CYKEL Named to the Top 25 in the 2026 New Ventures BC Competition

CYKEL Named to the Top 25 in the 2026 New Ventures BC Competition

CYKEL Technologies has been selected among the Top 25 startups in the 26th Annual New Ventures BC Competition, presented by Innovate BC, advancing from Round 2.5 into Round 3 of British Columbia's longest-running startup competition.

Fittingly, the news broke on June 3 — World Bicycle Day, the United Nations' annual recognition of the bicycle as a simple, affordable and sustainable means of transport. For a team building the software layer behind Vancouver's bike and scooter rentals, it was hard to imagine a more appropriate day to share the milestone.

Round 2.5 saw 30 startups pitch to a panel of expert judges, each making the case for how their venture addresses a real market need, leverages a viable business model, and has a clear path to revenue. From that field, CYKEL was one of 10 companies to advance directly into Round 3, joining a Top 25 cohort spanning Life Sciences, Healthcare, AI, SaaS, Cleantech, Sustainability and Consumer Retail.

CYKEL's pitch centred on what the team has been building all year: turning traditional bike and scooter rentals into interactive rider experiences, through simpler navigation, richer storytelling and closer partnerships with local operators. More than 2.7 million rental rides take place across Vancouver alone each year — and the team sees every one of them as a chance to connect a rider more closely to the city they're exploring.

The judges' decision reflects a year of work turning that idea from prototype into something real operators and riders are now using. The CYKEL team was quick to credit the advisors, partners, operators and supporters who helped make that jump possible — the kind of backing that turns a pitch deck into a working platform.

Being named alongside so many other strong Vancouver-based ventures was a point of particular pride for the team — a reminder of just how much promising company-building is happening in this city right now, and further confirmation that Vancouver is the right place to be building CYKEL. The company's ambitions, though, extend well beyond it: Vancouver is the proving ground for a platform the team intends to bring to rental fleets in other cities as the product matures.

Round 3 of the New Ventures BC Competition continues in the weeks ahead. CYKEL will be sharing updates as the competition progresses.

Read more: Meet the New Ventures BC 2026 Top 25