ATS Labs - February 2025 Edition

Hey everyone,

With the snow piling up around us here in Toronto, we hope you're staying warm or enjoying time on the slopes this February ??. This month, we’re excited to share some behind the scenes updates, and highlight upcoming events and opportunities you won't want to miss. So, grab a warm drink and let’s dig in — no shovels required ??!

What we've been up to

Earlier this month, Varun attended the first-ever RossAbilities Conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan, hosted by Business Leaders for Diverse Abilities at Michigan Ross (BLDA). He participated in a panel discussion titled 'Innovating Access: Founders and Funders Shaping Disability Ventures',?sharing insights on accessibility, disability inclusion, and innovation. The event fostered powerful conversations on driving change in these critical areas.?

Recently, Varun also recorded a session for the Inclusive Business Innovation Program run by Sarah Kaplan from The Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE), in collaboration with Rotman Executive Programs . Launching this September, the 12-week online program will equip participants with strategies to design inclusive products, services, and systems while enhancing their leadership skills.

ATS at the Zero Project Conference 2025

We recently had the incredible honour of being named a Zero Project Awardee 2025, where out of 522 nominations from 90 countries, ATS Labs was recognized as one of the innovative and impactful solutions driving meaningful change globally.

As part of this recognition, Varun will be speaking on the role of assistive technologies and accelerators in funding and scaling innovations worldwide at the Zero Project Conference at the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria from March 5-7th.

Will you be attending the #ZeroCon25 in Vienna ????? What are you most excited about in this year’s conference??

What's next

• Varun will be speaking at Global Jam on February 26th hosted by startGBC (George Brown College), which focuses social innovation solutions to real-life challenges in 3 key areas from the United Nations Sustainable Development Initiative.
• Later in March, Varun will return to the University of Toronto Faculty of Information to deliver a guest lecture on inclusive design.

Events and Opportunities

• Technology for Social Good: AI and Nonprofits Driving Impact: Hosted by Digita11y Accessible in collaboration with Microsoft Reactor , join this dynamic discussion with two experts leading AI-driven innovation in the nonprofit and social good sectors on February 26th at 1:00 PM EST.
• Power Play Pitch Competition at ICAIR 2025: Hosted by our friends at the KITE Research Institute (UHN) Toronto Rehabilitation Institute , the annual conference returns May 1 & 2 to spotlight innovations in aging and rehabilitation technology. With $50,000 in prizes, this is a unique chance to pitch groundbreaking healthcare ideas to investors and industry leaders. The ATS team attended last year’s conference alongside Varun, who served as a judge and will be returning to the panel again this year.?
• Rehabweek 2025: This week-long event unites multiple rehabilitation technology conferences in one location in Chicago from May 12-16th to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration.?

ATS Community Wins

• HippoCamera (ATS Labs 2022) was featured in Amazon Prime's brand new series '50,000 First Dates', the story of a Toronto entrepreneur who rediscovers life and love after memory loss.?
• Digita11y Accessible (ATS Labs 2022) was selected as part of Microsoft's Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact Accelerator.?
• Capella Design (ATS Labs 2023) was recognized as a Design 25 winner by Western Living Magazine.

A message from our Chief Fetch Officer (CFO) - Dash

"Dash-ing through the snow ??!"

Thank you for being part of the ATS community. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to sharing more exciting updates with you in the coming weeks!?