Private Equity
Versant Ventures has secured about $134 million (US$100 million) in commitments for a new fund earmarked to finance Canada’s biotech startups. In a news release, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm said Versant Voyageurs I will invest in five to eight companies in tandem with its primary life-sciences funds. Versant said the Canadian sidecar fund aims to address a shortage of risk capital and other resources available to local life-sciences companies. Managing Director Brad Bolzon, who will oversee the fund, said while Canada has “top-tier scientific infrastructure”, its VC and startup ecosystem has “not grown at the same pace.”
2 min read · 17 December 2018
Kensington Capital Partners has raised $85 million in commitments in the first close of Kensington Venture Fund II. Fund II, a fund of funds earmarked for investments in a range of venture capital funds and technology companies primarily based in Canada, was launched under the $400-million Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI). Other investors in the first close included BMO Capital Partners, Trend Forward Capital and Kensington Private Equity Fund. The federal government announced in June that VCCI would commit capital to five fund-of-funds managers, including Kensington, a Toronto-based alternative assets investor. Kensington Venture Fund I secured more than $300 million in a final close in 2016.
3 min read · 17 December 2018
Sequoia Capital has set out to raise a principals' seed fund for the Chinese market, according to a filing with the SEC.
1 min read · 14 December 2018
Palo Alto, California-based venture firm Pear, which raised $75 million for its second seed-stage fund in 2016, is seeking to raise $35 million for Pear Ventures I Expansion, according to a regulatory filing. The firm is led by Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson, the founding managing partners.
1 min read · 14 December 2018
Valar Ventures has raised $11.6 million for its sixth co-investment fund, according to an SEC filing. The target is $20 million. The New York-based venture firm is backed by Peter Thiel.
1 min read · 14 December 2018
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has partnered with Mila to create Espace CDPQ-Axe IA, a Montréal-based hub for artificial intelligence (AI) startups. Hub projects must show potential for technological acceleration at Mila, an AI partnership of the Université de Montréal and McGill University, with the support of HEC Montréal and Polytechnique Montréal. Selected companies will spend 12 months at Espace CDPQ-Axe IA, gaining access to advice, coaching and other resources to help commercialize their solutions. To date, nine startups have been invited to participate.
5 min read · 13 December 2018
Ikove Venture Partners, a Midwest venture development company, has launched a $10 million startup nursery fund. The fund will be used to launch 10 to 15 early-stage tech companies.
3 min read · 13 December 2018
Salt Lake City, Utah-based Venafi, a provider of machine identity protection, has launched a $12.5 million machine identity protection development fund. The fund will back machine identity developers. Venafi's backers include TCV, Foundation Capital, Intel Capital, QuestMark Partners, Mercato Partners and NextEquity.
4 min read · 13 December 2018
London-based Luminous Ventures, a White Cloud Capital spin-out, has launched a $30 million fund. The fund will invest in early-stage European tech companies.
2 min read · 13 December 2018
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) plans to continue deploying capital in China, despite political tensions between the two nations, CEO Mark Machin told Reuters. Following the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s CFO on December 1, China warned Canada it would face consequences if it did not immediately release her. “If we cut aside all of the rhetoric, I think China will take a mature, cool-headed attitude toward pragmatic negotiations, so we won’t get too much wild action,” Machin said. CPPIB has 8 percent of its funds invested in China and has previously indicated it plans to increase that significantly in the next few years.
3 min read · 12 December 2018
