Passage’s Post

Among MacLean’s 2024 Top 100 Power List are three Iranian Canadians. On the Healthcare power list, Hamed Shahbazi, the Chairman and CEO of WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSX: WELL), Canada's largest owner operator of outpatient medical clinics and leading digital health service providing software and services to more than one third of all Canadian physicians. Hamed has 20+ years of experience as a technology focused operator. In 1997, he founded TIO Networks (TSXV:TNC) a kiosk solution provider and transitioned it into a multi-channel payment solution provider, specializing in bill payment and other financial services. In July of 2017, TIO Networks was acquired by PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) for CAD$304 million. In the AI category, we find Mohammad Norouzi, a machine learning engineer and innovator. He is the CEO and co-founder of Toronto-based Ideogram, billed as the most advanced text-to-image generation company out there. Recent Series A financing—$80 million, to be precise—suggests the Ideogram team are on the right track. Before launching Ideogram, Mohammad Norouzi spent time at Google Brain, the search giant’s AI research lab. We find Martin Basiri on the Tech power list with his new venture, Passage which opens up scholastic opportunities to talent from the developing world and removes financial barriers for students in high-demand fields like STEM and health care via an app that connects applicants with funding and grant opportunities. It has already attracted $40 million in seed funding. A pilot project launching in 2024 will bring 100 women from Afghanistan to pursue STEM studies in Canada. In 2015, Martin and his brothers launched ApplyBoard, an AI-enabled recruitment tool that helps foreign students apply to Western universities. That company earned a US$3.2-billion valuation and became one of the buzziest Canadian startups since BlackBerry.