Mark Coombs

At Contend, we are on a mission to revolutionize legal services using the power of AI. We’ve built an AI-driven platform that provides direct-to-consumer legal help—helping people navigate life’s toughest challenges like unfair evictions, wrongful terminations, complex divorces, and more. Contend was founded by two artificial intelligence and legal experts, and built with the support of lawyers from around the world. Our vision is to make access to safe, reliable legal information simple, affordable, and accessible to everyone. We’re building the AI-powered software that will make this a reality.

At Contend, we are on a mission to revolutionize legal services using the power of AI. We’ve built an AI-driven platform that provides direct-to-consumer legal help—helping people navigate life’s toughest challenges like unfair evictions, wrongful terminations, complex divorces, and more. Contend was founded by two artificial intelligence and legal experts, and built with the support of lawyers from around the world. Our vision is to make access to safe, reliable legal information simple, affordable, and accessible to everyone. We’re building the AI-powered software that will make this a reality.

NEXT Canada is a national non-profit dedicated to accelerating Canada’s most ambitious entrepreneurs and innovators. Founded in 2010 as The Next 36 by visionary business leaders and academics, NEXT Canada now delivers world-class, founder-focused programming through three streams: Next 36, Next Founders, and NextAI—with NextAI delivered in both Toronto and Montréal. Our mission is to develop exceptional talent, build globally competitive ventures, and drive technology adoption across industries—strengthening the foundations of Canada’s economic prosperity and innovation ecosystem. NEXT Canada is supported by generous donors and partners including Tim and Frances Price, Reza Satchu and Marion Annau, Som Seif, Chiko Nanji, Morgan Wyatt, and Steven Wellman, as well as EY, Hatch, BDC, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, and Air Canada. To date, we have empowered more than 1,300 alumni entrepreneurs who have raised over $5.5 billion in capital investments and created thousands of jobs from coast to coast. Their ventures include transformative companies such as Ada, Super, Mistplay, OTI Lumionics, Flashfood, SeamlessMD, Bridgit, Kira Talent, and many others. NEXT Canada is where bold ideas meet lifelong entrepreneurship—and where Canada’s next generation of world-class ventures begins. For more information, please visit: www.nextcanada.com

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