Private Equity
While high-profile software financings in Canada have recently grabbed headlines, a major surge of investment in life sciences startups has mostly gone unnoticed. Fueled by improved fundraising and exit trends, venture investment in biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostics and other life sciences sectors has gained traction since 2010. Dollar flows more than doubled over this period, reaching $523 million invested in 2015. That’s the largest VC deployment to life sciences in nearly a decade.
3 min read · 29 May 2016
Spectrum 28 Capital has partnered with the University of Waterloo in launching a $2 million venture capital fund. Beginning this June, the Waterloo Engineering - Spectrum 28 Student Venture Program will provide students with early-stage venture support through classes and mentorship, as well as an ability to compete for seed funding. The initiative was the idea of Lyon Wong, who graduated from the university's engineering program in 2003 and went on to found Spectrum 28, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm, in 2015. Wong was previously a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
3 min read · 27 May 2016
Spectrum 28 Capital has partnered with the University of Waterloo in launching a $2 million venture capital fund. Beginning this June, the Waterloo Engineering - Spectrum 28 Student Venture Program will provide students with early-stage venture support through classes and mentorship, as well as an ability to compete for seed funding. The initiative was the idea of Lyon Wong, who graduated from the university's engineering program in 2003 and went on to found Spectrum 28, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm, in 2015. Wong was previously a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
3 min read · 27 May 2016
Canadian smart materials and photonics company Metamaterial Technologies Inc (MTI) has bought Rolith Inc, a provider of nanostructured coatings and devices based in Pleasanton, California. The deal's financial terms were not disclosed. Halifax-based MTI said the acquisition is strategic and will accelerate its ability to develop large-scale optical metamaterial products for aerospace, defense, healthcare and energy industries. Founded in 2011, MTI has raised venture capital funding from Innovacorp, First Angel Network, and other investors. Rolith has been backed by VTB Capital and Asahi Glass Co.
3 min read · 27 May 2016
Canadian smart materials and photonics company Metamaterial Technologies Inc (MTI) has bought Rolith Inc, a provider of nanostructured coatings and devices based in Pleasanton, California. The deal's financial terms were not disclosed. Halifax-based MTI said the acquisition is strategic and will accelerate its ability to develop large-scale optical metamaterial products for aerospace, defense, healthcare and energy industries. Founded in 2011, MTI has raised venture capital funding from Innovacorp, First Angel Network, and other investors. Rolith has been backed by VTB Capital and Asahi Glass Co.
3 min read · 27 May 2016
BlackSquare Inc, an e-commerce platform for the wine and spirits industry, has closed a follow-on financing round. The investment's value was not disclosed. The backers included the Accelerate Fund, an angel co-investment fund managed by AVAC, and several angel investors. Founded in 2009, Calgary-based BlackSquare has created technology to help global wine producers handle regulatory and compliance reporting, and support customer engagement and revenue streams. The funds raised will enable it to expand and develop its global wine database. BlackSquare previously received financing from HorizonOne Asset Management.
3 min read · 26 May 2016
Avrio Capital and Novacap are the 2016 recipients of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association's (CVCA) “Deal of the Year” awards. Calgary-based Avrio won in the venture capital category for last year’s sale of Fresh Hemp Foods Ltd, a natural foods producer, to U.S. private equity firm The Compass Group. The deal, profiled last July by PE Hub Canada, gave Avrio almost 8.67 times its invested capital and an internal rate of return of 48.24 percent. Montréal-based Novacap won in the private equity category for last year’s public sale of Stingray Digital Group, a music provider and media platform. The sale, profiled last June by PE Hub Canada, gave Novacap about 7.9 times its invested capital and an internal rate of return of 33.8 percent.
4 min read · 26 May 2016
Montréal-based portable sound system AmpMe has secured about $10 million (US$8 million) in a Series A financing. The round was led by Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures with participation from Investissement Québec, Slaight Music, OMERS Ventures, Townsgate Media and Real Ventures. AmpMe provides a mobile app that syncs streaming music across devices to create a sound system and shared experience. Founded last year, the free app has achieved more than 2 million downloads. It recently added YouTube as a music-streaming source. Led by Founder and CEO Martin-Luc Archambault, AmpMe previously raised $2.5 million from angel investors.
4 min read · 26 May 2016
7shifts, a provider of employee scheduling software for restaurants, has received $1.2 million in seed-stage financing. Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures led the round. It was joined by Globalive Capital and by existing investors Boost VC and Tim Draper, founding partner of DFJ. Launched in 2011, Saskatoon-based 7shifts is currently used by more than 1,900 restaurants in North America, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and Australia. The company said it planned to use the funds raised to expand its sales team, add new features and functionality to its scheduling software, and to implement new marketing programs.
3 min read · 26 May 2016
7shifts, a provider of employee scheduling software for restaurants, has received $1.2 million in seed-stage financing. Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures led the round. It was joined by Globalive Capital and by existing investors Boost VC and Tim Draper, founding partner of DFJ. Launched in 2011, Saskatoon-based 7shifts is currently used by more than 1,900 restaurants in North America, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and Australia. The company said it planned to use the funds raised to expand its sales team, add new features and functionality to its scheduling software, and to implement new marketing programs.
3 min read · 26 May 2016
