Women-led startups receive $535,000 in cash investments at DMZ’s 2025 Women Innovation Summit
Amidst the tech landscape pulling back on diversity efforts, DMZ reaffirms its commitment to women entrepreneurs by providing critical funding to scale.
TORONTO – March 6, 2025 – In honour of International Women’s Day, DMZ’s third annual Women Innovation Summit saw $535,000 in investments made to women-led startups from The Firehood and DMZ Ventures.
Launched in 2023, DMZ’s Women Innovation Summit has become a powerful platform for celebrating and accelerating women-led innovation. The Summit featured curated activities throughout the day, including roundtables to encourage candid discussions around women’s entrepreneurship, the unveiling of DMZ’s 2025 Women of the Year honourees and its coveted pitch competition.
For the third consecutive year, The Firehood—a national network dedicated to advancing women in technology—joined as an investment partner. This year’s Summit marked the first time DMZ Ventures, the for-profit investment arm of DMZ, joined as an Investment Partner alongside The Firehood, expanding the pool of funding available to women founders. DMZ Ventures launched a corporate fund last summer to invest in promising pre-seed and seed-stage startups.
Following an extensive application process that drew over 200 submissions from across Canada, 10 founders took the stage to pitch their business. Cashew, Migranium, Edie Farming and Metronome secured $535,000 in investments from The Firehood and DMZ Ventures.
- Cashew, an AI market research solution, took home a total of $190,000, with DMZ Ventures committing $150,000 and The Firehood, $40,000.
- Migranium, an AI-powered healthcare operations platform, took home a total of $125,000, with DMZ Ventures committing $75,000 and The Firehood, $50,000.
- Edie Farming, Ontario’s first urban commercial rooftop greenhouse, took home a total of $120,000, with DMZ Ventures committing $100,000 and The Firehood, $20,000.
- Metronome, an AI-powered home intelligence platform, took home a total $100,000 from DMZ Ventures.
“We’re beyond grateful for the incredible support from DMZ Ventures and The Firehood,” said Addy Graves, CEO and Co-Founder of Cashew. “The pitch coaching from DMZ Experts-in-Residence was a game-changer—it helped us sharpen our message and tell our story with confidence on stage. With this funding, we’re ready to grow our team, level up our AI and expand Cashew to international markets.”
“Every year we see the undeniable impact of our angel investors, who had tough choices to make as the caliber of founders at this year’s Summit was extraordinary. We’re proud to light a fire and fuel their growth, ensuring they have the capital, mentorship and resources needed to thrive,” said Claudette McGowan and Danielle Graham, Co-Founders of The Firehood. “Empowering and investing in women-led innovation is at the fiery heart of our mission.”
“This year’s Women Innovation Summit marks the most DMZ Ventures has ever committed to in a single pitch competition, because now more than ever, we need to double down on women-led businesses,” said Abdullah Snobar, Executive Director of DMZ and CEO of DMZ Ventures. “Year after year, the data proves what we already know: women-led startups deliver stronger returns, drive innovation and build businesses that last. So, while some so-called tech leaders debate diversity like it’s optional, we’re putting capital behind the founders who are actually moving the needle.”
The Summit also unveiled DMZ’s 2025 Women of the Year recipients. Created to honour women in Canada’s tech and business community, the annual award recognizes an esteemed list of individuals for their outstanding accomplishments and impact.
DMZ’s 2025 Women of the Year award recipients include:
- Snita Balsara, Principal, BDC
- Rachel Batholomew, Founder, Hyivy Health & Femtech Canada
- Emmanuelle Coppinger, Managing Director, Front Row Ventures
- Melisa Ellis, Founder & CEO, Nobellum
- Kayla Isabelle, CEO, Startup Canada
- Serena Nguyen, CEO & Founder, Evolve Advisory Services
- Bobbie Racette, Founder & CEO, Virtual Gurus
- Noura Sakkhija, CEO & Co-Founder, Mejuri
- Sarah Stockdale, Founder and CEO, Growclass
- Lisa Zarzecny, Co-Founder & CEO, Elevate
DMZ’s commitment to supporting Canadian startups goes beyond investment capital. In response to the latest round of U.S. tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, DMZ has launched the Oh Canada Tech Directory—a centralized solution to showcase and amplify Canadian-built tech solutions.
Launched this week, the directory connects procurement leaders to homegrown innovators, ensuring that Canadian tech companies remain competitive and top of mind. Canadian companies interested in being listed on the directory can apply here.
For more information on DMZ Women of the Year honourees, head over to dmz.to/woty-blog-25.
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Media Contact
Luvy Hardy, DMZ
luvy.hardy@torontomu.ca
About DMZ
DMZ is a tech incubator and startup ecosystem that fuels entrepreneurship in Canada and beyond. Through its award-winning programs, DMZ empowers founders to scale high-impact ventures, helps students develop entrepreneurial mindsets and equips professionals to thrive in today’s fast-moving economy. By offering tailored support, world-class resources and expansive networks, DMZ nurtures bold ideas, drives business growth and creates global economic impact.
To date, DMZ has supported 2400+ startups in raising $2.94 billion in capital and has created over 23,000 jobs. Headquartered in Toronto, DMZ operates a global network of hubs spanning 10+ countries, enabling entrepreneurs to access diverse markets, collaborate internationally and drive global innovation.
