Calgary’s tech sector is growing – even as global markets tighten.
According to Platform Calgary’s 2025 Impact Report, the city’s tech ecosystem expanded by 13% in value last year. That growth reflects companies finding customers, attracting capital, and adding talent at a time when many markets are contracting.
In 2025, Platform directly supported 1,563 founders through its programming – a 36% increase over 2024. Membership climbed to 869 tech companies, up 28% year-over-year, collectively generating $235 million in annual revenue.
Those companies secured $323.9 million in investment this year alone, pushing total capital raised by Platform member companies past $1 billion since 2018.
“We work to grow and connect the tech sector and to be able to compete on a global stage and build a thriving tech sector for generations to come,” said interim CEO Jen Lussier at the report’s launch. “I couldn’t be prouder today to be standing here talking about the accomplishments we’ve had in the last year.”
The labour numbers reinforce that momentum. Today, 64,600 Calgarians work in tech, with 24,500 jobs added over the past five years – positioning Calgary among North America’s fastest-growing tech talent markets.
Access to capital remains central. This year, 360 investors and more than 400 founders engaged through Platform’s investor relations activities, with 55 founders formally matched to investors. The result: more than $300 million raised in 2025 alone.
“The companies are creating jobs, they’re generating revenue, and they’re securing investment — over a billion dollars in capital since 2018,” Lussier said. “These are the people that are actually doing the hard work.”
The Platform Innovation Centre continues to anchor the ecosystem physically and culturally. In 2025, 172,502 people walked through its doors, with monthly traffic nearing 30,000 by year-end.
Speaking at the launch, Alberta’s Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish placed Calgary’s progress in longer-term context.
“In 2004, there were maybe $2 or $3 million a year being invested into Alberta tech companies,” he said. “Fast forward to the last three years, we’ve had $2.1 billion invested into Alberta tech companies. That’s something to be excited about.”
Early-stage investment alone has grown from $30 million annually in 2017 to roughly $700 million per year in each of the past three years. Calgary, he noted, has been at the centre of that rise.
Still, scaling remains a challenge.
“We used to lose all of our talent. Now we’re losing our ideas and our companies,” Glubish said, pointing to the need for stronger domestic participation in larger growth-stage funding rounds.
Looking ahead to 2026, founder demand continues to surge, with Platform projecting another 20% increase in participation. The focus will be on accelerating startup creation through AI-enabled tools, rapid MVP prototyping, and stronger industry pathways.
If 2025 proves anything, it’s that Calgary’s tech sector isn’t retreating in uncertain times – it’s building through them.
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