Apply to FastLane

FastLane is a federally funded program dedicated to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups, offered by the Vector Institute, a leading not-for-profit AI research Institute in Canada. FastLane program supports small and medium sized enterprises by providing them access to top AI talent, AI training, opportunity to co-develop AI technologies, and access to our AI ecosystem.

Please note that due to a high volume of applications, our response time may be a bit longer than usual.

After the application form is completed, we review your file according to our eligibility criteria. If necessary, our FastLane program team may set up an interview with you to learn more information about your application.

Once your company is accepted, you will receive an email confirmation which includes a welcome package detailing our programs and other opportunities. You will also be included in our FastLane monthly newsletter that will highlight the latest sessions, workshops, and collaboration opportunities of the FastLane program.

If you have any further questions or requests, please feel free to contact us.

Please note: This form takes 35-60 minutes to complete. You can save your progress using the “Save and Continue” button, but remember your save link will expire in 30 days. We also suggest keeping a backup copy of your responses in a separate document.

Main Contact Information

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Title(Required)

LinkedIn URL(Required)

Company Basics

The questions below are designed to help us better understand your company, product and technical capabilities, AI challenges, and identify how specific FastLane programming can best support your growth.

In this section, please share your organization’s official details: your legal name and any trade name, headquarters location, year of foundation, company size, incorporation status, and proof of general liability insurance. This information helps us confirm your eligibility for specific programs, manage contracts and invoicing, and tailor support opportunities such as event invitations or startup resource access (e.g., Google for Startups credits).

Time estimate: 5 – 10 minutes.

Company legal name(Required)

Doing Business As (trade name) – if the same as legal name, leave blank

Company website / product URL(Required)

Headquarters (Country, City, Province/State)(Required)

INT City/State(Required)

City State / Province / Region

USA City/State(Required)

City State

CAD City/State(Required)

City Province

Year founded(Required)

Company size(Required)

Are you incorporated in Canada?(Required)

Do you operate as a subsidiary of another company?(Required)

If yes, please provide the parent company name and confirm if that company is incorporated in Canada.(Required)

Incorporation number(Required)

Federal business number(Required)

Provincial business number (if applicable)

Do you have a general liability insurance not less than $1,000,000 CAD(Required)

How did you learn about the FastLane program?(Required)

If other please specify your answer(Required)

Please let us know who referred you to the program?(Required)

Industry & Category

In this section, you’ll be asked to select your primary and secondary industry, along with subcategories that best describe your solution, such as business-to-business applications or deep technology. This sector information supports our internal reporting, helps inform funding-related data, and may guide future programming such as industry-specific events or workshops. Accurate classification also helps us understand broader trends and emerging areas of focus within the FastLane community.

Time estimate: 3 – 5 minutes.

What industry are you mainly selling your product / solution to?(Required)

What is the primary industry that you are operating in ?(Required)

What other industries are you selling your product / solution to?(Required)

Founders & Team

Please introduce your leadership team by name, title, and LinkedIn profile. You’ll also be asked whether you have a technical founder, to describe your team’s headcount by function, and to share any diversity information you are comfortable providing. This information helps us better understand your team’s current capabilities and informs how we track equity and representation across the FastLane applicant pool. It also helps us identify potential areas of need that could inform future programming or support opportunities.

Time estimate: 5-10 minutes

Founder profiles(Required)

Name

Title

LinkedIn Profile URL

Technical Founder (Yes/No)

Tell us about your current team structure.(Required)

Please list your team headcount by function (e.g., Engineering, Data Science, Sales, Operations), and include the roles and seniority levels of your tech team (e.g., Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Junior Data Scientist, VP of AI, etc.).

Function

Roles & Seniority

Product & Traction

Tell us your one-sentence pitch and describe the problem you are solving. Select your current stage, from concept to paying customers, and list key metrics such as active users, recent revenue, and funds raised. Then outline your primary customer segments, your business model, and your main competitors. This snapshot helps us assess your fit with FastLane’s mission.

Time estimate: 7 – 10 minutes.

