Members of Anges Québec recently invested $300,000 in Chronogolf Inc, a cloud-based golf management software company. Anges Québec said the investment is part of round closed by Canadian venture capital firm iNovia Capital and U.S. firm Telegraph Hill Capital. Telegraph invested in March, according to Crunchbase. Based in Montréal, Chronogolf has developed a platform that facilitates interactions between golf courses and players. The angel funding, led by Jean-François Leduc and Nectarios Economakis, will in partnership with iNovia and Telegraph help the startup develop its platform, increase its brand awareness and implement a sales team to market its product.
4 min read · 12 November 2014
The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev) has announced plans to invest up to $1.53 million in three Waterloo, Ontario startups. The companies are: Clearpath Robotics, a specialist in vehicle robotics technology; In the Chat, a digital customer service software provider; and WestonExpressions, a developer of an interactive advertising display system. FedDev said these startups have also secured over $3.1 million from venture capital and angel investors. FedDev will also commit up to $500,000 to Golden Triangle Angel Network, an Ontario angel organization.
6 min read · 12 November 2014
Biotechnology startup Encycle Therapeutics Inc recently secured more than $2.5 million from undisclosed investors. The capital infusion is intended to support the company's drug development platform, which is focused on treating inflammatory bowel disease and related conditions. Encycle was founded two years ago by Dr. Andrei Yudin of the University of Toronto in partnership with commercialization agent MaRS Innovation. It is currently collaborating on its research project with MaRS, the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer-Commercialization of Research and the Université de Montréal.
4 min read · 11 November 2014
Hibernum Créations Inc has obtained $5 million from Investissement Québec, a government private equity and venture capital firm. Based in Montréal, Hibernum is a game development, animation and visual effects creation platform. The company said the partnership with Investissement Québec will allow it to enhance its position in the global gaming and digital entertainment industries. Hibernum was founded by president Frédérick Faubert in 2005.
2 min read · 11 November 2014
Sentrian, a U.S. remote patient Intelligence company, has raised US$12 million in seed-stage and Series A funding. The round was co-led by TELUS Ventures, the strategic venture capital investment arm of Canada's TELUS Communications Co. Other lead investors included Reed Elsevier Ventures and Frost Data Capital. Based in Aliso Viejo, California, Sentrian's platform aims to eliminate preventable hospitalization by leveraging remote biosensors and machine learning to detect patient deterioration early.
4 min read · 11 November 2014
Christopher Morris has been named the new president and CEO of GrowthWorks Capital, replacing David Levi, who will become the firm's executive chairman. Morris is the principal of R.C. Morris & Co Special Opportunities Debt Fund II LP, and is president of R.C. Morris & Co Ltd, a Canadian turnaround and restructuring firm. Based in Vancouver, GrowthWorks manages $200 million in venture capital fund assets.
2 min read · 11 November 2014
The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) has welcomed the launch of Teralys Capital Innovation Fund, which was initially closed this week at $279 million. The CVCA noted that the fund is the second established under the federal Venture Capital Action Plan, with $186 million in commitments coming from corporate and institutional investors, and $46.5 million coming each from Ottawa and the Québec government. The fund is managed by Montréal-based fund-of-funds manager Teralys Capital.
2 min read · 11 November 2014
DogVacay has secured US$25 million in funding. Canadian venture capital firm OMERS Ventures led the round with participation from other investors, including GSV Capital, First Round Capital, Benchmark, Foundation Capital and DAG Ventures. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, DogVacay is an online and mobile community for pet care in North America. Update: The company, which was founded in 2012, said the capital infusion will allow it to continue to grow. OMERS Ventures is an investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).
3 min read · 10 November 2014
Mindjet Corp has received US$10 million in debt financing from Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial. Based in San Francisco, Mindjet is a software company focused on facilitating repeatable enterprise-level innovation. Founded in 1991, the company's backers include venture capital firms Investor Growth Capital, Industry Ventures and PICO Holdings. Mindjet said the partnership with Wellington will help it execute on its growth opportunities. Based in Toronto, Wellington currently manages a $600 million investment program.
2 min read · 10 November 2014
Canadian fund-of-funds manager Teralys Capital has initially closed the Teralys Capital Innovation Fund at $279 million. The new fund, the second market-based investment vehicle to be backed by Ottawa’s $400 million Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP), has also received commitments from Fondaction CSN, the National Bank of Canada, Desjardins Group, Knight Therapeutics Inc and OpenText Corp. Teralys, which has since 2009 been backed by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Investissement Québec, was flagged in a June report by peHUB Canada as the likely manager of a new venture capital partnership between the Québec and federal governments. The new fund will make commitments to investor groups focused on a wide range of emerging technology sectors.
3 min read · 10 November 2014
