Dr. John R. Evans, the founder of Canadian innovation hub MaRS Discovery District, passed away last week at the age of 85. This week, Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of MaRS, paid tribute to the life of Dr. Evans, and to his many accomplishments, including in the fields of entrepreneurship, R&D and innovation. Courtesy of MaRS, that tribute has been republished in full on peHUB Canada.
4 min read · 18 February 2015
MaRS Discovery District has launched a financial technology (fin-tech) cluster to support startups that are developing new innovations in payments, financial services, peer-to-peer transactions, alternative lending, and crypto-currencies. The fin-tech cluster will be led by Adam Nanjee, previously a vice president at MasterCard Canada. Digital payments providers PayPal and UGO will be strategic partners in the initiative. The Toronto-based MaRS said qualified fin-tech startups will have immediate access to corporate partners, investors and advisory resources, as well as additional facilities later in 2015. A MaRS infographic highlighting facts about Canadian fin-tech can be viewed here.
5 min read · 18 February 2015
Montréal-based Mobeewave, a provider of secure NFC mobile payment terminal solutions, has raised $6.5 million in a Series A financing. SBT Venture Capital, a Russian fin-tech venture capital firm, led the round. Update: Investment proceeds are intended to help facilitate the company's growth, support new market openings worldwide, and fast track the roll out of its products roadmaps, Mobeewave said. Founded by CEO Benjamin du Haÿs and COO Maxime de Nanclas in 2012, the company also has an office in Paris, France.
4 min read · 17 February 2015
Genetic information company Invitae Corp has priced its initial public offering of common shares at US$16 per share, which will raise gross proceeds totaling US$101.6 million. Invitae's shares are expected to begin trading this week on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NVTA”. Based in San Francisco, the company secured US$120 million in a Series F round last October. One of the investors in that round, and in earlier Invitae financings, was Genesys Capital, a Canadian venture capital firm focused on investing in healthcare and biotechnology sectors.
2 min read · 13 February 2015
Toronto-based theScore Inc (TSX-V: SCR), a portfolio company of Canadian venture capital firm Relay Ventures, has agreed to undertake a bought deal offering. The transaction, which includes an over-allotment option, will see underwriters purchase units that give the company gross proceeds of about $23 million. Net proceeds will be used by the theScore to develop its mobile sports apps, expand sales and marketing activity, and other purposes. The company recently entered the 2015 TSX Venture 50, a list of the top 50 businesses on the TSX Venture Exchange.
4 min read · 13 February 2015
AmorChem has closed its first transaction with the University of Waterloo. The project focuses on a mucoadhesive nanotechnology platform that supports the delivery of drugs, which is derived from the research work of Dr. Frank Gu. AmorChem said it will partner with Dr. Gu to pursue the preclinical development of a first product delivered using the technology. Based in Montréal, AmorChem is managed by Canadian venture capital firm GeneChem. The fund invests in R&D-stage initiatives to enable pre-clinical proof-of-concept in a semi-virtual mode.
3 min read · 12 February 2015
Canadian venture capital firm Klass Capital has invested $3 million of growth equity in Docebo SpA, a cloud e-learning solutions provider based in Naples, Italy. The financing is the second raised to date by Docebo, which in 2012 received an investment from Italian venture capital firm Principia SGR. The company, which was founded in 2005, said it will use the new funds to invest in its expansion in North America and to finance the continued development of its e-learning platform. Klass Capital’s investment in Docebo is its third disclosed so far this year. In the past two months, the firm also announced investments in Condo Control Central and AlayaCare.
4 min read · 12 February 2015
The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) has agreed to commit up to $500,000 to York Angel Investors, a network of angel venture capitalists based in Markham, Ontario. The funds will help the organization improve its investment tools, expand its investor base and pool, and improve mentoring support to early-stage companies in Ontario. Since it was founded in 2008, York Angel Investors has invested $4.9 million in 31 companies. FedDev Ontario said it has committed more than $3 million to 12 angel organizations.
3 min read · 11 February 2015
SaskWorks Venture Fund, a retail venture capital fund managed by Regina-based PFM Capital, has raised a total of $40 million in its latest fundraising period, reaching its allotted tax-eligible subscription limit. The fund will re-open for subscription sales on March 5, 2015. Founded in 2001, SaskWorks Venture Fund invests in small and medium-sized private companies. It currently has over 27,900 shareholders and has approved more than $354 million for investment.
1 min read · 11 February 2015
New reports from the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) and Thomson Reuters suggest that deal making in Canada’s venture capital market was red hot in 2014. Indeed, Thomson Reuters said dollars invested in Canadian technology sectors last year reflected the biggest total in more than a decade. On the other hand, venture capital fundraising in 2014 declined 15 percent year over year.
3 min read · 11 February 2015
