A federal government project aimed at helping selected Canadian companies grow has succeeded in doing so, according to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and several of the firms.

The Global Hypergrowth Project launched in July 2023 with eight businesses. The project provided each firm with wraparound support – including a dedicated account executive – tailored to each company’s needs.

All the companies received help with expanding nationally, acquiring talent, navigating funding opportunities, protecting intellectual property, identifying export opportunities, and participating in procurement processes.

The eight companies have collectively grown their annual revenues, expanded internationally, innovated new solutions, added employees, attracted top talent, and raised record amounts of investment capital,” Riyadh Nazerally (photo at right), a senior communications advisor with ISED, said in an email to Research Money.

The companies have entered and expanded into new international markets and increased trade diversification, he said.

The companies also have shared insights on challenges faced by scaling firms with senior government leadership, to inform policy and program development.

“All eight firms continue to be headquartered in Canada, with a significant workforce presence in Canada,” Nazerally said.

For Vancouver-based Clarius Mobile Health Corp., which offers AI-enhanced wireless handheld ultrasound scanners, the most significant impact of the Global Hypergrowth project has been the enhanced facilitated access to the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) and the prioritization the company received for Team Canada Trade Missions, said Julien Ho (photo at left), vice-president, legal and government affairs, at Clarius.

 “Participation in multiple Team Canada Trade Missions, combined with CanExport support and targeted market guidance, allowed us to expand more quickly and effectively in high-priority regions,” he said.

The coordinated support provided through the Global Hypergrowth Project and the TCS has played a meaningful role in accelerating Clarius’ export strategy, Ho noted.

“Participation in numerous Indo-Pacific Team Canada Trade Missions since the program’s launch allowed us to identify new partners, strengthen distributor relationships, and advance discussions with major hospital groups and health-system leaders.”

As a result of these combined efforts, Clarius doubled its Indo-Pacific business in FY25 compared to FY24, Ho said.

The Global Hypergrowth Project also has streamlined Clarius’ engagement with federal programs by providing a single point of contact who helps coordinate across departments, he said.

“This has made it easier for us to navigate non-dilutive programs, maintain alignment in our ongoing work with PacifiCan (Pacific Canada Development Agency), advance collaborative projects with IRAP (Industrial Research Assistance Program) and ensure complementary federal initiatives – such as our CanHealth commercialization project – remain well coordinated.”

The Global Hypergrowth Project’s account executive team has helped Clarius engage with IRAP, PacifiCan, TCS, Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and CanHealth “in a more streamlined way, reducing complexity and enabling our teams to focus on execution rather than administrative navigation,” Ho said.

Support from the Global Hyper Growth Project also helped Clarius efficiently resolve a time-sensitive global talent mobility matter through federal immigration channels, which was important to maintaining our operational momentum, he said.

As for ways to improve the Global Hypergrowth Project, Ho suggested that an enhanced focus on domestic procurement would provide substantial value to Canadian scale-ups.

While the Global Hypergrowth Project team has been highly supportive, navigating federal procurement pathways remains complex and companies would benefit from more structured assistance – similar to the coordinated, hands-on approach used in trade missions, he said.

Features such as clearer procurement road-mapping, targeted introductions to operational decision-makers, and follow-through mechanisms to support pilot opportunities “would strengthen the domestic benefits of the program and help innovative Canadian companies scale within Canada as well as abroad,” Ho said.

Clarius received a $5-million investment from InBC Investment Corp. and $3.4 million in funding from PacifiCan.

The PacifiCan funding was to help Clarius expand into the Indo-Pacific region and accelerate enterprise growth in the U.S. The company was selling into 58 countries as of March 2024.

Global Hypergrowth Project helped expand international partner network

Montreal-based Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group’s participation in the Global Hypergrowth Project “significantly raised our profile, reassuring current and potential financial partners while helping us expand our international partner network,” said Mariia Savchuk (photo at right), senior advisor, communications, at the company.

Participating in the project has helped build the company’s reputation in Canada and beyond, helping to establish contact with foreign partners in various fields, whether business or research, she said.

Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group develops novel drugs and offers treatment alternatives.

“Through Canadian embassies and consulates, we were able to establish contacts with potential international partners in order to expand access to our innovative products for patients worldwide,” Savchuk said.

“Additionally, the project has strengthened our employer branding as well as providing government support to attract employees for the opening of our second production shift we recently launched,” she said.

“We believe that initiatives of this nature are instrumental for helping Canadian businesses thrive on the global stage while facilitating access to the unique expertise that Canada has to offer,” Savchuk said, adding: “There should be more initiatives like this in Canada.

Less than a year after being selected for the Global Hypergrowth Project, Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group launched its sixth pharmaceutical company, Analog Pharma Canada, focused on providing orphan generic medications to Canadians.

Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group won the 2024 Life Sciences Innovation Award from the Association for the Development of Research and Innovation of Quebec.

In June of this year, the company announced the installation of an additional state-of-the-art pharmaceutical tablet printer at its Blainville, Que. plant, to increase its production capacity and support its international expansion.

The company plans to extend its global presence to 10 new markets over the next two years to meet the growing demand for its products.

Attracting and retaining talent is “a big impact driver”

Another company selected for the Global Hypergrowth Project is Montreal-based Lightspeed Commerce Inc., which provides cloud-based point-of-sale and e-commerce solutions.

The project has provided tailored support in areas like talent acquisition and navigating available government resources, said Beth McPhedran (photo at right), head of brand and communications at Lightspeed.

