Pitch to the Chief™ Competition Returns with Expansion to Waterloo Region
Welcome to Pitch to the Chief™ 2026.
The V13 Policetech Accelerator is pleased to announce the launch of the sixth edition of Pitch to the Chief™. This year will feature two-stage competitive down-selection from 18 Semi-Finalists to 6 Finalists with pitch events taking place in Waterloo as well as Cobourg, Ontario, and open to the public (details and audience tickets coming soon). The preliminary event with the Top 18 companies selected by a panel of Deputy Chiefs of Police in Ontario will be held at SPUR Innovation Centre in Waterloo and with a panel including Aylmer’s Chief of Police, Kyle Johnstone. From there, 6 successful policetech ventures will be selected to go on to the Finals at Venture13 innovation centre in Cobourg, Ontario, with a judging panel chaired by Paul Vandegraaf, Chief of Police of the Cobourg Police Service.
The last three winners of Pitch to the Chief™ were: Hyper, Eye3 and ChimeraXR (acquired by Street Smarts VR).
“Pitch to the Chief provided us with direct, meaningful access to police leaders who truly understand frontline challenges,” said Josh Wright, Founding Account Executive at Hyper (Hyper offers AI solutions for public safety and is reducing non-emergency call volumes through their innovative platform). “Our participation in the event helped opened doors to real-world conversations and partnerships and accelerated our growth in the policing sector.”
Pitch to the Chief™ 2026 challenges entrepreneurs to address bottlenecks faced by modern police services in Canada from mounting personnel impacts due to the rapidly evolving nature of policing, a widening gap in technology adoption and operations modernization activities and the ever-increasing need for funding.
“On the start-up side, entrepreneurs want to be a part of the solution. But we’ve found that one of the biggest barriers is getting their innovations deployed with their first police service,” said Joe Miller, V13 Policetech Accelerator lead and Business Development Officer at Nventure. “So, to get these partnerships ignited, we designed Pitch to the Chief to facilitate commercialization opportunities for next gen ventures through an open competition complete with follow-on opportunities and dedicated accelerator support.”
With recent funding from the Government of Ontario and an increasing profile (Miller spoke at this year’s Canadian Institute Police Tech Conference & Expo on how the competition fits into the accelerator model for the future of policing) Pitch to the Chief™ attracted the support of VCs in Waterloo Region (including Drive Capital) as well as Fresh Founders based in Ottawa, whose members are helping to increase awareness and participation in the event. Organic momentum led to the addition of the Semi-Finalist showdown.
“SPUR Innovation Centre is excited to host the preliminary round of Pitch to the Chief and to support a program that meaningfully connects innovators with real-world policing challenges,” said Sharif Virani, CEO at SPUR Innovation Centre. “Pitch to the Chief creates a rare and valuable opportunity for early-stage companies to receive direct feedback from police leaders, helping refine solutions that can improve public safety and operational efficiency. We’re proud to support an event where collaboration between law enforcement and the innovation community can thrive.”
Click here to visit the competition webpage, read the official rules (terms and conditions apply) and submit your application by January 11, 2026 for a chance to win up to $30,000 in prizes.
Funded in part by the Government of Ontario through the Rural Ontario Development Program.
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About the V1 Policetech Accelerator
The V13 Policetech Accelerator is a joint initiative of the Cobourg Police Service and Nventure, committed to excellence in policing operations and leadership in community safety innovation. Located at Venture13, this unique collaboration offers competitively selected researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators the opportunity to validate new approaches to twenty-first century policing in a controlled and defined small-town, pilot-scale environment.
About Nventure
Nventure is an innovation organization based at Venture13, focused on funding, financing, and strategy services for entrepreneurs. Nventure drives economic advancement by investing in entrepreneur and industry-led growth in Northumberland, southern Ontario, and across the country, through numerous initiatives such as the Community Futures Program (CFP), Vfactory, the V13 Policetech Accelerator, DELIA, and StrikeUP Canada.
About the Cobourg Police Service
Formed in 1834, the Cobourg Police Service (CPS) is an innovative force committed to community safety and operational excellence. CPS Corporate Services division (located at Venture13 in Cobourg) is Canada’s leading national wholesale provider of online criminal records checks. In 2023, CPS launched the V13 Policetech Accelerator joint initiative with Nventure which went on to develop Pitch to the Chief™, the Policetech Tested™ program and other initiatives designed at the intersection of policing and entrepreneurial innovation.
