Roundtable host: Sharif Virani
Canada’s first municipally sanctioned sidewalk robot delivery pilot wasn’t just a pilot…it was our moment in robotics. In just 90 days, a small dedicated team of 5 Canadian roboticists working with SKIP, Kiwibot, Real Life Robotics, and the City of Markham delivered a commercially viable, publicly embraced autonomous food delivery service.
Real businesses delivered. Real customers ordered. Real revenue generated.
This roundtable explores how we move from pilots to platforms by doing what innovators do best: walking and chewing gum at the same time. We’ll unpack what it means to commercialize robotics in Canada while still building with intention, fostering public trust, and aligning with policy.
We’ll explore how robotics companies can use Canada’s world-class R&D ecosystem as a launchpad, while partnering globally to scale commercialization. And we’ll look at how sticky, customer-focused North Star metrics…not vanity metrics...can be used to align cities, customers, and technology service providers around what actually works: automation that saves money, drives adoption, and improves the lives of our friends, families, and neighbors here in Canada.
What We'll Cover
- Canada’s Robotics Moment: What the Markham pilot taught us about timing, traction, and teaming up
- North Star Metrics: Why unit economics, stickiness, and repeat usage matter more than tech demos
- Rolling Up Your Sleeves: Why robotics leaders need to understand how their partners make money—and help them do it
- Automation as Deflation: In an era of rising costs, how robotics can be a force for affordability
- Built in Canada, Commercialized Globally: Tapping into Canada’s R&D ecosystem while scaling with international partners
Tangible Outcomes
- A working framework for selecting and launching commercially viable pilots
- A shared definition of “success” that includes revenue, retention, and public value
• • A collaboration plan across municipalities, startups, and service providers to scale civic robotics nationwide