Please provide a one-sentence pitch (Maximum 100 characters)(Required)

What problem are you solving? (Maximum 250 words)(Required)

Describe your current stage(Required)

How long have you been working on this? Elaborate if part-time or full-time. (Maximum 250 words)(Required)

Number of pilots(Required)

Monthly active users(Required)

Monthly Recurring Revenue(Required)

Annually Recurring Revenue(Required)

Revenue (most recent month, or “N/A”)(Required)

Fundraising to date(Required)

Describe your primary customer segment(s) and go-to-market strategy. (Maximum 250 words)(Required)

What is your current revenue model (e.g., subscription, licensing, transaction fees)?(Required)

If other please describe(Required)

Who are your main competitors (direct or adjacent)? (up to 5)(Required)

AI & Technical Readiness

In this section, share your hands-on artificial intelligence experience, the models or tools you have used, and the specific capabilities you wish to develop. Describe any regulatory or compliance requirements, such as privacy or health data laws that your solution must meet. Also, explain your data governance framework and the types of data you have.

Let us know if you have any patents or proprietary technology. We also ask about your current technology infrastructure, your approaches to building or deploying models, and the biggest technical challenges you are facing. This detailed view assesses your AI & Technical Readiness, which would allow us to match you with the right programming and cohorts.

Time estimate: 10 – 15 minutes.

Which AI / data science methods are you familiar with?(Required)

If other please specify(Required)

Have you worked on an AI/ML project before? If yes, briefly describe your most relevant experience (e.g., models you built, outcomes, your role). (Maximum 150 words)(Required)

Which AI use cases interest you most?(Required)

Predictions / forecasting

MLOps / process automation

Computer vision

NLP / chatbots

Model explainability

Security / privacy

Please provide details on your tech stack & AI tools (models, frameworks, cloud providers). (Maximum 150 words)(Required)

What specific skills, knowledge, or resources are you hoping to gain from FastLane? (Maximum 150 words)(Required)

Do you own or have rights to any patents, trademarks, or proprietary technology relevant to your solution?(Required)

If yes, please describe. (Maximum 150 words)(Required)

If no, would you like support developing your intellectual property strategy?(Required)

Do you have a formal data governance or security framework in place?(Required)

If yes, please specify (e.g., “PIPEDA-compliant policies,” “PHIPA-aligned procedures,” “SOC 2 Type II certification,” “internal privacy/security policies,” etc.)(Required)

What data modalities does your solution collect or handle? (Select all that apply)(Required)

Text

Tabular

Image

Video

Audio

Sensor

Other

If other please specify

What is the approximate size of your primary dataset?(Required)

MB | GB | TB?(Required)

Does your dataset contain any personally identifiable information (PII)?(Required)

If yes, please specify type:(Required)

What best describes your organization’s AI expertise level?(Required)

We lack AI talent

We currently lack AI talent, but we are looking to hire or train staff

We don’t have AI talent, but we do have data specialists

We have some qualified AI experts on our team

Our team has a strong understanding of AI

We are working with external AI consultants.-select

How would you describe the quality and completeness of your primary dataset?(Required)

Quality means the accuracy, consistency, and validity of your data. Completeness means how much of the required data is present (e.g., missing values or coverage gaps).

How widely is AI implemented in your organization at present?(Required)

What is your company’s current AI infrastructure? What is your approach to support your AI initiatives? (Maximum 150 words)(Required)

What applied AI approaches or methods do you plan to use for your specific use case? (Maximum 150 words)(Required)

For example: retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), prompt engineering, model fine-tuning, supervised classification, anomaly detection, reinforcement learning, etc.

What specific challenges or opportunities are you aiming to address with AI implementation? Could you also share details about the use case that you are focusing on? (Maximum 150 words)(Required)

What are your company’s biggest hurdles to overcome when adopting/anticipating AI? (Maximum 150 words)(Required)

MLA Engagement

We may pair you with Master’s- and PhD-level talent for a four-month, high-impact R&D sprint. Let us know below if you’re set to host an intern, how many hours per week you can commit, and your top technical challenges—so we can match you with the perfect AI partner. (Please note that filling out this section of FastLane application does not guarantee MLA admittance, we accept MLA applications separately. This form helps us prepare for MLA demand and understand themes that startups want to explore).

