Private Equity
Health QR Inc has received $250,000 in financing from Innovacorp, a Canadian venture capital firm. Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Health QR is a provider of medication management solutions that aim to improve health outcomes and pharmacy workflow. Patricia Ryan, the startup's president and CEO, said the round's proceeds will help it follow through with its commercialization and go-to-market plan. Established in 2012, Health QR also has operations in Hamilton, Ontario.
3 min read · 20 May 2016
Health QR Inc has received $250,000 in financing from Innovacorp, a Canadian venture capital firm. Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Health QR is a provider of medication management solutions that aim to improve health outcomes and pharmacy workflow. Patricia Ryan, the startup's president and CEO, said the round's proceeds will help it follow through with its commercialization and go-to-market plan. Established in 2012, Health QR also has operations in Hamilton, Ontario.
3 min read · 20 May 2016
San Francisco-based digital wealth management specialist Personal Capital has secured US$75 million in a Series E financing. IGM Financial Inc, an affiliate of Canadian financial holding company Power Financial Corp, was the sole investor in the round. It invested US$50 million initially and has committed to investing another US$25 million in the next year. Personal Capital, founded in 2009, said the round valued it at about US$500 million. It plans to use the proceeds of the investment to scale the business and add to its suite of financial services.
4 min read · 20 May 2016
Convene, a U.S. provider of conference spaces and services for off-site meetings, has raised an additional US$20 million for its Series B round, bringing its total to US$35 million. The extension was led by the property investment arm of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, and joined by Arrowpoint Partners, Conversion Capital, Boathouse Capital and Sunrise Capital Partners. New York-based Convene said the funds raised will be used to increase its locations to over 20, and support acquisitions. The company expects to raise a Series C financing later in 2016 to fund global growth and platform development.
3 min read · 20 May 2016
Convene, a U.S. provider of conference spaces and services for off-site meetings, has raised an additional US$20 million for its Series B round, bringing its total to US$35 million. The extension was led by the property investment arm of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, and joined by Arrowpoint Partners, Conversion Capital, Boathouse Capital and Sunrise Capital Partners. New York-based Convene said the funds raised will be used to increase its locations to over 20, and support acquisitions. The company expects to raise a Series C financing later in 2016 to fund global growth and platform development.
3 min read · 20 May 2016
Canadian venture capital firm Avrio Capital has invested a total of $15 million in three new portfolio companies. They are: Intelia Technologies Inc, a Montréal-based maker of control systems and data analytics services for the poultry and swine markets; Alasko Foods Inc, a Montréal-based supplier of branded and private label frozen fruits and vegetables; and Cadcan Marketing & Sales Inc, which operates as CheeCha Puffs, a Calgary-based healthy snack foods provider. Avrio made the investments through Avrio Ventures LP III, which raised $110 million in a final close in February. The fund invests in late-stage opportunities in agricultural and food technology sectors.
4 min read · 19 May 2016
Canadian venture capital firm Avrio Capital has invested a total of $15 million in three new portfolio companies. They are: Intelia Technologies Inc, a Montréal-based maker of control systems and data analytics services for the poultry and swine markets; Alasko Foods Inc, a Montréal-based supplier of branded and private label frozen fruits and vegetables; and Cadcan Marketing & Sales Inc, which operates as CheeCha Puffs, a Calgary-based healthy snack foods provider. Avrio made the investments through Avrio Ventures LP III, which raised $110 million in a final close in February. The fund invests in late-stage opportunities in agricultural and food technology sectors.
4 min read · 19 May 2016
Bit Stew Systems Inc, a Canadian data integration platform for the industrial Internet, has wrapped up the initial close of its Series C financing. The undisclosed tranche was backed by existing investors, including Yaletown Partners, GE Ventures and BDC Capital, and new investors, including Canadian fund of funds Kensington Capital Partners. Based in Vancouver, Bit Stew has recently expanded its customer base and introduced its technology to new industries and applications. Raising more than $30 million in funding, including $20.6 million from its Series B round last May, the company reported record growth of late. In 2015, Bit Stew's revenue increased 171 percent year over year.
4 min read · 19 May 2016
Canadian virtual healthcare app Akira has been launched with $500,000 in seed-stage funding. The investors included Tobias Lütke, founder and CEO of Shopify, Mike Silagadze, founder and CEO of Top Hat, and Canadian venture-backed accelerator Highline. Founded in 2015 by Dustin Walper and Dr. Taha Bandukwala, Toronto-based Akira has developed a mobile platform that connects patients to family doctors on demand. During a closed beta test this spring, over 2,000 people signed up for Akira and had over 750 doctor consultations, the company reported. Currently available in Ontario, Akira's technology will soon be made available elsewhere in Canada.
4 min read · 18 May 2016
A new report by the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) found robust investment trends in Canada’s venture capital (VC) market in the first quarter of 2016. A total of $838 million was invested by VC funds in somewhat fewer financing rounds in Q1 2016, which is nearly double the amount invested the year before, the CVCA reported. Larger-sized tech deals drove the growth, with five financings accounting for 40 percent of all disbursements. In contrast, the CVCA found lower investment levels in Canada's private equity (PE) market between January and March. Generally slower PE deal-making captured just under $3 billion in values in this period, down from $7 billion reported at the same time in 2015.
5 min read · 18 May 2016
