First for Canadian university, UW lands top 10 spot in global entrepreneur ranking

A big win for the University of Waterloo (UW), and a measure of its international success.

The institution has accomplished something no other Canadian school has – placed in the top 10 of the PitchBook University Ranking of schools producing successful entrepreneurs.

It landed in the No. 7 spot worldwide, and No. 1 in Canada.

“PitchBook’s annual rankings measure universities based on the number of alumni founders whose companies have received venture capital investment in the last decade,” read a release from the university.

“The rankings are widely regarded as one of the most credible indicators of a university’s ability to cultivate entrepreneurial talent because they focus on real-world business creation, venture funding and startup success.”

The top companies founded by UW alumni included Databricks, Instacart, ContextLogic Holdings, Faire and Netskope.

In all, according to UW, nearly 68,000 companies have been founded worldwide by former students of the school. Those companies span a variety of sectors from artificial intelligence to advanced manufacturing and sustainability.

Breaking down the data, in the ranking for entrepreneurs with a graduate degree, UW had the second-highest ranking in Canada (tied with the University of British Columbia) and was No. 54 globally.

Furthermore, the university was also highlighted as the fastest riser in the rankings for female founders with an undergraduate degree.

“Universities from outside the United States continued to move up the ranks with more than half of the schools on the graduate list located in other countries and foreign universities making up more than one-third of the undergraduate list,” read the PitchBook report.

“Canadian universities also had a strong showing, with the University of Waterloo breaking into the top 10, the first time a school from Canada has achieved that mark.”

The full report can be found here.

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