Private Equity
Worximity Technology Inc has raised $2 million in funding, adding to the $2 million raised in the company's seed round last year. The latest financing was backed by existing investors, W3 Investments and Fonds de solidarité FTQ, as well as a new investor, BDC Capital. Montréal-based Worximity provides connectivity solutions that enable factory managers and workers to monitor production in real time. Since it was founded in 2011 by President Yannick Desmarais, the company reports helping to improve the performance of over 500 North American production lines. It will use the funds raised to advance development of its monitoring technology.
5 min read · 29 November 2016
Toronto-based digital insurance company Zensurance has secured $1 million in a seed-stage financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Ferst Capital Partners with participation from Portag3 Ventures and other investors. Founded this year by CEO Danish Yusuf and CTO Sultan Mehrabi, Zensurance provides curated commercial insurance packages to small enterprises. It plans to use the funds raised to hire new talent and build its business. Zensurance was this month named one of 2016's 20 most innovative companies by the Canadian Innovation Exchange.
3 min read · 29 November 2016
FileFacets, an Ottawa data analytics and content migration company, has raised $4 million in a Series A financing. Canadian venture capital firm Celtic House Venture Partners led the round and was joined by Wesley Clover International and GCI Ventures. Led by Co-Founder and CEO Chris Perram, FileFacets has developed a software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology platform that helps organizations to move large volumes of disorganized files from shared drives to enterprise content management systems. It will use the funds raised to expand its sales and marketing team in North America and accelerate growth of its channel sales strategy.
5 min read · 29 November 2016
Online investment platform CoPower has received $300,000 from Fondaction CSN, a Québec private equity and venture capital firm. The commitment will help Montréal's CoPower to "scale quickly and strategically" in its mission to facilitate investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy generation projects, CEO David Berliner said. CoPower, which last year secured seed funding from Innovation Support and RBC, has so far deployed nearly $6 million to project loans across North America. Earlier in 2016, the firm issued its first green bond.
3 min read · 25 November 2016
High-speed transportation startup TransPod Inc has secured about $20.2 million (US$15 million) in seed-stage financing. The round's investor was Angelo Investments, an Italian venture capital firm focused on transportation technologies. Founded last year by CEO Sebastien Gendron and CTO Ryan Janzen, Toronto-based TransPod is developing a high-speed hyperloop transportation system to connect people, businesses and cities. It will use the funds raised to begin Canadian and Italian operations in 2017, grow its team of engineers, and invest in R&D. TransPod will also seek government support to build a test track in Ontario.
4 min read · 24 November 2016
Andrew Reid, founder and president of Vision Critical, has left the company to launch a new startup called VC Labs. VC Labs will focus on developing software applications that extend the value of insight communities across organizations. Vancouver's Vision Critical, a customer intelligence software and support platform, will partner in the launch. Reid, who founded Vision Critical in 2000, will remain a significant shareholder. The venture-backed company's last financing, led by Georgian Partners in mid-2014, raised $16 million.
3 min read · 24 November 2016
Canadian merger and acquisition (M&A) deal values hit a four-year high in the third quarter of 2016 due to several high-profile mega-deals, Crosbie & Co reported. According to data developed from Capital IQ and other sources, 681 deals took $132.4 billion in this period, up from 672 deals worth $79.6 billion a year ago. Enbridge Inc’s offer to buy Spectra Energy Corp, and the planned combination of Agrium Inc and Potash Corp, accounted for about 65 percent of all values. In the domestic market, Crosbie counted 461 deals valued at $46.7 billion in Q3 2016, which is also up from the 433 deals worth $17.7 billion a year ago.
3 min read · 24 November 2016
Canadian capital pool company Anchor Capital Corp (TSX-V: ANC.P) has agreed to combine with Mark One Lifestyle Inc, a San Francisco-based maker of internet-connected lifestyle devices that track food and beverage consumption. The deal, which is expected to include a private placement financing that generates gross proceeds of $10 million to $15 million, will see Anchor renamed Mark One Lifestyle Corp. Founded in Kingston, Ontario in 2007, Mark One has received funding from several venture capital firms, including Intel Capital Corp, Horizons Ventures and Felicis Ventures. Intel led the company's US$4 million seed round earlier in 2016.
10 min read · 23 November 2016
Leah Lawrence, president and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), has been named a female executive of the year award winner by the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The Stevie Awards, which recognize female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and the organizations they run, announced Lawrence's win in the government-non-profit category on November 18 in New York. Lawrence has led SDTC since mid-2015. She previously headed Clean Energy Capitalists Inc. SDTC provides funding and support to Canadian cleantech projects.
3 min read · 23 November 2016
BDC Capital launched a second cleantech fund to support Canadian startups that are feeling the continuing effects of venture capital’s boom-and-bust experience in the fledging sector. The investment arm of BDC unveiled ICE Venture Fund II this week. Capitalized at $135 million, the fund aims to fill a key market gap by investing in 15 to 20 cleantech and energy-tech companies, especially in areas where Canada has a comparative advantage, such as resource efficiency.
3 min read · 23 November 2016
