Canada

Jewelry brand Mejuri nabs $31 mln in NEA-led Series B: TechCrunch

Mejuri, a Toronto-based fine jewelry brand, has raised about $31 million (US$23 million) in a Series B financing, according to a report by TechCrunch. U.S. venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) led the round, the report said. Existing investors BDC Capital, Dash Ventures, Felix Capital and Incite Ventures also participated. The news follows last September's announcement of a $5 million Series A financing led by Felix. Other investors in that deal included Real Ventures. Founded in 2015 by CEO Noura Sakkijha and COO Maj Masad, Mejuri designs, makes and sells handcrafted, everyday jewelry directly to consumers, avoiding traditional retail markups.

Conversational AI platform Heyday raises $2 mln in seed round

Heyday, a Montréal-based conversational artificial intelligence (AI) platform, has secured $2 million in a seed-stage financing. The round was led by Innovobot, a Canadian innovation investment and advisory services firm. It was joined by Desjardins Capital and strategic investors. Heyday was founded in 2017 by CEO Steve Desjarlais, CPO David Bordeleau, CMO Étienne Mérineau and CTO Hugues Rousseau. Its platform leverages conversational AI and messaging apps to help retailers improve the customer experience. Heyday will use the funds raised to expand its engineering, research and product teams, and accelerate growth in the United States and Europe.

TIMIA provides $2 mln financing facility to Echosec Systems

TIMIA Capital Corp has supplied a $2 million facility to Echosec Systems Inc, a Victoria, British Columbia-based location intelligence software platform. TIMIA will deploy an initial $1 million, followed by a further $1 million when certain milestones are met. Founded in 2013, Echosec provides a web-based data discovery platform that helps organizations detect online content for threat intelligence. It aggregates and maps data from hundreds of sources ranging from social media to chat forums to the darknet. Vancouver-based TIMIA provides growth financing to technology companies in exchange for a royalty on revenue.

BDC's Women in Tech Fund invests $17 mln in 25 companies

BDC Capital’s Women in Technology Venture Fund (WIT Fund) has invested $14 million in 19 Canadian women-led companies since its capital pool was increased to $200 million in 2018. That brings total investing to more than $17 million in 25 companies. Recent investments include Bridgit, a Kitchener, Ontario-based construction software provider, which raised $6.2 million in March, and Sampler, a Toronto-based digital product sampling platform, which raised $3 million in February. Managing Director Michelle Scarborough said WIT Fund has reviewed more than 1,000 women-led companies, suggesting that the "number of women choosing entrepreneurship in technology and innovation is growing in Canada."

LightIntegra Technology lands $7.1 mln in Series A financing

Vancouver-based medical diagnostics company LightIntegra Technology has raised about $7.1 million (US$5.3 million) in a Series A financing. The round was led by Genome BC and Boardwalk Ventures, with participation from Tower Beach Capital, Coleco Investments and Quimby Investments (VCC). Launched from Canadian Blood Services' R&D labs in 2009 by CTO Elisabeth Maurer, LightIntegra is the creator of ThromboLUX, a five-minute optical test that assesses platelet activation status, aiding the selection of blood products. Led by President and CEO William Dubiel, LightIntegra will use the funds raised to bring ThromboLUX to the U.S. market.

Prometic closes recap deals, taps Kenneth Galbraith as CEO

Laval, Québec-based biopharmaceutical company Prometic Life Sciences Inc (TSX: PLI) has completed its refinancing transactions, including a $75 million offering led by Consonance Capital Management and Thomvest Asset Management. The deals also included the conversion into equity of most of the debt held by an affiliate of Thomvest, an investment arm of Canadian billionaire Peter Thomson. Prometic previously said the conversion would grow Thomvest's stake to about 81 percent. Stefan Clulow, Thomvest's managing director and CIO, was appointed chair. Additionally, Kenneth Galbraith, a longtime Canadian venture capital professional, was appointed CEO.

Voiceflow closes $4.7 mln seed round, True Ventures invests

Voiceflow, a Toronto-based design and creation platform for voice apps, has secured about $4.7 million (US$3.5 million) in a seed-stage financing. The amount includes a US$3 million round led by True Ventures, a U.S. venture capital firm, and joined by a range of technology company founders. Voiceflow's other backers include Canadian venture capital firm Ripple Ventures. Founded last year by Braden Ream, Tyler Han, Michael Hood and Andrew Lawrence, Voiceflow helps teams design and build voice apps, without coding, for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The company will use the funds raised to scale its platform and user base.

Ontario Teachers' unveils tech-focused VC, growth equity platform

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has launched a new platform focused on late-stage venture capital and growth equity investments in technology companies. Teachers' Innovation Platform (TIP), which will target global opportunities to disrupt incumbents and create new sectors, will be led by Senior Managing Director Olivia Steedman. Steedman, who joined the $191 billion Canadian pension fund in 2002, was previously managing director of the infrastructure and natural resources group. Steedman said TIP will take advantage of "significant opportunities to invest in the new businesses and sectors" emerging from "unprecedented change" in computing, materials science, robotics, medicine and other areas.

VC-backed Coconut raises $1.75 mln from CIBC Innovation Banking

Coconut Software, a Saskatoon-based enterprise scheduling solution, has raised $1.75 million in debt financing. The funding's source was CIBC Innovation Banking, the technology lending arm of Canadian financial institution CIBC. Founded in 2007 by CEO Katherine Regnier, Coconut provides a cloud-based SaaS appointment scheduling and lobby management solution that helps banks and credit unions engage with clients. The company will use the deal's proceeds to support its strategic plan and growth. Coconut is backed by Information Venture Partners, ScaleUp Ventures, StandUp Ventures and Neal Dempsey of Bay Partners, all of which participated in 2017's $4.2 million Series A round.

U.S. hedge fund to anchor TerrAscend offering of up to $40 mln

Mississauga, Ontario-based cannabis company TerrAscend Corp has launched a non-brokered private placement to raise up to $40 million (US$30 million). The offering will include a minimum lead-order investment of about $13.4 million (US$10 million) from JW Asset Management, a U.S. hedge fund manager. JW currently holds about 30 percent of TerrAscend's issued and outstanding common shares. TerrAscend operates several businesses active in the medical and legal adult-use cannabis markets in Canada and the United States. The company will use the offering's proceeds for its U.S. acquisition strategy, working capital and other priorities.