Canada-based Cura Climate has emerged as one of the standout winners of Web Summit Vancouver 2026 after taking home the top prize at the event’s prestigious PITCH competition, held in partnership with KPMG.

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The victory places the six-month-old deep tech startup firmly in the global spotlight at a time when industries worldwide are facing growing pressure to decarbonise. For Cura Climate, the win also highlights increasing investor and industry interest in technologies designed to tackle one of the world’s most difficult climate challenges: reducing emissions from cement production.

A flagship feature across all Web Summit events, the PITCH competition brings together early-stage startups from around the world to present their businesses before investors, entrepreneurs, and thousands of attendees. Hundreds of startups applied to participate in this year’s competition, with only 35 advancing to the final three-day showcase in Vancouver.

The second edition of Web Summit’s North American event drew 20,235 attendees, 1,197 startups, and 768 investors from more than 100 countries to the Vancouver Convention Centre. Organisers described it as the largest investor turnout in the North American edition’s history, underscoring the growing global attention on Vancouver as an emerging technology hub.

Against that backdrop, Cura Climate distinguished itself from a competitive field that included US-based DealStack and Canada-based Drive Hockey Analytics, both of which finished as runners-up.

The company’s focus is on transforming one of the most emissions-intensive industries in the world. Cement production is estimated to account for nearly eight percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, making it one of the most difficult industrial sectors to decarbonise due to the energy-intensive chemical processes involved.

Co-founded by Sabrina Scott, Cura Climate has developed a technology known as electrochemical pre-calcination carbon capture. The system is designed to remove emissions upstream before they are released into the atmosphere, while allowing cement manufacturers to continue using their existing plants, infrastructure, and materials.

The approach could prove particularly attractive for producers looking to reduce emissions without undertaking costly factory rebuilds or operational overhauls. As governments and industries accelerate climate targets, solutions that can integrate with existing industrial infrastructure are increasingly being viewed as commercially viable pathways toward large-scale decarbonisation.

“Cement is one of the hardest industries in the world to clean up, and we’re showing it can be done with the infrastructure that already exists,” said Sabrina Scott, COO and co-founder of Cura Climate. “We’re a true deep tech, climate tech company.”

Despite being headquartered in Calgary and only operating for six months, Cura Climate has already signed six memorandums of understanding across the cement value chain. The early traction suggests growing industry willingness to explore alternative pathways for reducing industrial emissions, particularly in sectors traditionally considered difficult to transition.

For Scott, the Web Summit Vancouver victory represented more than just startup recognition. It also reflected the increasing global visibility of Canadian deep tech and climate technology innovation.

Reflecting on the company’s experience at the event, Scott said one of the most rewarding aspects was seeing Canadian innovation showcased on an international stage alongside startups from around the world.

“Vancouver Web Summit has something really special. There’s a bigger presence of hard tech, deep tech, and manufacturing here, and that’s a reflection of the Canadian tech ecosystem. It’s great to be able to showcase it to the world”, said Sabrina Scott.

The rise of climate-focused deep tech companies comes as investors continue to shift attention toward technologies capable of addressing industrial sustainability challenges at scale. While consumer-facing AI startups often dominate headlines, industrial climate technologies are increasingly attracting interest from governments, venture capital firms, and manufacturing sectors seeking practical solutions to emissions reduction.

Cura Climate’s latest success also builds on momentum generated earlier this year at Web Summit Qatar 2026, where the startup reached the semifinals of the PITCH competition. According to Scott, that experience opened the door to strategic conversations in the Middle East, a region actively investing in industrial transformation, infrastructure, and sustainability technologies.

“It was a totally different experience. We ended up connecting with a lot of really relevant contacts and investors. A big push for us to go to Web Summit Qatar was to start building up relationships in the Middle East, where there’s a lot of potential for growth, and we ended up starting some key relationships there,” said Sabrina Scott.

The Middle East has become an increasingly important market for climate and industrial technologies as countries across the region diversify their economies and invest heavily in sustainable infrastructure projects. For startups like Cura Climate, those relationships could play a critical role in scaling deployment opportunities internationally.

Beyond Cura Climate’s victory, this year’s PITCH finalists also reflected broader trends shaping the startup ecosystem. DealStack is attempting to modernise the fragmented small business acquisition market through an end-to-end platform that combines more than 100,000 business listings, AI-powered deal analysis, and lender matching in one ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Drive Hockey Analytics is applying sensor technology and artificial intelligence to amateur sports, bringing professional-grade player tracking and performance analytics to youth and amateur hockey programmes. Its portable system captures data from practices, tryouts, and games, giving coaches, players, and parents access to insights once reserved for elite-level teams.

The diversity of finalists highlighted the expanding range of industries now being reshaped by emerging technologies, from climate and finance to sports analytics and manufacturing.

For Web Summit Vancouver, the success of companies like Cura Climate may also reinforce Canada’s growing reputation as a destination for deep tech innovation. While Silicon Valley has long dominated global technology conversations, Canada has steadily built a reputation in areas such as AI research, clean technology, industrial innovation, and advanced manufacturing.

As global industries search for scalable climate solutions, Cura Climate’s rapid rise suggests investors and industrial sectors are increasingly willing to back technologies capable of addressing real-world infrastructure challenges rather than purely digital disruptions.

Its win at Web Summit Vancouver may ultimately represent more than startup recognition. It signals how climate technology, industrial decarbonisation, and deep tech innovation

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