Private Equity
Sydney, Nova Scotia-based cybersecurity technology company Securicy has raised $1.8 million in financing. Private backers of the round, including Hub Angels, Panache Ventures, Concrete Ventures, Innovacorp and U.S. angel investors, committed $1.2 million. Federal and provincial government sources accounted for the rest. Securicy is a software-as-a-service provider that specializes in helping small and medium-sized organizations achieve and maintain information security and privacy compliance. Founded in 2016 by CEO Darren Gallop and COO Laird Wilton, the company previously secured about $655,000 (US$500,000) in a pre-seed round.
3 min read · 09 July 2019
Coloursmith Labs, a Halifax-based provider of optical filter technology, has secured $600,000 in a pre-seed financing. The round was backed several investors, including Brigus Capital, Island Capital Partners and the venture capital fund of Killick Capital. Brigus President Wade Dawe will join the board. Founded last year by CEO Gabrielle Masone, Coloursmith develops lens-enhancing filters for contact lenses to address vision challenges. Its early-stage product pipeline includes optical filters to enhance colour vision and protect eyes from harmful blue light. Coloursmith will use the funds raised to further advance its technology and hire additional staff.
3 min read · 09 July 2019
Weever Apps, a Hamilton, Ontario-based workforce apps developer, has raised $1.625 million in financing. The deal includes $500,000 from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), as well as $1.125 million from private investors, among them MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) and GreenSky Capital. Founded in 2011, Weever Apps provides cloud-based software products that help organizations enhance workflow visibility and efficiency. Led by CEO Steve McBride, Weever Apps will use the funds raised to commercialize Process Manager, a new solution designed for food and drug manufacturers, and reach new markets.
3 min read · 09 July 2019
At the beginning of each year, Jim Orlando looks backwards and forwards on trends shaping the Canadian technology startup industry. With time on his hands prior to starting his new job at Wittington Investments, Orlando decided to revisit the multiple fearless forecasts he made for 2019 in January, including the state of Canada's startup financing environment, emerging technology trends, and trends at the international level. In a PE Hub Canada feature article, he reviews his prior thinking and awards positive grades in some areas and less positive ones in others.
4 min read · 09 July 2019
Hifi Engineering Inc, a Calgary-based provider of leak detection and incident prevention technology, has raised $10 million in financing from BDC Capital and an undisclosed strategic investor. BDC invested through Ottawa’s $700 million clean technology strategy, announced last year. Hifi's other investors include Cenovus Environmental Opportunity Fund and Enbridge Inc. Founded in 2007 by CTO John Hull, Hifi develops and supplies fibre optic sensing technology for preventative leak detection in pipelines and monitoring of critical assets. The funds raised will be used to accelerate the company's growth and support continued research and development.
3 min read · 08 July 2019
Canadian innovation hub MaRS Discovery District has appointed Jon Dogterom as senior vice president of venture services. Dogterom replaces Salim Teja, who earlier this year joined Radical Ventures as a partner and general manager. Dogterom was previously managing director of MaRS Cleantech. In the new role, he will lead MaRS' strategy of helping Canadian startups and scale-ups grow and enter new markets, and manage the organization’s stakeholder relations globally. Dogterom joined MaRS in 2010. Before then, he was director of business development at Toronto-based hydrogen systems maker Hydrogenics Corp.
3 min read · 08 July 2019
Jim Orlando has recently had a bit of recharging time before starting his new role at Wittington Investments, so he thought he’d review how his Canadian venture capital and startup predictions from the beginning of 2019 are shaping up. He concludes that one area in the landscape he clearly misjudged was the pace and magnitude of exits that we would see in 2019. In a PE Hub Canada feature article, Orlando explains why a series of major Canadian, venture-backed liquidity events in the first half, totalling US$2.2 billion in value, suggest this year may prove to be one of the best — if not the best — on record.
4 min read · 08 July 2019
Radical Ventures is adding to its bench strength with a fresh crop of hires, including a former operating executive in the value-creation platform of buyout giant KKR. The Toronto-based artificial-intelligence VC firm recently brought on Parasvil Patel as a principal. Patel joined from KKR-Capstone, where for four years he was part of a New York-based group that supports KKR’s global investment activity and portfolio companies. At Radical, Patel will help to source AI opportunities and support the growth of portfolio companies, something he is "uniquely skilled for,” Managing Partner Jordan Jacobs told PE Hub Canada.
2 min read · 04 July 2019
Sensibill, a Toronto-based digital receipt management platform, has raised about $41.2 million (US$31.5 million) in its latest financing, according to a report by the Globe and Mail. The round was led by Canadian artificial-intelligence venture capital firm Radical Ventures, the report said. It was joined by Information Venture Partners and First Ascent Ventures (formerly Open Text Enterprise Apps Fund), which led 2017's $17.3 million Series A financing, as well as National Bank of Canada. Founded in 2013 by CEO Corey Gross and CTO Jamie Alexander, Sensibill provides receipt management software that can be built into mobile banking apps.
1 min read · 04 July 2019
Bicameral Ventures has made an undisclosed investment in Balance, a Toronto-based financial technology startup focused on custody solutions for digital assets. The deal, the proceeds of which will be used to accelerate Balance's growth, entitles Bicameral to a board seat. Founded two years ago by CEO George Bordianu and COO Baha Nurlybayev, Balance develops solutions for securely buying, holding and trading a basket of cryptoassets. The company was part of the 2019 class of Techstars Toronto Accelerator. Based in Toronto, Bicameral invests in early-stage projects leveraging blockchain and virtualized technologies.
3 min read · 04 July 2019
