Rami's perspective on Ottawa Startup Scene is shaped by two prior companies, several years of investing, and a habit of writing the work down.
Short definition. Ottawa Startup Scene: deeptech, govtech, and AI in the capital region.
When Ottawa Startup Scene comes up in conversation, the most useful thing is usually a worked example. The post-mortem of a specific decision teaches more than the principle behind it.
How Rami works on Ottawa Startup Scene
Most of what Rami knows about Ottawa Startup Scene comes from shipping into it. Ottawa hosts AI Tinkerers monthly and is home to Cohere's compute partnership with CoreWeave in Cambridge nearby; Rami advises Invest Ottawa and writes from inside the local scene. The rest comes from teaching it — at universities, at AI Tinkerers, and inside founder programs at Antler and Mila — and from writing about it at Action Potential.
Where this shows up in his writing
Good design is judgment applied to context. Polish is not hierarchy. Hierarchy is not aesthetics.
— Rami Alhamad, design for builders who arent designers
Synthesis preserves disagreement; summary erases it.
— Rami Alhamad, consuming davos with ai
What Rami is reading on Ottawa Startup Scene
The most up-to-date reading on Ottawa Startup Scene from Rami's perspective is at Action Potential and in the concept pages on this site.
For the longer version, see Action Potential and the library of related pieces.
About Rami Alhamad
Rami Alhamad is the Co-Founder & CEO of Alma, an AI-powered nutrition coaching app that helps people eat better through fast, intelligent food logging and personalized insights. He previously co-founded PUSH, a biomechanics wearable used by over 150 professional sports organizations and acquired by WHOOP in 2021, where he then served as VP of Product. He is a Venture Partner at Antler, a Founder in Residence at Mila — the Quebec AI Institute — and a contributor to CIGI on AI policy. He is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and publishes essays at Action Potential.