McRock Capital related stories
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McRock Capital launches second industrial IoT venture fundMcRock Capital, a Canadian industrial internet-of-things venture capital firm, has raised C$80 million for its second venture fund. The target is C$100 million. Investors of McRock Fund II LP include Cisco Investments, Shell, BDC Capital, Export Development Canada, Alberta Enterprise Corporation and HarbourVest. Co-founded by Scott MacDonald and Whitney Rockley, McRock invests exclusively in industrial IoT companies across Canada, the US, and Europe.
- Praemo closes $3.5 mln Series A round led by McRock Capital
Praemo, a Kitchener, Ontario-based industrial operations performance solution, has closed a Series A financing, raising $3.5 million. McRock Capital, a Canadian industrial internet-of-things venture capital firm, led the round. Launched in 2017, Praemo is the developer of Razor, an analytics engine that leverages artificial intelligence to predict and prevent disruption in industrial operations. The technology has so far been deployed in the automotive, industrial equipment manufacturing, injection molding, and food and beverage sectors. Led by CEO Michael Martinez, Praemo will use the round's proceeds to broaden its market reach, expand key partnerships, and further build out the Razor platform.
- CIBC Innovation Banking lends $4.6 mln to VC-backed Invixium
CIBC Innovation Banking has provided $4.6 million (US$3.5 million) of debt financing to Invixium, a Toronto-based maker of biometric solutions for access control and workforce digitalization. The company will use the proceeds to support its growth plans. Founded in 2012 by CEO Shiraz Kapadia, Invixium develops biometric security solutions utilizing face, finger vein and fingerprint recognition. It serves a range of enterprises and industries for indoor and outdoor deployment in rugged environments. Earlier this year, Invixium raised a Series B financing https://www.pehub.com/canada/2019/05/mcrock-capital-invests-in-invixiums-series-b-financing-ups-stake/ led by Connecticut Innovations and joined by existing investors McRock Capital and BDC Capital. CIBC Innovation Banking is the technology lending arm https://pehub.lndo.site/canada/2018/09/cibcs-tech-lending-arm-ramps-up-cross-border-strategy-with-new-hires-deals/ of CIBC.
Aspen Technology to buy venture-backed Mnubo for $102 mlnAspen Technology Inc (Nasdaq: AZPN) has agreed to acquire Mnubo, a Montréal-based provider of artificial intelligence (AI) and internet-of-things data analytics, for $102 million. Founded in 2012 by CEO Frédéric Bastien, CTO JC Cimino, VP Growth Aditya Pendyala and VP Data Science Jean-Charles Beaudin, Mnubo is the maker of SmartObjects, a solution that helps manufacturers build better connected products and services. Aspen, a U.S. asset optimization software company, said the acquisition will enable solutions that combine process expertise with AI and machine learning. Last year, Mnubo raised a $16.5 million Series B financing https://www.pehub.com/canada/2018/01/mnubo-secures-16-5-mln-series-b-round-led-munich-re/ led by Munich Re. McRock Capital and White Star Capital, which backed 2015's $6 million Series A round, also invested.
Small fraction of Canadian GPs are women, visible minorities: reportA 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 https://central.cvca.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/CVCA-State-of-Diversity-and-Inclusion-2019.pdf 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.
- Small fraction of Canadian GPs are women, visible minorities: report
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 https://central.cvca.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/CVCA-State-of-Diversity-and-Inclusion-2019.pdf 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.
McRock Capital leads Series B financing of Decisive FarmingMcRock Capital has led the Series B financing of Decisive Farming Corp, an Irricana, Alberta-based farm management software provider. The undisclosed round was joined by Export Development Canada (EDC). McRock, a Canadian industrial internet-of-things venture capital firm, also led the company's $6 million Series A financing in 2016 /canada/2016/11/3418053/ Founded in 2011 and led by CEO Remi Schmaltz, Decisive Farming provides precision agriculture and data analytics in an integrated platform to help increase the profitability, sustainability and technology ease-of-use of farmers. It will use the funds raised for growth through acquisitions, an enhanced sales team, and deployment of technologies including artificial intelligence.
McRock Capital invests in Invixium's Series B financing, ups stakeMcRock Capital has increased its stake in Invixium, a Toronto-based maker of biometric solutions and software analytics for access control and workforce digitalization. McRock, a Canadian industrial internet-of-things venture capital firm, invested through the company's Series B financing. As a result, it is Invixium's largest shareholder. The undisclosed round was led by Connecticut Innovations, which Invixium reported this month agreed to invest up to $1 million https://www.invixium.com/connecticut-innovations-to-invest-up-to-1-million-in-invixium%EF%BB%BF/ and joined by existing investor BDC Capital. Founded in 2012 by CEO Shiraz Kapadia, Invixium recently launched its TITAN line, a biometric device with facial recognition and finger vein or fingerprint authentication.
BDC's Women in Tech Fund invests $17 mln in 25 companiesBDC Capital’s Women in Technology Venture Fund (WIT Fund) has invested $14 million in 19 Canadian women-led companies since its capital pool was increased to $200 million in 2018. That brings total investing to more than $17 million in 25 companies. Recent investments include Bridgit, a Kitchener, Ontario-based construction software provider, which raised $6.2 million /canada/2019/03/bridgit-raises-6-2-mln-in-bdc-capital-led-financing-report/ in March, and Sampler, a Toronto-based digital product sampling platform, which raised $3 million /canada/2019/02/sampler-secures-3-mln-in-latest-round-bdc-shipfusion-lead/ in February. Managing Director Michelle Scarborough said WIT Fund has reviewed more than 1,000 women-led companies, suggesting that the "number of women choosing entrepreneurship in technology and innovation is growing in Canada."
- Miovision lands $15 mln
Miovision, a provider of smart traffic intersection technology, has raised $15 million from in funding. The investors included MacKinnon, Bennett & Co., McRock Capital, BDC Capital and HarbourVest Partners. In addition to the funding, Whitney Rockley, co-founder of and managing partner at McRock Capital, has joined Miovision's board of directors.