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Cisco, Teralys commit to second close of McRock Capital's industrial Internet fundCanadian venture capital firm McRock Capital has raised new commitments for the second close of McRock iNFund LP, an industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) fund. The undisclosed commitments came from Cisco Investments /canada/2014/06/19/cisco-commits-150-mln-to-canadian-innovation-vc-funds-incubators/ and Teralys Capital Innovation Fund, the Canadian venture fund of funds /canada/2015/01/12/and-harbourvest-makes-four-how-vcap-funds-plan-to-renew-canadian-vc/ managed by Teralys Capital. BDC Capital also increased its stake in the fund, which is scheduled to close this year at a cap of $65 million. Based in Toronto, McRock is focused on the intersection of sensors and software in large industrial markets, known as the IIoT. It invests in companies located across North America. In 2013, the firm announced a strategic partnership /canada/2013/11/18/mcrock-capital-partners-ge-capital-advance-industrial-internet/ with GE Canada.
BDC Capital invests $3 mln in children's apps provider Budge StudiosGrowth and Transition Capital, an investment arm of BDC Capital, has provided $3 million in equity funding to Budge Studios Inc, an applications developer and publisher of children's apps for smartphones and tablets. The investment gives BDC a minority position in the company and will help Budge to grow through key initiatives, such as evolving its current platforms and expanding its catalogue of applications. Headquartered in Montréal, Budge was co-founded by Noémie Dupuy, Michael Elman and David Lipes in 2010. BDC's Growth and Transition Capital was profiled by peHUB Canada /canada/2014/11/17/bridging-the-gap-between-debt-and-equity-bdcs-600-mln-strategy/ in November 2014.
Kensington backs latest tech funds of Georgian Partners, Novacap, WaldenKensington Venture Fund, which last November raised $160 million in its initial close /canada/2014/11/19/canadian-public-private-venture-fund-raises-c160-mln-reuters/ has completed its first round of investments. The fund made undisclosed commitments to Georgian Partners Growth Fund II, the second applied analytics fund /canada/2014/07/10/georgian-partners-fund-ii-gets-strategic-boost-from-cisco/ of Georgian Partners; Novacap TMT IV LP, the fourth technology, media and telecommunications fund /canada/2014/05/14/novacap-tmt-iv-lp-beats-target-in-final-close-raises-375-mln/ of Novacap; and Walden Venture Capital VIII, the latest digital media and cloud services fund of U.S.-based Walden Venture Capital. It also made a direct investment in Blue Ant Media Inc, a media company with headquarters in Toronto. A venture fund of funds targeted to raise $300 million in total, the Kensington fund is managed by Kensington Capital Partners.
CIC private equity exec joins Ontario TeachersAnother China Investment Corp (CIC) private equity veteran has moved into the private sector. Olivia Ouyang, a former private equity executive at CIC, has joined the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in Hong Kong as director of funds and co-investments, according to pension plan's website and a person with knowledge of the situation.
CIC private equity exec joins Ontario Teachers’Another China Investment Corp (CIC) private equity veteran has moved into the private sector.
BDC Capital, DSM Venturing lead Series B funding of Interface BiologicsInterface Biologics Inc has closed a Series B financing round. The value of the investment was not disclosed. The deal was led by DSM Venturing, the technology investment arm of Dutch health, nutrition and materials business Royal DSM, and BDC Capital Healthcare Venture Fund, an existing investor. Interface Biologics said it will use the proceeds to accelerate the commercialization of its biomedical polymer technologies platform, which is aimed at improving the safety and effectiveness of medical devices. Based in Toronto, the company was founded in 2001 as a spinoff of the University of Toronto. It is also backed by Covington Capital Corp and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund.
OrbiMed, BDC raise Clementia Pharmaceuticals' Series A to $32.5 mlnClementia Pharmaceuticals Inc has raised a $10 million top up to its Series A financing round, which was announced in January 2014 /canada/2014/01/10/orbimed-advisors-leads-series-a-round-for-clementia-pharmaceuticals/ As a result, the round now totals $32.5 million. U.S. venture capital firm OrbiMed Advisors led the deal with the participation of BDC Capital Healthcare Venture Fund, a fund managed by Canadian firm BDC Capital. Based in Dorval, Québec, Clementia is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for people living with rare diseases, including bone disease. It also announced that is has formed Clementia Pharmaceuticals USA Inc to manage the company's operations in the United States.
Relay Ventures' third mobile fund secures $15 mln from VCAPRelay Ventures III, the third mobile technologies fund of Canadian venture capital firm Relay Ventures, has been awarded $15 million from the federal government's Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP). The commitment, which was the result of a recommendation from the government's venture capital expert panel, is part of a $50 million VCAP initiative to invest in high-performing Canadian funds. Based in Toronto and Menlo Park, Relay Ventures is led by co-founders and managing partners John Albright and Kevin Talbot. According to the firm's website http://relayventures.com/category/status/active/ it currently has 39 portfolio companies. They include Bionym/canada/2014/09/24/ignition-partners-relay-ventures-lead-new-14-mln-funding-of-bionym-reuters/ theScore /canada/2014/05/07/relay-ventures-backed-thescore-wraps-up-17-2-mln-funding-deal/ and TouchBistro /canada/2013/11/14/relay-ventures-leads-4-5-mln-seed-funding-restaurant-app-touchbistro/ .
A fearless forecast for 2015Despite the perils of forecasting what the future may hold for Canadian private equity and venture capital firms, it is perhaps now more important than ever to do so, writes Richard Rémillard in an exclusive article for peHUB Canada. His advice for those professionals who are now thinking about what 2015 may hold: Be prepared!
BDC Capital invests $1.5 mln in home intelligence platform NeurioNeurio Technology Inc, formerly known as Energy Aware Technology Inc, has received $1.5 million in seed-stage financing. The investor was BDC ICE Venture Fund, one of three sector-focused venture capital funds managed by BDC Capital. Headquartered in Vancouver, Neurio is a home intelligence platform that has developed technology for monitoring home electrical devices, such as appliances, water tanks and heating, and cooling systems. It plans to use BDC's investment to fuel growth through development of its platform and additional employee hires. Founded in 2005, Neurio is led by president and CEO Janice Cheam and CTO Dr. Ali Kashani.