Private Equity
CrowdCare Corp, a Toronto provider of advanced cognitive digital care solutions for enterprises, has closed its Series A financing. The announcement confirms a previous one made by ScaleUP Ventures, the round's lead investor. Brightspark Ventures and Mantella Venture Partners also invested. The deal's financial terms were not disclosed; however, ScaleUp said it contributed $1.7 million. As a result, Kevin Kimsa of ScaleUp and Mark Skapinker of Brightspark will join the board. CrowdCare, which has spent four years developing its Wysdom platform, said the funds raised will be used to expand global sales, marketing and customer success teams.
3 min read · 16 March 2017
Visier Inc, a Canadian workplace intelligence solutions provider, has raised more than $60 million (US$$45 million) in a Series D financing. A new investor, U.S. venture capital firm Sorenson Capital, led the round and was joined by Foundation Capital, Summit Partners and Adams Street Partners, which also invested in the company's Series C in 2014. Founded in 2010 by CEO John Schwarz and CTO Ryan Wong, Vancouver-based Visier provides applied big data cloud technology to support organizations as they recruit, retain and develop their workforce. It plans to use the funds raised to meet demand for the platform and grow its global and partner ecosystems.
4 min read · 15 March 2017
Realvision, a Canadian interactive property listings specialist, has secured $1.3 million in a seed-stage financing. U.S. venture capital firm Dundee Venture Capital led the round with participation from Brightstone Venture Capital, Loup Ventures, Sandalphon Capital, Bridge Investment Group and 701 Angel Fund. Founded in 2013, Realvision is a B2B technology company that helps real estate agents market properties using interactive 3D tours, photos and other resources. It plans to use the funds raised to accelerate product development. Based in Toronto, Realvision also has an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
3 min read · 14 March 2017
Canadian specialty tea retailer DavidsTea Inc (Nasdaq: DTEA) has appointed Joel Silver as its president and CEO. He succeeds Christine Bullen, who served as the company's interim head and will now return to her prior role as U.S. managing director. Silver joins DavidsTea with more than 20 years of consumer industry experience, most recently as general partner of TrilogyGrowth, a Canadian consumer-focused venture capital firm he co-founded. Silver previously served in a number of senior executive roles, including as president of Indigo Books & Music Inc. Montréal's DavidsTea went public in 2015.
3 min read · 14 March 2017
Toronto medical device company CellAegis Devices Inc has secured about $12.8 million (US$9.5 million) in a Series C financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm CTI Life Sciences Fund and co-led by an undisclosed U.S. strategic investor. MaRS Catalyst Fund, Broadview Ventures and several family offices also invested. With the deal, Dr. Shermaine Tilley, a CTI managing partner, and Broadview's Christopher Colecchi have joined the board. CellAegis has developed the non-invasive autoRIC Device, which delivers therapy to patients with cardiovascular conditions. It will use the funds raised to support U.S. clinical testing and commercialization.
3 min read · 14 March 2017
AcuityAds Holdings Inc (TSX-V: AT) has agreed to acquire Visible Measures Corp, a Boston-based programmatic platform provider for analytics-led video advertising. The acquisition is an all-cash transaction valued at US$10 million. Silicon Valley Bank agreed to finance it with a revolving line of credit. AcuityAds, a Toronto provider of digital media solutions enabling advertisers to connect with audiences, said the buy will help it gain a more substantial footprint in the video advertising and programmatic TV markets. Visible Measures is backed by DAG Ventures, General Catalyst, Mohr Davidow Ventures and Northgate Capital, among others.
6 min read · 13 March 2017
Medgate Inc recently acquired IQS Inc, a Cleveland, Ohio provider of web-based enterprise quality management software. No financial terms were released. The deal "rounds out" Medgate’s offering of enterprise environmental, health and safety software solutions, the company said. Based in Toronto, Medgate in 2016 secured an investment led by Norwest Venture Partners and joined by Georgian Partners and BMO Financial Group. Its purchase of IQS comes on the heels of the company's buy of regAction Inc last month.
3 min read · 13 March 2017
Betterez Inc, a Toronto reservations and ticketing management platform, has raised an undisclosed seed financing. The round was led by Amadeus Ventures, the venture fund of Spanish travel and tourism technology company Amadeus IT Group. Donald Carty, former chairman and CEO of American Airlines Inc, also invested. Founded in 2011 by CEO Tal Shalit, Betterez said the number of travel and tour companies using its software more than doubled in 2016, while processed volume grew over 400 percent. It plans to use the funds raised to build out sales, distribution, operations and back-office features and capabilities.
3 min read · 10 March 2017
Canada's major banks and insurers said on Thursday they planned to create a fund to invest up to $1 billion in small Canadian businesses over the next decade to bolster growth, Reuters reported. The fund is expected to have an initial capital commitment of more than $500 million. Initial participants will include the country's six major banks, as well as insurance companies, although a range of financial institutions, including pension funds, will be able to invest in the fund when it is formed. Victor Dodig, chief executive of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, who was one of the earliest supporters of the initiative and played a prominent role in setting up the fund, said it could expand beyond $1 billion.
3 min read · 09 March 2017
Ontario venture capital firm ScaleUP Ventures has raised an additional $32.25 million in the second close of its debut early-stage fund, bringing total committed capital to more than $70 million. ScaleUP Ventures Fund I was announced last May with a target of $75 million. The firm said it expects to surpass that amount in a final close in the months ahead. Led by General Partners Kent Thexton and Kevin Kimsa, both formerly of OMERS Ventures, Toronto-based ScaleUP also announced its seventh investment to date. The firm invested $1.7 million in Crowdcare Inc, a Toronto provider of advanced cognitive digital care solutions for enterprises.
4 min read · 09 March 2017
