Toronto-based theScore Inc (TSX-V: SCR), a portfolio company of Canadian venture capital firm Relay Ventures, has been introduced to the 2015 TSX Venture 50, a list of the top 50 businesses on the TSX Venture Exchange. The company, which was founded in 2012, is a provider of full digital services to sports fans across all major mobile platforms. Last year, theScore raised $17.25 million in follow-on financing from Relay and Levfam Holdings. It also acquired daily fantasy sports game Swoopt.
4 min read · 11 February 2015
AppDirect Inc, which last year opened an office in Montréal, has raised US$50 million in a Series D financing. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm Mithril Capital Management, and was joined by a mix of new and existing investors, including Canadian firms iNovia Capital and Foundry Group. Based in San Francisco, AppDirect is a cloud service marketplace and management platform. It plans to use funding proceeds to expand its global market share by devoting resources to scale sales, marketing and client services teams, and by forging new partnerships. AppDirect is co-led by Canadian entrepreneurs Nicolas Desmarais and Daniel Saks.
4 min read · 11 February 2015
Venture capital investment in Canadian startups reached a twelve-year high in 2014 with over $2.3 billion invested in 522 deals, according to data released by Thomson Reuters. This reflected a 21 percent increase over 2013 and the most active year in the domestic market since 2002. Investment activity was primarily led in information technology sectors, in which 226 companies received over $1.4 billion invested, up 38 percent from 2013. Canadian venture capital firms also invested more money in global markets: $409 million, which is up 76 percent year over year. On the other hand, Canadian venture capital fundraising fell by 15 percent in 2014, relative to the year before, with new commitments to funds totaling $1.2 billion this time around.
4 min read · 10 February 2015
Lumenpulse Inc (TSX: LMP) has bought all of the shares of Ariane Controls Inc, a provider of narrowband powerline communication technology with headquarters in Québec City. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Based in Montréal, Lumenpulse is a manufacturer of high performance and sustainable LED lighting solutions. It said the acquisition will add to its portfolio of proprietary technologies. Last year, Lumenpulse went public, raising $100 million in proceeds. It continues to be backed by Canadian venture capital firm XPND Capital and other investors.
2 min read · 09 February 2015
Canadian venture capital firm Klass Capital has made a growth equity investment in Condo Control Central, a provider of cloud-based communication and management systems for condominiums. The value of the investment was not released. Condo Control Central said the funds will be used to grow its team and to continue development and expansion of its online system for condominiums. Founded in 2008 by president Brian Bosscher, the company launched its technology platform in 2012. Klass Capital's investment is its second disclosed so far this year. In January, the firm invested in home healthcare platform AlayaCare Inc.
3 min read · 05 February 2015
Clarity, a marketplace that connects entrepreneurs with top advisors and industry experts, has been acquired by Fundable.com, a U.S. crowdfunding platform for small businesses. The financial terms of the deal were not published. Clarity's founder and CEO Dan Martell said the company will become part of Startups.co, a new startup launch platform. With offices in Moncton, New Brunswick and San Francisco, Clarity was backed by a mix of venture capital investors, including Canadian firms Real Ventures and Version One Ventures, as well as U.S. firms Baseline Ventures, 500 Startups, Freestyle Ventures and Venture51.
4 min read · 03 February 2015
Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd and France's Michelin Group have committed to the latest fund of Emerald Technology Ventures. The amounts committed were not disclosed. Doosan and Michelin join a number of existing corporate investors, including Ecolab Inc, SK Group Inc and Suncor Energy Inc, all of which made fund commitments last June. Emerald, which has offices in Toronto and Zurich, Switzerland, invests in companies in the areas of energy, water, advanced materials and industrial information technology. The firm's 2014 deals include its investment in Canadian mapping service platform GeoDigital International Inc.
3 min read · 03 February 2015
CM Labs Simulations Inc has secured undisclosed funding from Canadian venture capital firm Emerillon Capital and Desjardins-Innovatech. Based in Montréal, CM Labs is a developer of technology called Vortex that provides real-time simulation capabilities for training and engineering applications. Its solutions are used in construction, port terminals, offshore operations and other industrial venues. The company said its partnership with Emerillon and Desjardins-Innovatech will allow it to accelerate global growth. Founded in 2001, CM Labs is led by CEO Robert Weldon.
3 min read · 02 February 2015
BitGold Inc has agreed to merge with Loma Vista Capital Inc (CSE: LOV) in a reverse take-over (RTO). The deal follows the close of BitGold's Series A financing round in late 2014, when the Toronto gold exchange company raised $3.5 million. Concurrent with the RTO, BitGold said it expects to complete a private placement to raise gross proceeds of about $6 million. The funds will be used to execute its marketing and customer acquisition strategy and develop its technology and intellectual property portfolio. BitGold said it is also discussing potential opportunities with Canadian alternative assets manager Sprott Inc.
10 min read · 29 January 2015
D-Wave Systems Inc recently secured $29 million in financing from an unnamed institutional investor and other sources. The investment adds to amounts raised last July by the Burnaby, British Columbia-based company, bringing its total raise in 2014 to about $62 million. D-Wave said the new funds will be used to accelerate development of its quantum hardware and software and expand its software application ecosystem. Founded in 1999, the company is backed by a number of Canadian and U.S. investors, including BDC Capital, Bezos Expeditions, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Goldman Sachs, Growthworks, Harris & Harris Group, IIU, In-Q-Tel and Kensington Capital Partners.
3 min read · 29 January 2015
