Collision to remain in Toronto for 2024

Collision – one of the world’s biggest tech events, according to BNN Bloomberg – has confirmed that it will host the 2024 event in Toronto. The event will bring together thousands of next-generation entrepreneurs, investors, and journalists from around the world.

This year, Collision is expected to contribute CA$49 million to Toronto’s economy, according to projections from Destination Toronto. Collision added CA$27 million to the city’s economy in 2019 and CA$43 million in 2022, resulting in a total economic impact of CA$188 million over three years.

In addition to the direct economic benefits, Collision provides an opportunity to showcase Canadian and Torontonian tech talent and companies to a global audience, while also positioning Toronto as a thriving and inclusive tech ecosystem in the long term. Google, Netflix, Reddit, Pinterest, Cloudflare and Snowflake have opened offices and engineering hubs in the region over the last four years, according to Toronto Global.

Covid-19 pandemic and economic uncertainties

“We are delighted to be returning to Toronto in 2024. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and economic uncertainties in the tech industry, Collision has continued to flourish in this city. We are grateful for the support from Destination Toronto and the City of Toronto as we aim to make Collision even more globally impactful and to shine a spotlight on the remarkable Canadian and Toronto tech ecosystem on our global stage,” said Paddy Cosgrave, founder and CEO at Collision.

Collision 2023 will take place next week in Toronto, from June 26-29. It is projected to bring thousands of attendees – including major tech figures, such as godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton, Conviction founder Sara Guo, AWS CEO Adam Selipsky and YouTube superstar Marques Brownlee – from more than 140 countries to the city.

Run programs and initiatives across the event

More than 230 global partners – including Siemens, Volkswagen, AT&T, RBC, Google, AWS, Stripe and Salesforce – and thousands of startups will travel to Toronto next week from countries such as Nigeria, the Republic of Korea, Uruguay, Japan, Italy, Ghana and Pakistan, all taking to the event floor over three days.

Collision will also run programs and initiatives across the event that encourage a broad participation from communities in Canada, including thousands of students, members of Indigenous communities, and members of underrepresented groups in tech.

“I am so pleased that we will again welcome the Collision Conference to Toronto in 2024. This event puts our city on the global stage, showcasing our thriving technology community to industry leaders and major investors. It also significantly boosts our local economy: the 2022 conference generated $43 million in direct spending and $68 million in economic impact. I’m certain that this year’s conference, running from June 26 to 29, will be even more impactful for Toronto and the surrounding region” said Councillor Shelley Carroll (Don Valley North), Chair of the Economic and Community Development Committee.

Toronto – fastest-growing tech centre in North America

“Collision puts the spotlight on Toronto as the fastest-growing tech centre in North America. The city cultivates a distinctive mix of culture, education, diversity and talent for technology and innovation sectors to thrive. Hosting major events and conferences in Toronto, like Collision, delivers significant economic impact to our local economy and contributes to its vibrancy and appeal to residents and visitors. We look forward to welcoming start-ups, investors, governments, organizations and visitors from around the world to Toronto,” said Scott Beck, President & CEO, Destination Toronto.

Canadian startups have experienced healthy VC activity despite the economic headwinds. According to PitchBook, for the first half of 2023, Canadian and Toronto startups surpassed 2019 and 2020 funding levels, beating pre-pandemic levels, with the value of deals in Toronto reaching US$1.3 billion. 2023 is up 120% compared to the first half of 2019 and 2020 (US$0.6 billion each year). Similarly, for Canadian startups, the deal value has increased by 40% from 2019 (563 deals at US$2.3 billion in Q1 and Q2) to 2023 (347 deals at US$3.2 billion).