leaders to drive national adoption
Mission from MaRS: Food and Agtech is also convening a national coalition of experts and stakeholders from industry, finance and the innovation community, who will identify market barriers and enable large-scale adoption of agri-food innovation. The newest coalition members include:

“At a time when Canada can lead in sustainable agri-food solutions, this Mission unites a national coalition to accelerate adoption of impactful technologies,” says Nick Betts, executive director of CANZA, one of the newest coalition members. “I’m eager to contribute to initiatives that not only support farmers at home but also showcase Canadian innovation on the global stage.”

About MaRS Discovery District
MaRS Discovery District helps Canadian startups succeed so they can solve our toughest problems in such areas as climate, health and the economy. As North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity, MaRS provides direct support to more than 1,200 ventures, builds communities of innovators within its 1.5-million square feet of lab and office space, and spurs the adoption of new solutions — in Canada and around the world. For more information, contact mfm@marsdd.com 

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Amanda Whalen, senior manager, media relations and corporate communications at MaRS
awhalen@marsdd.com