Richard Chénier leads Québec Tech, the Montréal organization formerly known as Startup Montréal, and co-created Boreal Ventures, a $26M fund for Quebec deep tech.
Worth knowing
He knows how a Quebec deep tech company gets from a university lab to a first cheque, having built both the incubator and the pre-seed fund that do it, in AI and medtech above all. He also has the ear of government on innovation policy and of federal industrial research funding. Founders raising a first round in Quebec, and investors looking for deep tech deal flow there, should write.
Story
Richard trained as a psychosociologist and organizational communication specialist, and spent several years as a management trainer and coach, working with more than 10,000 managers across over 100 organizations. He moved to École de technologie supérieure, where he directed ÉTS Formation, one of Quebec's largest continuing education services, then took on technological entrepreneurship and innovation for the school. From 2016 he ran Centech, the ÉTS incubator, narrowing its focus to deep tech and turning it into one of the highest-rated incubators in the world. In 2024 the organization he had been leading as Startup Montréal became Québec Tech, with a mandate to make Quebec a global source of tech companies, working out of the Ax-C startup space at Place Victoria.
Canadian story
As General Manager of Québec Tech, I am fully committed to propelling tech startups with high growth potential from Quebec and Montreal to international commercial success. For over a decade, I have been dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, including 8 impactful years as the CEO of Centech and co-creator of Boreal Ventures. In 2020, my career path brought me to join the Conseil d’Innovation du Québec, and in 2022, to become the strategic advisor to the government, aiming at realizing the vision of a world-class entrepreneurial innovation hub in Montreal, Ax.c
Highlights
- General Manager, Québec Tech (formerly Startup Montréal), Montréal
- CEO of Centech, ÉTS, 2016-2022; rated a top incubator by UBI Global
- Co-creator, Boreal Ventures, $26M CAD deep tech fund
- Chairman, advisory board, NRC-IRAP, since 2022
- Member, Conseil de l'innovation du Québec; Prix d'excellence en gestion, Innovation, 2021
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