Silicon valley autotech - Canadian technology accelerator
The Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) AutoTech program for 2023 is a collaboration between the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) and the Province of Ontario to support Canadian companies looking to access the global automotive industry by way of tech scouts and corporate strategic investors.
Silicon Valley is home to scouts, investors, and R&D offices for global auto makers, OEMs, and suppliers including Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Hyundai, Suzuki, Rivian, MuRata Electronics, ZF, Yazaki, Honda, and Bosch, to name a few. Silicon Valley is also a highly competitive ecosystem where global companies search for new ways to add value to their business lines.
Scouts and investors are actively looking for innovation in areas such as:
- energy transformation
- batteries and energy storage
- digital health
- semiconductors
- factory automation
- entertainment/infotainment/vehicle interactions
- edge computing, fleet servicing, and more
Important dates
| Application deadline | Program dates | Time commitment |
|---|---|---|
| Closed | September-October 2023 | 2 hours per week virtual and 1 week travel to Silicon Valley |
What are the benefits of joining?
The CTA AutoTech in Silicon Valley offers:
- Market intelligence on the automotive sector
- Programming geared towards accessing investment, pilot projects, partnerships, and technology integrations with suppliers and manufacturers in the automotive industry
- Strategic guidance and mentoring on entering the highly competitive Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem
- Networking and pitch opportunities to prospective partners, investors, and customers
Who should apply
We believe that the applicants best positioned for success:
- Know their value proposition and specific business goals
- Have done research on how they fit into the needs and priorities of target partners/customers/investors
- Can effectively communicate their competitive advantage
- Have strong executive management and the financial resources to commit to sending at least one senior member to participate in the mandatory Silicon Valley component (week of October 9th)
The Trade Commissioner Service supports equity, diversity and inclusion in trade. We strongly encourage companies led by Canadians of all backgrounds to apply.
How the program works
The CTA AutoTech will have mandatory participation for the virtual programming and visit to Silicon Valley in October. Additional optional components are being considered for The Battery Show in Detroit (September) and CES in Las Vegas (January).
Virtual Component
- Program Orientation – The Trade Commissioner Service
- Legal Issues & Protecting Your Intellectual Property – Foley & Lardner LLP
- Virtual Mentoring – The Kerton Group
Silicon Valley Component - B2B Meetings & Pitch Opportunity (week of October 9th)
- ATC Science Fair Demo Table and B2B Meetings for all CTA participants
- Stage Pitch to an audience of Automotive investors & scouts for some of the CTA companies (Note – not all CTA participants will be selected to pitch at this event. The selected companies pitching will be competitively determined by the AutoTech Council based on relevance to buyers/investors in audience and readiness for Silicon Valley ecosystem)
- Silicon Valley Market Intelligence Seminar with Site Visit to Automotive Company Office
*Optional Component – The Battery Show in Novi, Michigan (week of September 11th)
- May include automotive industry market intelligence, networking opportunity, B2B meetings, etc.
*Optional Component – The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV (January 9-12, 2024)
- B2B outreach will be supported by Trade Commissioners from Seoul, Vienna, Taipei, Detroit, and Palo Alto with a focus on MNEs around automotive, consumer electronics, and smart homes.
Contact us
Learn more about this program by contacting:
Michael Wozniak
Trade Commissioner
Canadian Consulate – Palo Alto
michael.wozniak@international.gc.ca
