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BDC, EDC to offer $50 mln to tech companies going globalBusiness Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC) have launched a two-year program to provide $50 million in new financing to Canadian technology companies engaged in, or planning to engage in, an international business. Companies will be able to access working capital loans of up to $1 million. BDC and EDC will also refer clients to each other to increase capital access and networking opportunities. Federal Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said the initiative will give technology companies "strong partners to help them scale up and tap into international markets."
Tech backer White Star Capital raises $180 mln for second fund: ReutersWhite Star Capital, the startup funder co-founded by ex-technology deals banker Eric Martineau-Fortin, has raised a second, US$180 million fund that was significantly oversubscribed, Reuters reported. The fund, which had originally aimed to raise US$140 million, will look to invest US$1 million to US$6 million in about 20 new companies and has already invested in eight. White Star, which has its Canadian office in Montréal, said it would continue to focus on companies that use data as a competitive advantage and which it can help grow globally.
Smart home platform Ecobee tops up Series C to $127 mlnEcobee Inc has secured an additional $47 million investment led by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, AGL Energy Ltd and Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). The deal adds to the $80 million Series C financing /canada/2018/03/smart-thermostat-maker-ecobee-lands-80-mln-series-c/ raised by the company earlier this year, bringing the total to over $127 million. As a result, Ecobee, a Toronto-based developer of a smart Wi-Fi thermostat, has raised total funding of more than $200 million. President and CEO Stuart Lombard said the funds raised will accelerate the company's growth, in part through additions to management, including Jackie Poriadjian-Asch as chief marketing and revenue officer, Scott Cleaver as COO and David Brennan as CFO.
Augmented intelligence platform Primal wins $2.3 mln from BDCPrimal, a Waterloo artificial intelligence company focused on consumer and enterprise applications that augment human intelligence, has secured a $2.3 million loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). Founded in 2004, Primal's augmented intelligence platform, which is backed by 148 patents, makes use of semantic synthesis and knowledge representation to understand text similar to how the human brain processes and represents information. The company will use the loan's proceeds to commercialize new applications, pursue partnerships, sign licensing deals, and invest in sales and marketing.
Motorleaf secures $3.65 mln in Radicle-led seed financingMotorleaf, a Montréal-based artificial intelligence platform for indoor growers, has raised about $3.65 million (US$2.85 million) in seed-stage financing. U.S. agriculture and food technology investor Radicle Growth led the round. It was joined by Desjardins Capital, Real Ventures, Fluxunit, BDC Capital and 500 Startups Canada. Founded three years ago by CEO Alastair Monk and CTO Ramen Dutta, Motorleaf's platform lends monitoring and predictive capabilities to operators of greenhouses, indoor farms and growth chambers, helping them improve crop yields and profits. The company will use the funds raised to further develop its agronomic solutions.
Only 4 pct of Canadian SMEs are high performing: BDCA study by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has found only 4 percent of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can be classified as high performing. The study, based on data for 950,000 SMEs with less than $100 million in annual sales, suggests that companies with the best results are focused on productivity and innovation, invest in equipment, including information and communication technologies, offer employees competitive wages, expand globally and control debt. The BDC study identifies specific strategies that small, mid-sized and larger companies should adopt to improve their performance.
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.
MKB raises $50 mln to back clean energy, smart cities, transportCanadian private investment firm MacKinnon, Bennett & Co (MKB) has closed MKB Partners Fund LP at over $50 million in committed capital. MKB said the fund exceeded its target due to commitments from Bennett Church Hill Capital, a co-founder of MKB, BDC Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, McConnell Foundation and the firm, as well as a group of family offices, foundations and accredited investors. The fund will invest growth capital in companies in the clean energy, smart city and transportation sectors. It has already deployed about $20 million to four companies, including Miovision Technologies Inc, which raised $30 million /canada/2015/02/canadian-technology-startup-miovision-raises-30-million-reuters/ in an MKB-led round in 2015.
BDC invests $40 mln in Ensyn, GreenMantra, GHGSat, EnlightenBusiness Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has invested a total of $40 million in four Canadian clean technology companies. The investments, made from a $700 million program /canada/2018/01/ottawa-invest-700-mln-cleantech-sectors-bdc/ launched by the federal government in January, backed Ensyn Technologies, an Ottawa-based converter of forest residues into heating fuels; GreenMantra Technologies, a Brantford, Ontario-based converter of waste plastics into specialty polymers and other specialty chemicals; GHGSat, a Montréal-based maker of a satellite that measures greenhouse gas emissions, and; Enlighten Innovations, a Calgary-based developer of technology for desulphurizing heavy oils.
Evolution helps Zoom.ai top up seed round to $5.2 mlnZoom.ai Inc, a Toronto-based workplace automation solutions startup, has raised an additional $3.1 million for its seed-stage financing /canada/2017/06/3456148/ bringing the round's total to $5.2 million. Evolution Equity Partners, a U.S. venture capital firm, led the second tranche. As a result, Evolution's Dennis Smith will join the board. Existing investors Betaworks, BDC Capital, Good News Ventures, Two Small Fish Ventures and North Spring Capital also participated. Led by CEO Roy Pereira, who founded Zoom.ai in 2016, the company will use the second tranche's proceeds for product development and new hires to help meet increased U.S. and European demand.