We are thrilled to share that our Co-founder and Managing Partner, Lauren Valliere, has been named to The Peak’s 2026 Emerging Leaders list, in the Artificial Intelligence category.
The Peak’s Emerging Leaders program recognizes ambitious Canadians under 40 who are shaping the country’s economy, culture, and society. This year’s AI category honours founders, engineers, and executives building some of Canada’s most promising AI-driven companies and initiatives. We couldn’t be prouder to see Lauren’s name on that list.
“It is an absolute honour to be recognized as an emerging leader in the AI space. We are very proud of what we’ve built at GrowWise, and it’s a great feeling to be using AI technology to positively impact other Canadian entrepreneurs. Thank you to The Peak for this recognition!” – Lauren Valliere
Recognized for Building GrowWise’s AI-Driven Platform
Lauren’s nomination highlights the work she and the GrowWise team have done to make SR&ED (Scientific Research & Experimental Development) funding more accessible to Canadian innovators. By combining deep SR&ED expertise with our AI-driven platform, we’ve simplified a notoriously complex funding process, helping founders and R&D teams across the country spend less time on paperwork and more time building.
“What I am most proud of is the impact this technology has on Canadian innovataors an their teams. We focus on reducing the mental burden of SR&ED, saving the teams time and stress in filing their claims so that they can focus on what matters, continuing to innovate in their businesses. I love working with these incredible innovators and thanks to the technology we’ve built, our impact continues to grow.” Lauren adds.
The GrowWise team has already helped Canadian founders access millions of dollars of SR&ED funding, and saved these teams thousands of hours in filing the claims, thanks to the AI-driven technology. This technology enables teams to access SR&ED funding with typically <5 hours of total time.
This recognition reflects not just Lauren’s individual leadership, but the work of the entire GrowWise team in building a solution that’s changing how Canadian innovators access SR&ED funding.
A Full Circle Moment
Several of the founders GrowWise has supported through the SR&ED process were also named to this year’s Emerging Leaders list. It’s a full circle moment that speaks to the community we’ve built across Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
“We work with some of Canada’s leading entrepreneurs and innovators, so to be recognized alongside these leaders is an incredible compliment,” Lauren shared.
About GrowWise Partners
GrowWise was built to simplify the SR&ED process for founders and their teams. Accessing this funding shouldn’t be painful, take 20-30 hours, or cost you 20%+ of your SR&ED claim.
We’ve built our technology to not only simplify the year-end SR&ED claim preparation, but also to support year-round tracking of SR&ED projects and technical work. We help maximize and strengthen claims to ensure our clients are claiming as much as possible while maintaining audit-proof documentation.
We work with clients across industry and size, supporting the SR&ED process to allow founders and their teams to stay focused on the innovation while we handle everything SR&ED.
If you want to talk SR&ED, or discuss this news, reach out to Lauren directly here: lauren@growwise.ai
Congratulations to Lauren, and to all of the 2026 Emerging Leaders. See the full list at https://emergingleaders.readthepeak.com/2026.
