Private Equity
Canada’s venture industry is entering a new evolutionary phase as leading firms unveil big, bold plans for scaling brands, taking on new challenges, and filling market gaps. INovia Capital, a 10-year investor in North American tech companies, provides the latest and perhaps most ambitious example of the trend. Last month iNovia said it would blend its longstanding early-stage focus with an ability to do growth-equity deals, an initiative reportedly allied with a major US$500 million ($640 million) fund launch.
4 min read · 03 May 2018
Certn, a Victoria, British Columbia-based background check platform, has raised a seed-stage financing. No financial terms were disclosed; however, Betakit said the round's value is $975,000. Atrium Ventures, Panache Ventures, Hello Ventures, iNovia Capital and a number of angel investors were among the backers. Launched in 2016 by Andrew McLeod, Evan Dalton and Owen Madrick, Certn's technology uses available data and artificial intelligence to allow lenders, property managers and employers to more fully evaluate the credibility of applicants. It plans to use the funds raised to enhance its platform and support growth.
4 min read · 03 May 2018
Salesforce Ventures, the venture capital arm of U.S. technology giant Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), has launched the Canada Trailblazer Fund, a US$100 million ($128 million) fund to invest in startups and fuel cloud innovation and customer success in Canada. The fund has so far backed four technology companies. They are: Tier1CRM, a provider of cloud-based CRM solutions for the capital markets industry; Traction Guest, a developer of cloud-based visitor management systems; Tulip, a mobile application provider focused on empowering retail workers, and; OSF Commerce, a digital cloud transformation specialist focused on building multi-cloud and unified commerce projects.
5 min read · 03 May 2018
TIMIA Capital Corp has agreed to provide $2 million in revenue financing to 7Geese, a Vancouver-based human resources performance management company. TIMIA will initially deploy $1 million and make a further disbursement of $500,000 when certain milestones are met. Founded in 2010, 7Geese is led by CEO Amin Palzabin. It will use the funds raised for sales and marketing activity. TIMIA, a Canadian specialty finance firm, provides financing to technology companies in exchange for a royalty on revenue.
3 min read · 02 May 2018
Raven Telemetry, an artificial intelligence company focused on the manufacturing sector, has secured $6.1 million from a group of angel investors. Fresh Founders, including Shopify’s Tobi Lütke and Harley Finkelstein, joined the round alongside former Stackpole CEO Rob Lander, former TripAdvisor executive Luc Levesque, former Cognos CEO Rob Ashe, Jacket River and HBS Angel Investors. Ottawa-based Raven uses mobile hardware, software and cloud-based analytics driven by AI to improve plant efficiency. It was founded in 2013 by CEO Martin Cloake, President Andrew Blanchard and Head of Data Science Braden Stenning.
3 min read · 02 May 2018
Collaborative cloud robotics platform C2RO Cloud Robotics Inc has secured about $1.4 million (US$1.1 million) in a seed-stage financing. U.S. venture capital firm Harbor Street Ventures led the round and was joined by TandemLaunch Ventures, which helped create C2RO, as well as Fonds InnovExport and several Canadian, U.S. and European angel investors. Founded in 2016, C2RO uses cloud-based artificial intelligence services to boost cognitive and collaborative capabilities of service robots with an internet connection. Led by President and CEO Riccardo Badalone, the Montréal-based startup will use the funds raised to accelerate commercialization of its enterprise solutions.
4 min read · 02 May 2018
Venture capital investment in Canadian technology companies continued at a strong pace in the first quarter of 2018, with $1.36 billion deployed to 128 financings, according to final data released by Thomson Reuters. In dollar terms, this represented the strongest quarter in 17 years and the fifth time in the past six quarters that Canadian companies raised more than $1 billion. Foreign investors played a key role in Q1 2018, accounting for over half of disbursements. Information technology investment stood at $780 million, the highest quarterly level since Q2 2001, while clean technology investment hit $376 million, more than doubling the prior record set in Q2 2013.
4 min read · 02 May 2018
Quovo, a U.S. data platform that provides connectivity to consumer financial accounts, has expanded into the Canadian market. The initiative was backed by an undisclosed investment from Portag3 Ventures, an early-stage financial technology fund launched in 2016 by Canada’s Power Financial Corp. The deal brings Quovo's total financing so far to US$20 million. Founded in 2010, New York's Quovo provides businesses with connectivity and insights for millions of consumer financial accounts across more than 14,000 institutions. The company said Portag3’s investment will support building a regional team and meeting Canadian consumer demand.
3 min read · 02 May 2018
BenchSci, a Toronto-based artificial intelligence-powered search engine for biological products, has raised about $10.3 million (US$8 million) in a Series A financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm iNovia Capital. It was joined by Google’s AI fund, Gradient Ventures, Golden Venture Partners, Afore Capital, Real Ventures and Radical Ventures. BenchSci's platform helps biomedical researchers find reliable antibodies faster and less expensively than current methods. Founded in 2015 and led by CEO Liran Belenzon, the company will use the funds raised to expand its team, implement new sales and marketing programs, and scale its technology.
5 min read · 02 May 2018
Ottawa-based financial technology startup MindBridge Analytics Inc has raised $8.4 million in a Series A financing, bringing its total funding to $15 million. Real Ventures, which invested in MindBridge Ai's seed financing last June, led the Series A round. It was joined by Reciprocal Ventures, National Bank of Canada, The Group Investment and 8VC. MindBridge Ai's platform uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to detect anomalous patterns of activities, unintentional errors and intentional misstatements to help organizations minimize financial loss and reduce liability. Founded in 2015, the company is led by CEO Eli Fathi.
3 min read · 01 May 2018
