I want to build something that is challenging, with some amazing people
~ Helen Kontozopoulos
BIOHelen co-founded ODAIA Intelligence in 2018 out of the University of Toronto, where Helen continues to teach part-time in the Department of Computer Science, emphasizing entrepreneurship, product development, design, and startup creation.
ODAIA is a Series B SaaS startup leading the development of a pioneering cloud solution tailored for pharma sales and marketing teams. Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, ODAIA provides actionable insights and predictive analytics to enhance understanding of physician prescribing patterns and behavioral trends. Helen co-founded the University of Toronto's Department of Computer Science Innovation Lab in 2014, a startup incubator that supports computer science students and researchers in commercializing their ideas and research. At the lab, she produced over a hundred hackathons, directed various technical and business events, including AI Week, Global Smartweek, UofT Startups in the Valley, and the Funding Innovation Conference, among others. She adores early-stage startup development and is an LP in three venture funds. She has mentored and supported over 500 teams through various stages of their development, from idea to company growth. Helen is a sought-after lecturer and has participated in over 30+ panels, including prestigious events such as the IEEE Women In Engineering International Leadership Summit, TedxUofT, World AI Summit, The Fields Institute events, and Elevate. You can also tune in and listen to Helen as she hosts the Making Impact Podcast, where she talks to life sciences leaders about how their work impacts our lives with technology. |
WORK
Co-founder & Chief Tech Evangelist, ODAIA.AI 2018 - present Adjunct Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto 2014 - present https://web.cs.toronto.edu/contact-us/faculty-directory#adjunct Department of Computer & Mathematical Sciences, University of Toronto 2016 - present Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), YSpace Summer Programme - York University, Toronto, 2021 - present Startup advisor, Torque Labs - Geotab 2019 Co-founder, DCSIL - Department of Computer Science Innovation Lab, University of Toronto 2014 - 2018 Technology and Entrepreneurship Curriculum Developer, University of Central Asia, Toronto/Kyrgystan, 2017 - 2018 Product Development Team member, NERD (Neurotech Early Research & Development), Ontario Brains Institute 2016 - 2017 IBM Watson University Teaching team and advisor, University of Toronto 2014 - 2015 Founder and Executive Producer, GLOBAL Smartweek: IoT & Machine Intelligence Conference 2014 & 2015 Mobile Accelerator, OCAD University, 2013 Web Developer and Designer, Freelance, 2001 - 2012 |
INVESTING
Member, The Firehood, 2022 - present Limited Partner, Northside Ventures, 2023 - present Limited Partner, Genesis Ventures, 2022 - present Limited Partner, Phoenix Fire - Archangel, 2022 - present Startups to check out: Private AI, Protexxa, Huex Lab |
PROGRAM & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CREATION
Podcast Host, The Making Impact - Life Science Series, 2022 - present Founder, UX/Design Toronto Group 2012 - 2021 (Now part of TechToronto) Organising Committee and presenter, International Women's Week 2021, Dentsu International, 2021 Organising Committee, Industry Day: Data Science and AI (Part of the Statistical Inference, Learning and Models in Data Science Conference) Toronto www.fields.utoronto.ca/activities/18-19/statistical_inference_ind AI WEEK, November 2017 (UofT Provost Grant Awarded) Talent Tuesday: Mentorship Career Program between Industry/Startups & Computer Science students, September - November 2017 (UofT Provost Grant Awarded) Funding Innovation Conference, May 2017 & 2018 (UofT Provost Grant Awarded) Augmented-Reality Bus Tour Reveals New Side of The University of Toronto Campus, March 2017 (UofT Provost Grant Awarded) Summer Arts & Science Entrepreneurship Program, May - July 2015 & 2016 ((UofT Arts & Science Grant Awarded) |
COMMUNITY BUILDING
Connaught Innovation Award Adjudication (IT & Physical Sciences) committee The University of Toronto, 2023 Adjudication Committee RBC Borealis AI Graduate and Post-doctoral Fellowships, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Faculty advisor, The University of Toronto's The 99 AI Challenge 2019/2020 https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/ai-challenge Mentor - Safe x Connected Cities Accelerator, Highline Beta, 2019/2020 Member organising committee and Hackathon Co-chair: ICT4S Sustainability Hackathon 5th International Conference, 2018, Toronto http://2018.ict4s.org/ Organiser and supervisor, Datafest, University of Toronto, 2017, 2018 UofT DCS Entrepreneurship Committee, 2014 - 2018 Adviser Correlation One & Datathon, University of Toronto 2016 Adviser Waterfront International Quantathon, University of Toronto, 2015, 2016 Organiser GirlGeeks, Toronto 2013 - 2014 |
EDUCATION
Degrees: International Business, Masters, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania, Australia, 2008 Anthropology, BA, Faculty of Arts and Science, York University, Canada, 2004 Certificates: Innovation and Technology, Professional Certificate (On-Campus), MIT, Boston, 2017 - 2018 Integrated Digital Marketing Certificate, IAB Canada, 2013 Social Media Marketing in Canada Certificate, IAB Canada, 2013 Social Media: Monitoring & Metrics Certificate, AKIMBO, 2013 Mental Health Advocacy, University of Tasmania Law School, 2006 Workshops: Business Model Canvas Seminar with Yves Pigneur, UofT DCSIL, 2017 Mobile Concept Development workshop, Mobile Experience Innovation Lab/OCAD University, 2013 Market Mobile Deployment workshop, Mobile Experience Innovation Lab/OCAD University, 2013 Design Thinking and Usability Testing workshop with Wayne Pau, SAP - Mobile Experience Innovation Lab/OCAD University, 2013 Mobile Maintenance workshop - Mobile Experience Innovation Lab/OCAD University, 2013 Design Clinic, Microsoft - MaRS Discovery District, 2013 Mobile Biz Bootcamp - Developer Edition, The Mobile Institute - OCE Discovery, 2013 |
WRITING CONTRIBUTIONS
Entrepreneur Magazine, How to find your startup niche", April 2022, Online www.entrepreneur.com/article/424748 |
IN THE NEWS
Robotic Rehab: Start-up Helps Kids with Cerebral Palsy
http://medicine.utoronto.ca/news/robotic-rehab-start-helps-kids-cerebral-palsy Meet (Winning) Team ROSS Intelligence
https://www.ischool.utoronto.ca/content/meet-winning-team-ross Intel IoT Roadshow in Toronto
http://blog.bemyapp.com/intel-iot-roadshow-toronto/ GLOBAL SMARTWEEK 2015
http://web.cs.toronto.edu/news/current/GLOBAL_SMARTWEEK_2015.htm |
Women Lead Tech in Mississauga, Peel Region & at The University of Toronto
http://icubeutm.ca/women-lead-tech-mississauga-peel-uoft/ New space for software innovations: Computer science incubator to be “open to all disciplines”
http://thevarsity.ca/2015/03/16/new-space-for-software-innovations/ Michael Wekerle at SMARTWEEK 2014 in TORONTO
http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/michael-wekerle-at-smartweek-2014-in-toronto-555827.htm Smartweek Using Christie Interactive Visual Solutions
https://www.christiedigital.com/en-us/business/visual-solutions/new-projectors/smartweek-2014 |