AI is transforming industries and reshaping communities. This episode of Techopia Live takes viewers inside TechTuesday for a closer look at What AI Tinkering Reveals About the Future of Tech Innovation. Hosted by Riaz Sidi, the episode explores how a grassroots movement of builders and experimenters is influencing the trajectory of artificial intelligence in Ottawa and across Canada.
The episode features Hai Nghiem, CEO and Co-founder of AGI Ventures Canada, and highlights the work of AGI Ventures Canada (formerly AI Tinkerers Ottawa), an emerging community of more than 1,550 developers and innovators advancing AI through meetups, hackathons, rapid prototyping, and collaborative experimentation. Their initiatives include monthly AI hackathons, AI solution development for clients ranging from Fortune 50 companies to fast-growing startups, and a six-week AI Accelerator delivered in partnership with Mistral VC that brings founders to San Francisco to connect with YC alumni, investors, and global AI networks.
The discussion examines how small-scale experimentation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a practical builder-driven mindset are producing real-world breakthroughs and shaping the next phase of digital transformation.
The session concludes with a fireside chat featuring moderator Veronica Farmer, Hai Nghiem, and Rami Alhamad, Co-Founder and CEO of Alma and an investor in the AGI Ventures Canada AI Accelerator. Their conversation explores how community-powered experimentation, hands-on innovation, and early-stage AI development are influencing the future of the sector.
Additional interviews with TechTuesday attendees, including Andree Paige (The NEXT PaiGE), Suzanne Cyr (The Ottawa Education Group), Matthew Jerabek (Algonquin College), and Linda Kerbs (Nokia), capture the momentum, questions, and opportunities emerging across Ottawa’s AI ecosystem.
This episode illustrates how innovation is increasingly emerging at the edges in community-led spaces, where people come together to tinker, test, connect, and build.
For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.
Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
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AI is transforming industries and reshaping communities. This episode of Techopia Live takes viewers inside TechTuesday for a closer look at What AI Tinkering Reveals About the Future of Tech Innovation. Hosted by Riaz Sidi, the episode explores how a grassroots movement of builders and experimenters is influencing the trajectory of artificial intelligence in Ottawa and across Canada.
The episode features Hai Nghiem, CEO and Co-founder of AGI Ventures Canada, and highlights the work of AGI Ventures Canada (formerly AI Tinkerers Ottawa), an emerging community of more than 1,550 developers and innovators advancing AI through meetups, hackathons, rapid prototyping, and collaborative experimentation. Their initiatives include monthly AI hackathons, AI solution development for clients ranging from Fortune 50 companies to fast-growing startups, and a six-week AI Accelerator delivered in partnership with Mistral VC that brings founders to San Francisco to connect with YC alumni, investors, and global AI networks.
The discussion examines how small-scale experimentation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a practical builder-driven mindset are producing real-world breakthroughs and shaping the next phase of digital transformation.
The session concludes with a fireside chat featuring moderator Veronica Farmer, Hai Nghiem, and Rami Alhamad, Co-Founder and CEO of Alma and an investor in the AGI Ventures Canada AI Accelerator. Their conversation explores how community-powered experimentation, hands-on innovation, and early-stage AI development are influencing the future of the sector.
Additional interviews with TechTuesday attendees, including Andree Paige (The NEXT PaiGE), Suzanne Cyr (The Ottawa Education Group), Matthew Jerabek (Algonquin College), and Linda Kerbs (Nokia), capture the momentum, questions, and opportunities emerging across Ottawa’s AI ecosystem.
This episode illustrates how innovation is increasingly emerging at the edges in community-led spaces, where people come together to tinker, test, connect, and build.
For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.
Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Techopia Live was on location at the 2025 Ottawa Bootstrap Awards, held during Tech Tuesday at the Brookstreet Hotel, celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit of local businesses that have grown through self-funding and minimal outside investment. The Annual Ottawa Network Bootstrap Awards recognize early-stage companies across all industries, both for-profit and non-profit, that have demonstrated innovation, sustainability, marketing excellence, and community impact through bootstrapping.
This inspiring event highlighted the stories of resilient entrepreneurs who have overcome challenges, pivoted strategically, and built successful ventures with limited resources. The awards also fostered connections within Ottawa’s entrepreneurial community, encouraging collaboration and continued growth.
Riaz Sidi, Techopia Live Correspondent, spoke with several winners and attendees about their journeys and the value of perseverance, smart financial management, and community support, including Diana Birsan (Downplay), Erika Poupart (Neuralign International), Karl Payeur (Downplay), Michael Nelson (Tactiqal), and Salah Masad (GCP).
For more on Ottawa’s entrepreneurial and tech scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.
Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Ottawa Business Journal
AI is transforming industries and reshaping communities. This episode of Techopia Live takes viewers inside TechTuesday for a closer look at What AI Tinkering Reveals About the Future of Tech Innovation. Hosted by Riaz Sidi, the episode explores how a grassroots movement of builders and experimenters is influencing the trajectory of artificial intelligence in Ottawa and across Canada.
The episode features Hai Nghiem, CEO and Co-founder of AGI Ventures Canada, and highlights the work of AGI Ventures Canada (formerly AI Tinkerers Ottawa), an emerging community of more than 1,550 developers and innovators advancing AI through meetups, hackathons, rapid prototyping, and collaborative experimentation. Their initiatives include monthly AI hackathons, AI solution development for clients ranging from Fortune 50 companies to fast-growing startups, and a six-week AI Accelerator delivered in partnership with Mistral VC that brings founders to San Francisco to connect with YC alumni, investors, and global AI networks.
The discussion examines how small-scale experimentation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a practical builder-driven mindset are producing real-world breakthroughs and shaping the next phase of digital transformation.
The session concludes with a fireside chat featuring moderator Veronica Farmer, Hai Nghiem, and Rami Alhamad, Co-Founder and CEO of Alma and an investor in the AGI Ventures Canada AI Accelerator. Their conversation explores how community-powered experimentation, hands-on innovation, and early-stage AI development are influencing the future of the sector.
Additional interviews with TechTuesday attendees, including Andree Paige (The NEXT PaiGE), Suzanne Cyr (The Ottawa Education Group), Matthew Jerabek (Algonquin College), and Linda Kerbs (Nokia), capture the momentum, questions, and opportunities emerging across Ottawa’s AI ecosystem.
This episode illustrates how innovation is increasingly emerging at the edges in community-led spaces, where people come together to tinker, test, connect, and build.
For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.
Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
