Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)/27 Cohort

Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)/27 Cohort

Offers Creative Destruction Lab cohorts with mentorship, customer discovery, and venture readiness to help startups scale.

Eligibility · Global — open worldwide

Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is a Canadian nonprofit accelerator founded in 2012 at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Its core mandate is to enhance the commercialization of science and technology for the benefit of society. CDL delivers an objectives-based program for seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies with the potential for massive scale, operating across 23 thematic streams — including Artificial Intelligence, Quantum, Climate, Energy, Space, Biomedical Engineering, and Advanced Therapies — across 16 global sites in Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East.

CDL charges no fees and takes no equity. Participating founders receive focused mentorship from accomplished entrepreneurs and investors, technical guidance from leading scientists and engineers, and personalized eight-week objectives across a nine-month, five-session program. Access to CDL's global network of over 1,000 mentors and 4,000-plus participating ventures is a primary benefit. Applications for the 2026/27 cohort close on July 24, 2026 (with earlier deadlines for the Defence and Quantum Bootcamp streams). Eligibility targets founders developing a science- or technology-based venture with credible potential for global scale; the program is open globally at TRL 1–4 and is sector-agnostic across its stream portfolio.

CDL represents a high-signal network opportunity rather than a conventional cash award. The program's alumni portfolio has generated over CAD $51 billion in equity value. Success in CDL is correlated with founders who arrive with a defined scientific edge and are prepared to engage intensively with the objective-setting process each session. Acceptance is competitive across all streams; applicants operating in deeptech verticals with cross-stream relevance (e.g., AI plus Climate) may apply to multiple streams simultaneously.