MaRS Discovery District
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| Founded | May 31, 2000 |
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| Type | Charitable trust |
| Focus | Technology transfer, commercialization |
| Location | |
| Method | Consultancy, market research, venture capital |
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Key people
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Ilse Treurnicht, CEO |
| Website | www |
MaRS Discovery District is a not-for-profit corporation founded in Toronto in 2000. Its stated goal is to commercialize publicly funded medical research and other technologies with the help of local private enterprises and as such is a public-private partnership. As part of its mission MaRS says, "MaRS helps create successful global businesses from Canada’s science, technology and social innovation." As of 2014[update], startup companies emerging from MaRS had created more than 4,000 jobs, and in the period of 2011 to 2014 had raised over $750 million in capital investments.
The name MaRS was originally drawn from a file name, and later attributed with the title “Medical and Related Sciences.” It has since abandoned this association as it also works in other fields such as Information and Communications Technology, Engineering, and Social Innovation,
It is located on the corner of College Street and University Avenue in the city of Toronto’s Discovery District, adjacent to the University of Toronto and its affiliated research hospitals at the University Health Network.
The MaRS development consists of two phases.
MaRS Discovery District Phase 1 was designed by Adamson Associates Architects and includes:
Inside the Heritage Building's four-storey brick façade (preserved) are tenant spaces occupied by professional services, industry associations, pharmaceutical companies and offices of Canadian universities and the Province of Ontario. In 2006, the MaRS Centre received the Heritage Toronto Award of Excellence for Architectural Conservation and Craftsmanship. The building was designed by Pearson and Darling and opened in 1911.
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