CityOptima, a next-generation asset management platform co-founded by Amir Fard and Ali Ghobadzadeh, participants in Hack the World: Analyze & Design, a program hosted by the Innovation Boost Zone.
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That’s the mission behind CityOptima (external link, opens in new window) , a next-generation asset management platform co-founded by Amir Fard and Ali Ghobadzadeh, participants in Hack the World: Analyze & Design, a program hosted by the Innovation Boost Zone.
CityOptima tackles a major challenge faced by municipalities across Canada, North America, and beyond: inefficient infrastructure planning and management. Their web-based platform helps cities track, model, and optimize their assets through a user-friendly interface that supports data-driven investment decisions, budget planning, and lifecycle extension for infrastructure.
With advanced features like automatic data validation, capital investment forecasting, and GIS-integrated analysis, CityOptima transforms complex municipal data into actionable insights. The platform also harnesses the power of AI to generate predictive models, empowering city planners and decision-makers to work smarter and more sustainably.
During the Hack the World: Analyze & Design bootcamp, the CityOptima team transformed their vision into a fully functional prototype, demonstrating how technology can address urgent, global challenges. Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), CityOptima built a solution that directly contributes to Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and Goal 13 (Climate Action).
By focusing on building resilient infrastructure, enabling inclusive and sustainable urban development, and supporting climate resilience, CityOptima exemplifies the core mission of Hack the World: empowering innovators to create solutions with real-world, global impact.
“My experience with Hack the World was amazing,” Amir states. “The program allowed us to think about our solution from a different perspective.”
In addition to being chosen for the Hack The World program, CityOptima was also selected as winner of the Norman Esch Awards, receiving $25,000 in funding to support the growth of their startup and expand the platform’s impact, bringing this game-changing solution closer to reality and driving positive change in cities and communities.
