Manulife and the World Economic Forum's early innovation project UpLink today announced the winners of the "Shaping Canada's Longevity Advantage" challenge. This challenge is the third and final one in their multi-year collaboration, focusing on promoting longevity innovation. The project is open to innovators from Canada and around the world, seeking solutions that can genuinely improve the health, financial resilience, and social connections of Canadians in the short term, while also fostering a sense of purpose and opportunities across generations.

As Canadians live longer and experience a more diverse range of life stages, society needs new solutions to help people lead better lives throughout their extended lifetimes, through improved health, greater financial resilience, more meaningful social connections, and a stronger sense of purpose. The award-winning team demonstrated innovative approaches to assist Canadians in coping with longer lifespans, while also supporting caregivers, families, and communities.

The 10 winners of the "Shaping Canada's Longevity Advantage" challenge include:

• Amical (Quebec City, Canada) provides companion services driven by AI through a familiar telephone interface, supporting the elderly and patients with cognitive impairments.
• Childfree Trust (USA Mount Juliet), provides estate planning, fiduciary management, and emergency response services for childless individuals and elderly people living alone.
• Clay Financial (Toronto, Canada) helps older Canadians release the equity in their homes through a home equity sharing agreement, without having to take on debt or make monthly payments.
• Cosm Medical (Toronto, Canada), utilizes AI, software, and 3D printing to create personalized pelvic floor health devices, helping people maintain a positive and independent lifestyle.
• Idem (Montreal, Canada), developing interactive cognitive aids to support patients with dementia in maintaining independence and coordinating care.
• LINK Plans (Calgary, Canada), helping financial institutions and payroll service providers to expand the coverage of workplace retirement savings plans.
• MIMOSA Diagnostics (Toronto, Canada): Using portable imaging technology to detect pressure ulcers before skin damage becomes visible.
• Myant Health (Mississauga, Canada): Transforming everyday clothing into continuous health monitoring tools through smart textile technology.
• Pontosense (Toronto, Canada) utilizes wireless sensing technology driven by AI to detect falls, monitor vital signs, and supports independent living without the need for cameras or wearable devices.
• PragmaClin (St. John's, Canada) has developed a AI neuroassessment platform for patients with Parkinson's disease.

The President and CEO of Manulife Canada, Patrick Graham, stated: “Longevity is one of the greatest opportunities of our time, but it also requires us to think about health and financial well-being in different ways. Innovators who are recognized through this challenge are addressing one of the most significant issues brought about by longevity: how to stay healthy for longer periods and how to build greater financial resilience. These are major challenges that require bold ideas to overcome.”

Nearly 40% of Canadians are over the age of 50, and many of them are balancing the care for their elderly parents and relatives with their own health and financial goals. Meanwhile, a survey on aging in Canada conducted by the Canadian Institute on Aging ( National Institute on Ageing ) with the support of Manulife shows that 43% of older Canadians face a higher risk of social isolation, and only 29% feel that they can afford a retirement lifestyle. This highlights the need for innovative solutions that can improve health, financial resilience, and social connections. This challenge focuses on three key areas: helping people plan for and cope with a longer life, supporting the coordination of prevention and care, and strengthening a sense of belonging and intergenerational connections.

Paul Lorentz, President and CEO of Manulife Financial and Asset Management, stated: "Longevity is reshaping the way people work, save, care for others, and prepare for retirement. Canada has the opportunity to lead in this area by advancing solutions that help people stay healthy, connected, and financially resilient throughout their longer lives. These award-winning teams have demonstrated how innovation can transform this opportunity into actions that are meaningful for individuals, families, and communities."

These award-winning projects will gain access to the UpLink global innovation ecosystem, enabling them to establish connections with enterprises, investors, policymakers, and other partners in order to help accelerate their growth and expand their influence.

The head of the World Economic Forum UpLink, John Dutton, stated: "Through the World Economic Forum's UpLink and the Global Longevity Innovation Initiative, we are proud to collaborate with Manulife to identify and scale early-stage entrepreneurial projects, helping people lead healthier, more financially resilient, and more fulfilling lives. With Manulife's support, this new team continues the progress made in previous sessions and highlights how breakthrough solutions can drive transformation in Canada's health, finance, and care systems, enhancing people's ability to plan for and cope with longer lifespans."

The “Shaping Canada’s Longevity Advantage” challenge is built on the years of collaboration between Manulife and UpLink. This partnership was announced at the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, with the aim of identifying and scaling innovations that can support a healthier, more financially resilient, and more fulfilling life in the context of global population aging. This challenge follows the “Longevity Prosperity Challenge” in 2024 and the “Innovating for Asia’s Population Structure Future Challenge” in 2025.

This initiative also reflects the work of the Manulife Longevity Institute ( Manulife Longevity Institute ). The platform focuses on research, intellectual leadership, innovation, advocacy, and community investment to help people thrive at every stage of life. For more information on Manulife's longevity-related efforts and the Manulife Longevity Institute, please visit manulife.com.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider headquartered in Toronto, Canada. We operate under the Manulife brand in Canada and Asia, and primarily under the John Hancock brand in the United States, providing financial advice, insurance, and health solutions for individuals, groups, and businesses. Through Manulife Wealth and Asset Management, we offer global investment solutions, financial advice, and retirement plan services to individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members around the world. As of the end of 2025, we employed over 37,000 people, had more than 106,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 37 million customers in 25 markets globally. We are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, and the Philippine Stock Exchange under the symbol “MFC”, and on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the symbol “945”. Not all products and services are available in all jurisdictions. For more information, please visit manulife.com.

About Manulife Longevity Institute

The Manulife Longevity Institute is a global platform for research, thought leadership, innovation, advocacy, and community investment, dedicated to promoting actions that help people live longer, healthier lives with greater financial security. Largely supported by a commitment of $350 million, the institute focuses on extending healthy life spans and fostering broader financial resilience. As a global leader in insurance, retirement planning, and asset management, Manulife holds a unique advantage in driving this transformation. The institute’s work will support Manulife’s impact agenda strategy by investing in organizations focused on the growing longevity economy, establishing research collaborations with leading academic institutions and think tanks, and producing content that promotes thought leadership. In the United States, the institute will operate under the name John Hancock Longevity Institute. The institute’s activities will be guided by a steering committee composed of members from Manulife’s executive team and global leadership, and it will collaborate with partners and expert ecosystems across Canada, Asia, and the United States to jointly advocate for longevity issues.

For more information, please visit Manulife.com / Longevity.

About UpLink

UpLink has been an early innovation engine of the World Economic Forum, connecting innovators with a sense of mission with the partners, resources, and capital they need to scale their solutions. These solutions are aimed at markets and economies that are crucial for a resilient, sustainable, and prosperous world. UpLink envisions a future where profits and mission go hand in hand—innovation drives competitiveness, inclusivity, and long-term value; economic growth enhances human well-being and repairs the planet, while resilience is the foundation of a prosperous, future-oriented economy. For more information, please click here.

Media Contact

Manulife : Emily English