Automat Wins Canadian Regional Startup Cup
Automat took home the Startup Cup at the Canadian regional qualifiers on the final day of CIX 2017 held in Toronto.
The Montreal-based conversational marketing company was one of 20 companies selected as part of the CIX TOP 20. All of the top companies had displays and employees at the two-day Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) conference and spoke with attendees throughout the event. Some of the companies even graced the stage to give talks of their own, such as Automat’s own live showcase.
The other names included in the CIX TOP 20 are a who’s who of upcoming Canadian startups, from Top Hat and Integrate.ai to StackAdapt and Clio. These companies were all named to the top 20 back in the middle of September. Past CIX TOP 20 alumni include notable companies like Vidyard and Wealthsimple.
After the win, Automat will now represent Canada in the Startup World Cup, where they will vie for a $1 million investment against more than 30 companies from over 20 different countries. The finals will be held in San Francisco on May 11, 2018.
Automat took to the stage after being announced as winners and showed off their company pride.
“There was a lot of talk today about the humility of Canadian startups, but I can assure you they picked the one that does not have that problem,” said Automat co-founder and CEO Andy Mauro as he accepted the award. “We’re going to bring home the cup this year!”
The Japanese company Unifa won first Startup World Cup at an event that featured Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian as speakers. The Startup World Cup itself was created by Fenox Venture Capital.
Automat is a company that uses AI to help other organizations talk and interact with their customers. It is fitting that an AI-driven company is representing Canada, as the country is home to so many talented new startups in the space, so much so that cities like Montreal and Toronto have been called the AI capitals of the world.
