The 2026 Pierre Péladeau Bursaries Support Five Emerging Québec Companies Driving Innovation

MONTRÉAL, Oct. 28, 2026 /CNW/ -- Quebecor and asterX are proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 Pierre Péladeau Bursaries, whose mission is to foster entrepreneurial spirit and innovation across Québec's university campuses. Once again, this year, five promising startups will share prizes totaling more than $200,000. They are the product of the vision, ingenuity and hard work of student entrepreneurs from Université de Sherbrooke, Université Laval, INRS and Polytechnique Montréal.

The 2026 winning companies stand out for their expertise in cutting-edge fields such as medical robotics, green technologies and neuroscience. They reflect the wide range of scientific disciplines in which Québec university students are making their mark, as well as their genuine desire to put their knowledge to work for a better world.

"Throughout his life, my father always believed in the importance of education and innovation. As an entrepreneur, he would be especially proud to see his name associated with these bursaries, which support a new generation of bold entrepreneurs. The energy, ingenuity and social commitment of our university students are a profound source of inspiration that gives us confidence in the future. It is with renewed pleasure that we support them in achieving their goals and celebrate their success," says Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quebecor.

"In recent years, we have truly seen our competition increasingly take root organically within Québec's university entrepreneurship ecosystem, whose support network continues to grow stronger and become more sophisticated. This 28th edition was marked by a record number of applications from across Québec, a strong presence of women entrepreneurs and the emergence of innovations that help preserve what is most precious to us: our health and that of our planet. The quality and ambition of the projects make our deliberations increasingly difficult, and that is a very positive sign for the future of entrepreneurship in Québec," says Pelra Azondekon, Managing Director, asterX.

Congratulations to the five winning companies!

$75,000 Bursary - dt Pharma
Mathieu Pelletier, Benjamin Ste-Marie, Ariane Fortin-Haines and Mathias Groleau | Université de Sherbrooke
Building on a very real need in healthcare settings, the dt Pharma team developed SORA, a technology designed to automate the filling of oral syringes that improves patient safety,  frees up time for healthcare professionals, and reduces medication waste. It is now ready to move on to hospital trials. For the four co-founders, this first product is part of a broader vision: developing cutting-edge technologies in Québec that can improve the quality and safety of care, then bringing them to the international stage.

$50,000 Bursary - MicroMea
Juliette Gagnon and Marie-Ève Morissette | Université Laval
Friends for more than 20 years, Juliette and Marie-Ève know how to debate and exchange ideas, but they agree on one thing: the urgent need for climate action. With MicroMea, they are developing a containerized anaerobic digestion system that turns a variety of organic waste into value directly on the sites of businesses and municipalities. In addition to reducing landfilling, their solution could cut transportation costs by up to four times and prevent the emission of 50,000 tCO2e in Canada.

$30,000 Bursary (tie) - FloteXa
Manon Sayag, Christophe Langevin, Marsyly Lynn and Emma Mamifarananahary | Institut national de la recherche scientifique - INRS
Behind FloteXa, a team of four is proposing a new way to care for water with floating vegetated islands, now being tested in the Port of Québec. The diversity of their backgrounds fuels the team's vision. While some of its members come from countries where access to drinking water is limited, others grew up in a context of abundance. Yet they share the same conviction: water is a precious resource that must be protected. With FloteXa, they hope to make a lasting difference in the daily lives of shoreline communities, in Québec and elsewhere.

$30,000 Bursary (tie) - Technologies Seanetik
Maxime Leblanc, Jérémie Lévesque, Alexandre Corriveau and Mikaël Guillet | Université de Sherbrooke
To combat the spread of invasive aquatic species from one port to another, along with the greenhouse gas emissions linked to the algae and molluscs that build up on ship hulls, Seanetik offers a robot capable of capturing these organisms. The team has already completed its first hull-cleaning contracts for a major player this past summer. Inspired by world-renowned Québec companies such as Couche-Tard, the four founders now aim to keep rolling out their technology in Québec's major ports and become an international benchmark.

$15,000 Bursary - Homunculus
Jad Rabhi and Loriann Razafimandimby | Polytechnique Montréal
Making research on Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and epilepsy more accessible to public and private laboratories: that is the mission Jad and Loriann have set for themselves. With Homunculus, these two young entrepreneurs are developing a platform that connects living neurons to electronic systems in order to record, stimulate and analyze their activity in real time. At the crossroads of computer science, AI and experimental biology, the duo has already sold some ten units of its prototype to researchers and is in discussions with many other potential customers.

Fuelling Québec's Driving Forces

Quebecor and asterX warmly congratulate all participants in this edition of the Pierre Péladeau Bursaries and wish them every success.

Created by Quebecor in 1998 and now overseen by asterX, the Pierre Péladeau Bursaries have been awarded for 28 years. Following a rigorous selection process conducted within Québec universities from among more than 130 applications, Quebecor's Jury selected the most deserving companies based on various criteria: their degree of innovation, the positive social and environmental impact of their mission, and their potential to carve out a leading position, here and abroad. The bursaries will enable these builders of tomorrow to fulfill their ambitions, benefiting not only from financial support but also from professional coaching that will greatly increase their chances of success.

Quebecor and asterX would also like to thank the members of the selection committees at each university for reviewing and selecting the finalist applications before forwarding them to Quebecor's Jury for 2026, composed of:

• Pelra Azondekon, Managing Director, asterX, and Managing Director, Corporate Venture Capital, Quebecor;
   
• Jean B. Péladeau, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Videotron, Fizz and Freedom Mobile;
   
• Chanel Damphousse, Partner, MacKinnon Bennett & Co. (MKB);
   
• Sylvie Lalande, Chair of the Boards of Directors of Quebecor and TVA Group, Corporate Director.

About Quebecor's social commitment

For more than 70 years, Quebecor has contributed to the economic, cultural and social vitality of Québec, driving change by teaming up with local visionaries, creators, artisans and up-and-coming talent.

Driven by its entrepreneurial roots and a strong philanthropic commitment to more than 400 partners and organizations across Québec, Quebecor actively contributes to numerous impactful initiatives supporting Québec culture, the environment, local entrepreneurs, its community and its employees.
Together, these efforts give our community the collective power to build a stronger, more innovative economy, a richer, more diverse culture and a more sustainable, healthier society.

Let's keep building a proud and prosperous Québec. Together, let's cultivate what's possible.

Visit quebecor.com/engagement-social.

About asterX

asterX is the corporate venture capital arm of Quebecor  (TSX: QBR.A) (TSX: QBR.B). With a mission to promote a culture of boldness and entrepreneurial spirit, asterX leverages Quebecor's long-standing network and resources to build meaningful relationships and lasting partnerships with entrepreneurs who share its values. asterX furthers the development of innovative solutions that have the potential to create value both within Quebecor's core business segments as well as for our society as a whole. Through the asterX Capital fund, it supports the most promising start-ups from seed to growth stage, providing them access to capital and leading-expertise.

To learn more about asterX and the start-ups it supports, visit https://www.asterx.vc/en/.

SOURCE Québecor Média Inc.

Information: Quebecor, [email protected]