Private Equity
True Fit, a Boston-based data-driven personalization platform for footwear and apparel retailers, has secured US$55 million in a Series C financing. The round was led by Canadian growth equity firm Georgian Partners. It was joined by Cross Creek Capital, Intel Capital, Jump Capital and Signal Peak Ventures. Founded in 2010, True Fit has built rich apparel and footwear data through partnerships with top brands and consumers, which it uses with artificial intelligence to enable personalized fashion solutions. The funds raised will help develop the AI-data platform and grow True Fit’s offerings.
4 min read · 15 January 2018
New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) has made an investment of $150,000 in EhEye Inc, a Saint John, New Brunswick-based provider of automated public safety and video surveillance. EhEye CEO James Stewart said the commitment from NBIF leveraged an additional $330,000 from other investors, including a $100,000 loan from Business Development Bank of Canada. Founded in 2016, EhEye provides surveillance recognition technology that uses analytics and artificial intelligence to detect suspicious behaviours, objects and people, and then generate real-time alerts.
3 min read · 15 January 2018
Toronto-based financial technology startup Ratehub Inc has raised $12 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by Elephant, a U.S. venture capital firm, and joined by Simon Nixon, co-founder of U.K.-based MoneySuperMarket. As a result, Elephant General Partner Jeremiah Daly has joined the board. Founded in 2010 by Alyssa Furtado and James Laird, Ratehub owns and operates Ratehub.ca, a financial product comparison site, and CanWise Financial, a national mortgage brokerage. The company will use the funds raised to build a digital platform for the mortgage process and invest in insurance policy comparison tools.
3 min read · 15 January 2018
Canadian clean technology venture capital firm Cycle Capital Management has promoted Pascal Drouin to the position of junior partner. Drouin joined Cycle as a principal in 2013. He previously served as a risk modeling leader at GE Capital and as a financial analyst at Multiple Capital. Based in Montréal, Cycle oversees $350 million in assets. Last month, it partnered in the first close of the Qingdao Chengtou Haisi Cycle Equity Investment Fund, which invests in growth-stage industrial technology companies in China, Canada and elsewhere in North America.
3 min read · 11 January 2018
Canadian drone technology startup SkySquirrel Technologies Inc has raised $3 million in follow-on financing. The round was backed by Innovacorp, an existing investor, and an unidentified private investor in Ontario. SkySquirrel also said it has merged with Napa Valley, California's VineView SAI Inc, creating a new Halifax-based provider of aerial imaging and crop diagnostics for vineyards called VineView. Richard van der Put, SkySquirrel’s founder and CEO, who will lead the new entity, told Entrevestor the funds raised will be used for the merger and working capital. Last year, SkySquirrel bought its French partner Avidordrone.
3 min read · 11 January 2018
Ulula, a software and analytics platform that helps enterprises monitor human rights risks, has secured $1 million in seed-stage financing. The round was backed by Humanity United, an affiliate of U.S. philanthropic investment firm Omidyar Group and Canadian boutique impact investment firm Good & Well. Based in Toronto and New York, Ulula was founded in 2013 by CEO Antoine Heuty and CTO Manu Kabahizi. The company plans to use the funds raised to expand its mobile platform and support its objective of improving labour conditions in global supply chains.
3 min read · 10 January 2018
Canadian venture capital firm Pangaea Ventures has started tracking and reporting on the impact of its portfolio of advanced-materials companies. The firm is measuring impact across four categories: carbon dixoide reduction, fresh water produced or saved, food production increased, and lives impacted. It will produce an estimated cumulative impact of the portfolio by the end of 2025. General Partner Chris Erickson, who founded Pangaea in 2000, said tracking and reporting on the sustainability and social impact of the firm's portfolio is "the next logical step to maintain a leadership position.”
2 min read · 09 January 2018
Acuva Technologies Inc, a Vancouver-based point-of-use water purification systems provider, has raised $2.6 million in a Series A financing. The round was backed by a group of Canadian angel investors. Founded in 2014 by President and CEO Manoj Singh, Acuva has developed a new system of microbial water purification using ultraviolet light-emitting diode technology created at the University of British Columbia. Previously backed by BDC Capital, UBC Seed Fund and other investors, the company will use the latest round's proceeds to ramp up manufacturing capacity and launch new products into the appliance market with global partners in 2018.
3 min read · 09 January 2018
Adapsyn Bioscience Inc, a Hamilton, Ontario biotechnology company focused on natural-product drug candidates, has wrapped up an undisclosed round of financing. The deal was co-funded by Pfizer R&D Innovate, an affiliate of U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc, and Genesys Capital, a Canadian life sciences venture capital firm. Genesys Managing Director Kelly Holman currently sits on the board. Adapsyn also announced it is partnering with Pfizer to identify and test undiscovered natural products, or organic biomolecules produced by nature, from Pfizer's microbial strains. Adapsyn was founded in 2016 by CSO Nathan Magarvey.
3 min read · 09 January 2018
Kitchener, Ontario digital workplace solutions provider Igloo Software has raised about $60 million (US$47 million) from U.S. growth equity firm Frontier Capital. With the deal, Frontier's Andrew Lindner, Dave Pandullo and Bob Froetscher will join the board. Founded in 2008 by CEO Dan Latendre, Igloo supports enterprises in their move beyond a traditional intranet to a digital destination that creates more productive and engaged workforces. It will use the funds raised to build sales and marketing, expand distribution channels, and accelerate its North American footprint. Igloo is also backed by Canadian venture capital firm Information Venture Partners and others.
3 min read · 09 January 2018
