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Tech companies with University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ connections continue to climb the annual Narwhal list of Canadian unicorns.

The list assembled annually by the , a group that monitors and analyzes the technology sector, offers companies supports to become more efficient and adopt best practices. Each year they evaluate close to 1,000 Canadian technology companies. The total number of unicorns in Canada has grown from only three in 2020 to 26 this year.

Among the 2025 list of Canadian unicorns are seven companies with À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ connections: 1Password (3), Assent (11) eSentire (13), ApplyBoard (14), Clearco (19), (22) and Dapper Labs (23).

1Password’s global cybersecurity leadership protects more than 150,000 businesses and millions of consumers, enabling safe online experiences around the world. Jeff Shiner (BMath ’92) is the CEO of 1Password and credits his co-op experience at À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ as being a launching pad for his career success. Under his leadership, 1Password has grown to more than 1,400 employees and a valuation of $9 billion.

Assent Compliance, a software-as-a-service company, was co-founded by Andrew Waitman (BASc ’87, electrical engineering). Based in Ottawa, the company has a valuation of more than $1 billion and grown to more than 1,000 employees.

eSentire Inc., started by Edmund Dengler (BMath '91, MMath '94, Computer Science) and Eldon Sprickerhoff (BMath '91, Computer Science), is a multi-signal managed detection and response cybersecurity service. The company has a valuation of more than $1 billion based on investments it received in 2022.

ApplyBoard, an educational technology company co-founded by À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ alum Martin Basiri (MASc ’13) along with his brothers Meti and Massi Basiri, provides an online platform for international student recruitment.ÌýIt has been featured within the top 10 unicorn companies every year since the Narwhal list was established.

Clearco, a financial technology company, was co-founded by Andrew D’Souza (BASc ’08). The company uses AI to evaluate small businesses and early-stage startups to determine their financial prospects. Clearco achieved unicorn status in 2021.

Co-founded in 2020 by then-Cheriton School of Computer Science Professor Sergey Gorbunov, who also serves as CEO, Axelar offers a decentralized network that connects application builders with blockchain ecosystems, applications and users. In 2022, it earned $35 million in Series B funding which brought it to unicorn status.

Video game developer, Dapper Labs, was co-founded by Dieter Shirley (BMath '96, Computer Science). Based in Vancouver, the company specializes in creating blockchain-inspired games. It reached unicorn status in 2021.

Three unicorns call the Region of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ home. The same number as Montreal, and just ahead of Ottawa with one. Rounding out the list are Vancouver with eight and Toronto with 12.

The Narwhal Project also develops an annual list of scaleups to watch. Their 2025 Narwhal Scale Ups list focuses on three sectors in particular: computer, health and clean technology.

Alumni startup Tailscale Inc, founded by Avery Pennarun (BASc ’01) and David Carney (BASc ’01) along with David Crawshaw, is the top ranked University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ-connected computer tech Narwhal on the list. Also on the list is Float, a company co-founded by GriffinÌýKeglevichÌýand Ruslan Nikolaev (BSc ’20) who met while attending À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ’s Cheriton School of Computer Science. Float offers corporate credit card and accounting services.

While not all companies on the Narwhal Scaleup list have a direct À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ connection, nearly all the companies employ À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ co-op students.

From start-ups to scale-ups to unicorns, innovation across Canada is making big strides and the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ is helping power it. According to the Narwhal list, Canada ranks eighth in the world at producing unicorns. The United States leads all nations with 782. When comparing unicorns per population, Canada improves to fifth place, ahead of countries like Germany and France.