Time estimate: 3 – 5 minutes

Are you interested in engaging with Machine Learning Associates (MLAs) for R&D support at this stage? (e.g., pilot projects, proof of concept)(Required)

Would you be interested in hiring your Machine Learning Associate(s) after the conclusion of the program?(Required)

If “Yes,” please specify:(Required)

Number of positions you’d consider hiring

Expected employment type (e.g., full-time, part-time, contract)

Please review the expected time commitments below and confirm you can commit to all phases as listed.(Required)

Executive Sponsor: 1 – 2 hrs/month across all phases

Functional Manager:

Outside Matchmaking: 1 – 2 hrs/week
Before Matchmaking Week: 5 hrs/week for 2 weeks
During Matchmaking Week: 5 hrs/week for 1 week
Execution Phase: 2 – 4 hrs/week for 16 weeks

Can your team meet these commitments?

What primary AI use-case domain should your MLA proof of concept target? Select all that apply(Required)

Generative AI (e.g. LLM-based text generation)

Computer Vision (e.g. image classification, object detection)

Natural Language Processing (e.g. summarization, extraction)

Forecasting & Time-Series

Anomaly Detection

Recommender Systems

Reinforcement Learning

Other

If other please specify

Which development phase(s) should MLAs focus on to build your proof of concept? Select all that apply(Required)

Data preparation & cleaning

Pipeline design & engineering

Model selection & experimentation

Performance tuning & optimization

Integration & hand-off to your software architecture

Other

If other please specify(Required)

Is your organization affiliated with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) e.g., through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) program?(Required)

If yes, please provide the name of your lead Industry Technical Advisor (ITA) (you must provide your ITA's name to be eligible for NRC programming).(Required)

Vector’s MLA Program provides you with two full-time AI interns for 4 months and includes intern sourcing and recruitment, administrative overhead, dedicated project management and technical support at no extra charge. Total cost of the program ≈ CA$60,000, and if eligible, companies can supplement the cost through external funding from organizations such as IRAP, Mitacs and ICTC —Vector does not profit from these funds. If you do not receive grant funding, will your organization commit to covering the full cost of the program?(Required)

If no, please indicate the maximum stipend budget you can allocate (CAD):(Required)

Funding & Partnerships

Share your fundraising history, current fundraising status, and any affiliations with incubators, accelerators, startup programs, and/or research programs. Indicate which Vector services, such as prototype co-development or executive coaching, you most want to access. Finally, list your top three milestones for the next year and your headcount or revenue goals. These details help us connect you to the right funding channels (if applicable), benchmark your progress, and ensure our support aligns with your strategic roadmap.

Time estimate: 5 minutes

Have you raised investment?(Required)

If yes, amount & list of investors(Required)

Are you currently fundraising?(Required)

Ecosystem affiliations(Required)

RICs

NRC-IRAP

Incubators

Mitacs

Other

If other please specify(Required)

What support from Vector would help you most?(Required)

Access to AI Talent

AI Training

Codevelopment of Proof of Concepts

Access to ecosystem

What are your top three milestones for the next 6–12 months?(Required)

What is your projected headcount target for the next year?(Required)

What is your projected revenue target for the next year?(Required)

What type of support or opportunities from the Vector Institute would you be most interested in to enhance AI adoption and accelerate the commercialization of your AI-based products/services? Check all that apply.(Required)

Access to AI Talent

Short form AI Training (i.e. workships, seminars, Technical Audience)

Short Form Commercialization Sessions (i.e. roundtables, business insights, IP sessions)

Intensive “boot camp” training sessions on advanced AI methods that can be applied to your business model

Long form training cohorts to develop AI models

Collaborating with organizations in the Ontario AI Ecosystem (see Vector’s list of sponsors)

Co-development of AI prototypes or techniques with Vector (R&D Cohorts and various applied AI projects)

Other

Please describe(Required)

Consent

Would you like to subscribe to Vector's monthly newsletter for AI trends, research and events?(Required)

Yes

The FastLane program team may occasionally share external opportunities and offers from its ecosystem partners and extended network. Would you consent to receiving these opportunities?(Required)

Yes

Name

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