Private Equity
A report by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) and BDC Capital provides new data on diversity and inclusion in Canada's private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) industries. The report, based on a survey conducted by Deloitte in early 2019, found only 12 percent of partners at PE firms and 11 percent of partners at VC firms were female. It also found that only 6 percent of partners at PE firms and 18 percent of partners at VC firms were visible minorities. In all, 59 firms participated in the survey, which is intended to establish baseline data to measure progress over time and advance best practices in the area.
5 min read · 27 June 2019
Fellow.app, an Ottawa-based software toolkit for managers, has closed its seed-stage financing, raising about $8.5 million (US$6.5 million). Canadian growth equity and venture capital firm Inovia Capital led the round, with participation from Felicis Ventures, Garage Capital and several angel investors. Fellow.app, launched last year by CEO Aydin Mirzaee, CTO Sam Cormier-Iijima and CPO Amin Mirzaee, has developed a cloud-based tool to help managers and their teams organize meetings, feedback and priorities. Along with the seed round, Fellow.app announced its first customer, Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify.
3 min read · 27 June 2019
Dfuse, a Montréal-based blockchain application programming interface platform, has closed a seed-stage financing, raising about $3.5 million. U.S. cryptofund Multicoin Capital and Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of U.S. chip maker Intel Corp, led the round. Diagram Ventures, which co-founded dfuse, BoxOne Ventures, Panache Ventures and White Star Capital also invested. Launched in 2018 by Marc-Antoine Ross, Richard Reiner, Alexandre Bourget and Mathieu Boulianne, dfuse has created a range of products to help developers build effective blockchain applications.
4 min read · 27 June 2019
C2RO, a Montréal-based cloud robotics software platform, has raised $2.25 million in follow-on financing. Québec early-stage venture capital firm Fonds Innovexport led the round. It was joined by GCI Capital, Harbor Street Ventures, Tandemlaunch, which incubated C2RO, Ministere de Economie et L’Innovation and angel investors. C2RO provides cloud artificial intelligence for smart devices to help businesses improve the experience of customers. It will use the funds raised to commercialize its product offerings. C2RO was founded in 2016 by CTO Soodeh Farokhi and is led by President and CEO Riccardo Badalone.
4 min read · 27 June 2019
Bird Canada, a licensed affiliate of U.S. electric scooter provider Bird, has launched to bring the micro-mobility solution to Canadians. Bird Canada is backed by undisclosed financing from Obelysk, the investment arm of Canadian entrepreneur John Bitove, Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures, and Alate Partners, a Toronto-based property technology platform. Stewart Lyons, a SiriusXM Canada co-founder, will serve as CEO. Bird Canada will begin operations in Alberta in July and eventually grow its fleet of electric scooters and other commuter solutions across Canada. Santa Monica, California-based Bird last year raised a US$300 million Series C financing led by Sequoia Capital.
3 min read · 27 June 2019
Ackroo Inc (TSX-V: AKR), an Ottawa-based gift card and loyalty marketing technology and services provider, has secured a $4 million debt facility from BDC Capital. The facility's proceeds will be used for acquisitions. They include Ackroo's acquisition of certain assets of I.Q. 7/24 Inc, the digital marketing and business intelligence business of Mobi724 Global Solutions Inc. The $2.7 million deal is expected to close next month. Founded in 2012, Ackroo provides its in-store and online automated marketing solution to automotive, petroleum, hospitality and retail merchants.
3 min read · 24 June 2019
Canada's Weston family has hired Jim Orlando, managing partner of OMERS Ventures (OV), to run its new venture capital fund, the Globe and Mail reported. The $100 million fund will be an arm of the Westons' holding company Wittington Investments, the report said, and invest in areas of strategic interest to the family's businesses, including Weston Foods and Loblaw Cos Ltd. Orlando joined OV in 2013 and was responsible for leading its investment in Shopify. Before then, he was a managing director of OMERS Private Equity. Wittington is a cornerstone investor in the US$350 million debut fund of Radical Ventures, a Canadian artificial intelligence venture capital firm, launched in May.
1 min read · 19 June 2019
MindBridge Analytics Inc (MineBridge Ai), an Ottawa-based auditing software platform, has raised $15.1 million in follow-on financing, according to a report by the Globe and Mail. The round was led by U.S. business software venture capital firm PeakSpan Capital, the report said. It was joined by Real Ventures, Reciprocal Ventures, National Bank of Canada and The Group Ventures, all of which invested in last year's $8.4 million Series A financing. MindBridge Ai will also receive $14.5 million from Ottawa's Strategic Innovation Fund, the report said. Founded in 2015 by CEO Eli Fathi and CSO Solon Angel, MindBridge Ai uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to help auditors uncover errors and misstatements in financial data.
1 min read · 12 June 2019
H&R Block Inc (NYSE: HRB) has agreed to acquire Wave Financial, a Toronto-based provider of financial management software to small businesses. The deal, expected to close in the next few months, will see H&R Block pay about $537 million (US$405 million) in cash. Founded in 2010 and led by CEO Kirk Simpson, Wave provides accounting, invoicing, payroll and payments solutions, as well as bookkeeping services, to more than 400,000 small businesses every month. H&R Block, a Kansas City, Missouri-based tax preparation business, said the deal will enhance its position in the small business market. Wave has raised more than $100 million in venture capital financing, including a $32 million round closed in 2017.
5 min read · 11 June 2019
Georgian Partners is preparing to launch a fifth growth equity fund with a target of about $1 billion (US$750 million), according to a report by the Globe and Mail. Georgian recently announced its plans to existing limited partners, the report said. The Toronto-based firm closed Georgian Partners Growth Fund IV last year at its $715 million (US$550 million) hard cap. Founded in 2008 by Managing Partners John Berton, Simon Chong and Justin LaFayette, Georgian is well known in the market for its applied-analytics investment thesis, allied with a focus on applied artificial intelligence, conversational business, and security in software design.
1 min read · 03 June 2019
