We're building Vancouver's innovation future.
Alexander Innovation Centre is where research becomes products, ideas become ventures, and talent becomes capability.
From classroom to cutting edge
Alexander Innovation Centre emerged from Alexander College's commitment to applied learning and real-world outcomes. After years of preparing students for the workforce, we recognized a gap: brilliant ideas getting stuck between research and market.
British Columbia already has what it takes to lead in applied AI: world-class educational institutions, a growing pool of technical talent, and organizations genuinely motivated to adopt intelligent systems. The challenge has been the gap between that potential and practical deployment.
Many promising AI projects stall between research and market and organizations want to adopt AI but lack the applied guidance, pilot environments, and workforce preparation to do it well.
Many founders and early ventures need more than co-working space — they need access to real customers, deployment contexts, and commercialization support.
Our Mission
To build a British Columbia-based applied AI platform where research, enterprise collaboration, talent development, and commercialization work together — so that more AI solutions can move from concept to real-world impact in Canada.
Our Vision
To become a leading commercialization bridge and applied AI ecosystem platform in British Columbia, connecting research, deployment, training, incubation, and trusted infrastructure in one coordinated model.
What sets AIC apart
We're not just another innovation hub. Here's why organizations choose to work with us.
We build, not just facilitate
Most innovation centres connect and advise. We also ship. Alebex is a production-grade voice AI platform built in-house—proof that we understand what it takes to turn concepts into products.
Five pillars that work together
Research informs training. Training develops talent. Talent builds ventures. Ventures need industry partners. Everything connects.
Canadian-first, by design
Data sovereignty matters. Regulatory compliance matters. Understanding the Canadian market matters. We're built for organizations that need solutions designed for how Canada works.
Community at the core
Innovation doesn't happen in isolation. Monthly Innovation Nights, ongoing workshops, and a culture of open collaboration mean you're joining an ecosystem, not just renting a service.
Academic rigor, market urgency
Our Alexander College roots give us access to research talent and methodological discipline. But we move at the speed of startups, not semesters.
Meet our team
The people building Vancouver's innovation future.
Eric Zhao
CEO
Justin Hinchcliffe
Director of Business Development
Robert Lum
Web and Media Manager
Explore AIC
Learn more about our work and community
Ready to join the ecosystem?
Whether you're a startup, enterprise, researcher, or professional looking to grow—we'd love to hear from you.