Private Equity
Alberta Enterprise Corp and BDC Capital have committed capital to the inaugural fund of Builders VC, a U.S. venture capital firm with an office in Calgary. The size of the commitments was not disclosed. Builders VC has reportedly targeted US$200 million for Fund I. Founded in 2016 by General Partners Jim Kim and Paul Lee, Builders VC invests in early-stage companies with technologies capable of disrupting healthcare, agriculture, industrial and real estate industries. The Calgary office is led by Partner Mark Blackwell. Builder VC's Canadian investments include Calgary-based artificial lift optimization solution Ambyint and Calgary-based capital project delivery platform Veerum.
4 min read · 04 December 2018
Nasdaq has acquired Quandl Inc, a Toronto-based provider of alternative and core financial data to investment professionals. No financial terms were disclosed. Founded in 2012 by CEO Tammer Kamel and CDO Abraham Thomas, Quandl provides a database of alternative, financial and public data that is currently tapped by more than 30,000 active monthly users. Nasdaq said the acquisition will maximize its opportunities as a technology and analytics provider to capital markets. Quandl raised more than $20 million from venture capital firms, most recently in a 2016 Series B financing. Its backers included August Capital, iGan Partners and Nexus Venture Partners.
4 min read · 04 December 2018
Toronto-based hotel booking service SnapTravel has closed its Series A financing at about $28 million (US$21.2 million). The round's US$13.2 million second tranche, which added to an initial US$8 million raised last year, was backed by Telstra Ventures, the investment arm of Australia's Telstra Corp Ltd, and NBA player Stephen Curry. Founded in 2016 by CEO Hussein Fazal and CTO Henry Shi, SnapTravel uses machine learning and natural language processing to help consumers book hotels through conversations with a travel assistant. To date, it has facilitated conversations with more than 2 million consumers in over 150 countries. The funds raised will be used by SnapTravel to enhance its technology.
4 min read · 04 December 2018
Chainvu, a Toronto-based logistics technology startup, has raised about $2.6 million (US$2 million) in a seed-stage financing. The round was led by U.S. family office Leonite Capital. Chainvu's cloud-based platform provides continuous, live monitoring of product shipments to help reduce waste and increase safety and security in food and pharmaceutical supply chains. It will use the funds raised for hiring, product development, and sales and marketing. Chainvu was established this year as a spin-off of Axios Mobile Assets Corp, the assets of which were acquired by Leonite. Its founder, CEO Bob Burrows, is a former Axios executive.
2 min read · 03 December 2018
Atlanta-based biopharmaceutical company Antios Therapeutics Inc has raised US$25 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by Canadian life sciences venture capital firm Lumira Ventures and U.S. firm Domain Associates. Other investors, including Fonds de solidarité FTQ, also participated. Lumira Managing Director Beni Rovinski has joined the board. Antios is focused on developing novel antiviral therapies for unmet medical needs. The funds raised will be used to develop ATI-2173, the company's lead oral drug candidate for treating patients infected with Hepatitis B virus and potentially Hepatitis D.
3 min read · 30 November 2018
BluWave-ai, an Ottawa-based renewable energy usage software platform, has raised more than $1 million in a pre-seed financing. Angel and institutional investors backed the round. They included Ecofuel Fund, a seed fund affiliated with Canadian clean technology venture capital firm Cycle Capital Management. Founded last year by CEO Devashish Paul, BluWave-ai's technology uses artificial intelligence to enhance renewable energy usage in smart grids for electric utilities. The startup, which is part of Ecofuel Accelerator's fall 2018 cohort, is planning to raise a seed round targeted at $2 million.
4 min read · 29 November 2018
Ratehub Inc has acquired MoneySense, a personal finance media brand, from an affiliate of Canadian communications and media company Rogers Communications Inc. Terms weren't released for the deal, which is expected to close on December 1. MoneySense will continue to operate as a distinct brand. Toronto-based Ratehub, which owns Ratehub.ca, a financial product comparison site, and CanWise Financial, a mortgage brokerage, said the acquisition will increase the number of Canadians it reaches per month. Founded in 2010 by Alyssa Furtado and James Laird, Ratehub in January raised $12 million in a Series A financing led by Elephant.
3 min read · 29 November 2018
BDC Capital’s Karl Reckziegel and Alison Nankivell have assumed new leadership positions as the organization evolves its $3 billion venture capital strategy. Reckziegel was recently promoted to senior vice president, venture capital, giving him oversight of the direct VC investment team. That puts the veteran BDC investment pro in charge of a $1.6 billion deal platform, one of the largest and most active in Canada, especially in underserved market segments. Reckziegel’s appointment comes as important changes are taking place in BDC’s direct VC operations, including the current efforts of the Healthcare Venture Fund and IT Venture Fund to raise capital from third-party investors.
2 min read · 29 November 2018
Blue J Legal, a Toronto-based software platform focused on the legal industry, has secured about $9.3 million (US$7 million) in a Series A financing. The round was led by Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures. It was joined by LDV Partners, Mistral Venture Partners and BDC Capital. Founded in 2015 by CEO Benjamin Alarie, Blue J's platform uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to enable legal research, initially in the fields of tax and employment law. Over the past two years, it has signed on more than 100 clients. The company will use the funds raised to establish a foothold in the U.S. market, expand its product suite, and grow its go-to-market and product development teams.
3 min read · 29 November 2018
BlueLight Analytics, a Halifax-based data-driven dental technology company, has raised $3 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by CIC Capital Ventures, an investment arm of French private equity firm CM-CIC Investissement. It was joined by Canadian early-stage venture capital firm Innovacorp. Founded in 2009 at Dalhousie University, BlueLight develops technologies to improve light curing in dentistry and advance value-based dental care. Its solutions have been used in thousands of light evaluations in more than 35 countries. Led by CEO JP Furey, BlueLight will use the funds raised for scaling operations, product development, expanding its global reach, and sales and marketing.
3 min read · 28 November 2018
