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Smart traffic platform Miovision wins $15 mln in follow-on VCSmart traffic intersection technology provider Miovision has secured a $15 million convertible note, which it said is a precursor to a "significantly larger" financing. MacKinnon, Bennett & Co, Miovision's largest shareholder /canada/2018/04/mkb-raises-50-mln-back-clean-energy-smart-cities-transport/ co-led the note with McRock Capital. BDC Capital and HarbourVest Partners also invested. McRock Managing Partner Whitney Rockley has joined the board as a result. Founded in 2005, Kitchener, Ontario-based Miovision develops traffic intersection solutions that enable real-time adaptive traffic control and infrastructure communication with connected cars, other vehicles and pedestrians. It will use the funds raised to accelerate global growth.
- Need to meet: Whitney Rockley, managing partner, McRock Capital
Whitney Rockley is that rare individual in Canada’s venture market: a female investment pro of more than two decades experience, 16 of those years spent in senior roles in VC firms on both sides of the Atlantic. She also happens to be the first woman chair of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. And her current position may be the most important of her career: managing partner of McRock Capital, a Toronto firm she co-founded with Scott MacDonald in 2012.
Mnubo secures $16.5 mln in Series B round led by Munich ReMnubo, a Montréal-based internet-of-things data analytics and artificial intelligence company, has raised $16.5 million in a Series B financing. HSB Group, an affiliate of German reinsurance provider Munich Re, led the round. The investment is being made in parallel with an HSB strategic partnership with the company. White Star Capital and McRock Capital, which backed Mnubo's Series A round in 2015, also invested. Founded in 2012 by CEO Frédéric Bastien, CTO JC Cimino, VP Growth Aditya Pendyala and VP Data Science Jean-Charles Beaudin, Mnubo will use the funds raised to grow its platform, which helps manufacturers build better connected products and services.
Assets of McRock-backed RtTech Software sold to AspenAspen Technology Inc (NASDAQ: AZPN) has acquired the Cipher industrial internet-of-things cloud-native software and edge connectivity assets of RtTech Software Inc. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which will see RtTech's founder, President and CEO Keith Flynn, and other personnel join Aspen. Moncton, New Brunswick's RtTech will continue to build the remaining business, Entrevestor reported http://entrevestor.com/ac/blog/rttech-software-sells-cipher-product RtTech has been backed by McRock Capital, which led the company's $3 million Series A financing /canada/2015/2/mcrock-capital-leads-3-mln-series-a-funding-of-rttech-software/ in 2015, and New Brunswick Innovation Foundation. U.S.-based Aspen said the acquisition strengthens its asset optimization strategy.
McRock leads $12 mln Series B round of Spain's WorldsensingCanadian venture capital firm McRock Capital has led a $12.3 million (€8.3 million) Series B financing of Worldsensing, a Barcelona, Spain-based smart city and industrial Internet-of-Things solutions specialist. McRock invested alongside ETF Partners and existing investor Cisco Investments. As part of the financing, McRock Managing Partner Scott MacDonald has joined the board. Launched in 2008, Worldsensing has developed technology that provides connected operational intelligence to cities and industries. It currently works with more than 200 customers in over 50 countries. Toronto-based McRock is an investor in the industrial Internet.
McRock Capital's Whitney Rockley becomes CVCA's first female chairWhitney Rockley, co-founder and managing partner of McRock Capital, has been named the new chair of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA). With the appointment, Rockley becomes the first female chair of the association since its inception in 1974. Toronto-based McRock is a venture capital firm focused on the industrial internet of things. Rockley and Managing Partner Scott MacDonald founded the firm in 2012. It closed its debut fund /canada/2015/7/mcrock-capitals-fund-i-nears-final-close-after-signing-up-second-strategic-lp/ McRock iNFund LP, at more than $65 million /canada/2015/8/mcrock-capital-closes-fund-i-at-65-mln-with-harbourvest-commitment/ in 2015. Prior to McRock, Rockley was a partner at Emerald Technology Ventures and Nomura New Energy Ventures.
- Five Questions with MaRS IAF’s Michelle McBane and BDC’s Michelle Scarborough
While female founders are a growing presence in North America’s tech sectors, a wealth of anecdotal and statistical data show women-led startups face barriers to accessing risk capital. This week an important step was taken to reverse the trend in Canada. StandUp Ventures Fund I, a women-focused pre-seed and seed fund, raised an initial commitment and closed its debut deal. The fund, managed by MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, is earmarked for investments in technology companies that have at least one female founder in the C-suite. PE Hub Canada sat down with BDC Capital Managing Director Michelle Scarborough and MaRS IAF Investment Director Michelle McBane to talk about the fund, its goals, and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.
Seeding Canada's VC innovation ecosystemMcRock Capital believes access to funding through the Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP) played a major role in its recent success as a Canadian venture capital firm. In light of this, the firm decided to conduct an in-depth analysis of VCAP's broader impact. Using its “Canadian Venture Capital Innovation Tree”, McRock shows how VCAP influenced the Canadian VC industry as a whole and how all of its beneficiaries interact together as one functional ecosystem. McRock believes this is a key measure of VCAP's benefits to Canada's innovation system and economy, which far outweigh the program's costs.