Dominion Dynamics hosts defence-tech summit during SaaS North conference in Kanata November 5

Kanata-based defence-tech firm Dominion Dynamics will host a one-day summit this fall aimed at bringing entrepreneurs and investors together to grow the next generation of defence companies. The event, called Deploy, will take place on November 5, the second day of the annual SaaS North conference at Rogers Centre Ottawa.

The summit is timed as the federal government ramps up military spending. The Defence Industrial Strategy, announced in February, commits $6.6 billion over five years to bolster the domestic defence industry, with the goal of increasing the share of federal defence contracts awarded to Canadian-headquartered firms from 43 per cent today to 70 per cent by 2035.

Organizers say the summit will focus on "product-problem fit" — helping founders figure out whether their products actually meet the defence industry's needs. Most successful software products win customers because they are "faster, cheaper or more capable," organizers note, but the defence industry "buys specific capabilities that solves problems it already recognizes, which means a technically excellent product can be irrelevant."

The agenda will also address how investors determine whether a startup is worth funding and how the defence market actually purchases technology. Co-sponsored by Ottawa defence-tech firm Anvil Intelligence, the summit is targeted at both established defence-tech founders and entrepreneurs still deciding whether defence is the right market for them. The one-day event is included in the SaaS North admission pass.