Private Equity
Boston-based educational technology startup AdmitHub has raised US$2.95 million in seed-stage financing. Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures and U.S. firm Reach Capital co-led the round, with participation from University Ventures and others. Launched in 2014, AdmitHub is the developer of a conversational artificial intelligence platform for guiding students to and through college. The startup will use the funds raised to expand and scale its platform by growing its engineering and sales teams. Last November, Relay closed its third mobile fund, Relay Ventures III, at $200 million.
3 min read · 11 January 2017
Canadian online investment startup Wealthsimple expects to have over a billion dollars in assets under management this year as it plans for significant growth in 2017, its chief executive told Reuters.Launched just two years ago and backed by Power Financial Corp, the startup currently has about 15,000 clients in Canada investing some $750 million in exchange traded funds. "We're planning on some really major growth this year. We're certainly looking to cross the billion (dollar) threshold in very short order and get to billions very quickly thereafter," said Mike Katchen, the 29-year-old founder and CEO of the Toronto-based company.
2 min read · 10 January 2017
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ has reported a six-month return of 4.0 percent and a 12-month return of 7.5 percent for the period ending November 30, 2016. Comprehensive income for the six-month period totaled $470 million, increasing net assets to $12.2 billion. The Fonds, which makes private equity and venture capital investments in Québec companies, also said it deployed $287 million to deals during this period. Its recent deals include an $8 million investment in District M and a role in Sterinova Inc's $70 million financing.
3 min read · 09 January 2017
In an exclusive PE Hub Canada feature article, OMERS Ventures Managing Director Jim Orlando poses the question of why investors should pay closer attention to Canada's venture capital asset class. He answers the question with evidence of improving Canadian venture returns and opportunities based on an increasingly self-sustaining ecosystem, more risk-taking entrepreneurs and better-capitalized funds.
6 min read · 09 January 2017
Toronto private investment firm Green Acre Capital has unveiled its Green Acre Capital Fund, which will invest in Canada's legal cannabis industry. The fund, the size of which was not disclosed, has secured lead commitments from York Plains Investment Corp and Aphria Inc (TSX-V: APH). Led by Managing Directors Matt Shalhoub and Tyler Stuart, Green Acre will target private investment opportunities across verticals in the Canadian medical and recreational cannabis industry. It will also consider additional opportunities abroad.
2 min read · 09 January 2017
Blue Pillar Inc, a U.S. energy internet-of-things company, has raised US$10 million in a follow-on financing. The round was backed by new investors GXP Investments and Elevate Ventures alongside of existing investors. The latter include EnerTech Capital, which led the company's US$14 million round in March 2015. Based in Frederick, Maryland, Blue Pillar is a provider of power management software solutions that connect, control and centralize critical and complex facilities. EnerTech, an investor in energy and power sectors, has offices in Calgary, Toronto, Montréal and in the United States.
3 min read · 09 January 2017
Microbion Corp, a Vancouver and Bozeman, Montana biopharmaceutical company, has secured about $33 million (US$25 million) in funding. The investment was made by a health sciences fund recently launched by Canadian venture capital firm Quark Venture and China's GF Securities Co Ltd. Microbion specializes in the treatment of hard-to-treat and antibiotic-resistant infections. It plans to use the funds raised to advance a new class of drug products that address infections by attacking both bacteria and related microbial biofilms. Founded in 2000, the company is led by Chairman and CEO Karim Lalji.
4 min read · 06 January 2017
Payfone, a U.S. mobile identity authentication platform, has closed a US$23.5 million Series E financing. The round was led by BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners and Andrew Prozes with participation from both new and existing investors. The latter included Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures and Rogers Venture Partners (RVP), the venture capital arm of Canadian communications and media company Rogers Communications Inc. Founded in 2008, New York-based Payfone helps enterprises fight identity theft and social engineering attacks, thereby curbing related fraud losses and verification expenses.
4 min read · 06 January 2017
Canada’s top 10 venture-capital financings in 2016 drew more than $1.1 billion from investors, more than twice the $534 million that went into the top 10 deals in 2015. That number is based on PE Hub Canada's list of the largest deals announced last year, supplemented by preliminary Thomson Reuters data. The list is headed by BlueRock Therapeutics, Thalmic Labs, DalCor Pharma and Real Matters, which were responsible for the biggest crop of $100 million-plus financings in Canada since the dot.com era.
3 min read · 06 January 2017
OMERS Ventures Managing Director Jim Orlando is well known for making insightful predictions about what's in store for Canadian startups and venture capital in the year head. He again offers his forecast for 2017 in a PE Hub Canada feature article. Among other things, Orlando expects to see moderate pull-back on the part of the VC industry, a tech IPO revival, and several new innovative trends of interest.
5 min read · 05 January 2017