“The biggest impact driver we’ve seen from the Global Hypergrowth program has been in how it has impacted our ability to attract and retain talent through more streamlined immigration processes for highly-skilled labour,” she said.

The project has also given Lightspeed opportunities to interface with other innovative Canadian companies and software-as-a-service firms and discuss best practices and challenges, McPhedran said.

 “We enjoyed meeting with cohort members to discuss how companies can effectively use AI in their products and day-to-day activities, among other topics,” including challenges around the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit program and funding Canadian R&D.

Another benefit from the Global Hypergrowth Project is being able to bring Lightspeed’s global leaders to Canada, which “has had an impact on our global strategy,” McPhedran said. “Having experience and perspective from around the world working from our headquarters has strengthened our business.”

As for improving the project, McPhedran suggested introducing customized program tracks based on company size, maturity and growth stage to ensure alignment with business needs.

Lightspeed Commerce announced financial results for the three months ending June 30, 2025 of US$304.9 million, growing 15 percent year-over-year and exceeding expectations.

Lightspeed also added approximately 1,700 net customer locations across retail in North America and hospitality in Europe, with total customer locations. growing year-over-year.

Lightspeed’s Gross Payment Volume (GPV, the total dollar amount of all transactions) grew 21 percent year-over-year.

Other Global Hypergrowth Project companies have attracted significant venture capital and government investment

Burnaby, B.C.-based Clio, a year after being selected for the Global Hypergrowth Project, secured a Series F investment of US$900 million, at a $3-billion evaluation.

Earlier this month, Clio closed a US$1 billion purchase of Barcelona-based vLex LLC from European private equity firm Oakley Capital, funded partly by US$500-milliion in equity financing that valued the company at US$5 billion.

Clio has also negotiated a US$350-million debt facility as it looks to expand its set of digital offerings to lawyers.

Clio, which offers a cloud-based, AI-powered platform to legal professionals and firms, was named for the first time in August 2024 to the Forbes 2024 Cloud 100 list of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world.

Clio now generates US$400 million in revenue and is profitable.

Another Global Hypergrowth Project company, Montreal-headquartered AlayaCare Inc., which transforms patient homecare through integrating artificial intelligence, raised $225 million in a Series D funding round in July 2023.

As of July 2023, the U.S. represented the fastest growing part of AlayaCare’s business, growing by seven times in the last 24 months.

AlayaCare ranked No. 313 on the 2024 Report on Business magazine’s ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies, with three-year revenue growth of 106 percent.

Montreal-based CellCarta Biosciences Inc., which supports the drug development cycle for the biopharmaceutical industry, is another Global Hypergrowth Project company.

Two months after being selected for the project, CellCarta Biosciences announced a $350-million investment with Quebec-headquartered real estate company Jadco Group to create a major new life sciences centre at the former Montreal Chest Institute, near the McGill University Health Centre in the city’s downtown health corridor.

The multi-phased project Bio Innovations Montreal will develop 450,000 square feet of what its creators call “state-of-the-art laboratories, offices and collaborative spaces.”

Toronto-based Ada Support Inc., which offers AI-powered customer service automation, raised $58 million in VC investment four months after being selected for the Global Hypergrowth Project.

Ada Support also received $1.75 million in March this year from the Federal Development Agency of Southern Ontario, to accelerate the commercialization of the company’s phone-based generative AI customer assistance program.

Another Global Hypergrowth Project company, Mississauga, Ont.-based ag-tech firm Vive Crop Protection Inc., which develops crop-protection solutions to make agricultural chemicals more efficient, raised $45.9 million in 2023 in an extension to a Series C funding round.

Also in 2023, Vive Crop Protection ranked No. 139 on The Globe and Mail’s list of Canada’s Top Growing companies, based on three-year revenue growth. That same year, Vive ranked No. 11 on Deloitte’s Clean Technology list.

Despite success, no decision yet on supporting additional Canadian firms

Nazerally from ISED said the Global Hypergrowth Project continues to actively support the initial cohort of eight high-growth Canadian firs, which were selected with input from a private sector selection panel. The panel is co-chaired by Tom Park, co-founder and lead partner of BDC Deep Tech Fund, and John Ruffalo, founder and managing partner of Maverix Private Equity.

The project’s success ultimately will be measured by the accelerated growth of the eight companies, including revenues, exports, and R&D as well as the impact on the Canadian economy, including measurable impact on GDP and Canadian innovation ecosystems, Nazerally said.

The selected companies were provided with an acceptance letter that indicated expectations for them to maintain and grow a significant company presence in Canada, including creating jobs and intellectual property.

Savchuk said the Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group takes “great pride” in its Canadian roots. “As we pursue international growth, we are committed to maintaining our facilities in Canada to create more jobs for Canadians and contribute to strengthening our economy,” she said.

McPhedran said Lightspeed Commerce also is “very proud of its Canadian roots.”

The company was founded in Montreal, where it maintains its head office. Lightspeed also has a large office in Toronto, “and we have been a mainstay of the Canadian innovation sector for many years,” McPhedran said. “We have no plans for that to change.”

Ho said that “Clarius is firmly committed to Canada. Our headquarters, R&D teams, AI development, and manufacturing operations are based in Vancouver, and we continue to grow our Canadian footprint.”

Federal initiatives – including the Global Hypergrowth Project, PacifiCan programs, IRAP collaborations, and the CanHealth project – “reinforce our long-term strategy to innovate, manufacture, and scale from Canada,” Ho said.

Although the Global Hypergrowth Project appears to be successful, based on the initial eight companies’ performance to date, Nazerally said that “No decision has been taken to support additional firms.”

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