Ottawa, September 4, 2025 – International pitch competitions are often celebrated as the launchpad for promising startups. They bring together entrepreneurs, investors, and government representatives, offering young companies a chance to showcase cutting-edge technology to the world. But behind the bright lights and global stage, there is a quieter, more concerning reality: the risk of exploitation.
This week, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), in partnership with several U.S. intelligence agencies, issued new guidance to warn Western technology startups of the hidden dangers that can come with international exposure. While these competitions promise visibility, funding, and networking, they also create an opening for foreign entities to gain access to sensitive intellectual property and technological expertise.
A Joint Front on Economic Security
The bulletin was developed by CSIS alongside its American counterparts: the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s Office of Economic Security and Emerging Technology (OESET). Together, these organizations stressed the need for vigilance when Canadian and U.S. innovators step onto global stages.
The guidance underlines that many foreign actors are not just spectators at these events—they may be deliberately scouting for advanced technologies that can be adapted for both economic and military advantage. In some cases, seemingly routine competition questions, requests for detailed technical explanations, or follow-up meetings can serve as vehicles for extracting valuable know-how.
Balancing Opportunity and Protection
For entrepreneurs, the message is not to avoid international pitch competitions altogether, but to enter them with eyes wide open. The guidance encourages startups to carefully manage what information they disclose, consider who might be in the audience, and remain alert to unusual interest in their work.
“CSIS actively works with its partners, including the U.S., Five Eyes and others around the world in order to identify threats, inform Canadians and share mitigation measures. Canadian tech startups are essential to the Canadian economy and should protect themselves from potential threats or exploitation by threat actors,” stressed Dan Rogers, Director, Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
CSIS and its U.S. partners emphasize that Western innovation remains a target because of its strength—and that protecting it is essential to national security and long-term economic competitiveness. By raising awareness now, intelligence leaders hope to arm startups with the knowledge they need to pursue opportunity without inadvertently placing their breakthroughs in the wrong hands.
In the high-stakes world of global innovation, the line between opportunity and exploitation can be thin. For Canada and the United States, safeguarding that boundary has become a matter not only of protecting entrepreneurs, but also of securing the future.
