Private Equity
MaRS Discovery District has launched LegalX, a new industry cluster that will support startups and other sources of innovation in the legal sector. Aron Solomon, innovation lead at MaRS, will direct the new cluster in consultation with Jason Moyse, manager of legal business solutions at Elevate Services. MaRS said it is currently accepting applications from Canadian ventures innovating in the legal field through technology, design and service delivery. The Toronto-based MaRS launched its financial technology cluster in February.
3 min read · 23 June 2015
Whitecap Venture Partners has closed its third technology fund at the upper end of its fundraising target, paving the way for a new investment. The Toronto-based firm announced today that it has wrapped up Whitecap III LP at $100 million in committed capital. It also said Fund III led the financing of Qvella, a Canadian molecular diagnostics company.
3 min read · 23 June 2015
Gladius Pharmaceuticals Inc has secured $4.1 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Lumira Capital through its Merck Lumira Biosciences Funds. Joining Lumira in the deal was the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and SR One, an affiliate of GlaxoSmithKline. Based in Montréal, Gladius is a biotechnology company focused on developing novel drugs to treat life-threatening, multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections. It is led by CEO Michael Atkin. Lumira's Daniel Hétu said the Gladius technology "is demonstrating strong promise to restore treatment options for resistant Gram-negative infections which have become a global challenge."
4 min read · 22 June 2015
Halifax-based Spring Loaded Technology has won the 2015 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award, which provides a $100,000 grand prize to innovative Canadian entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35. Of the ten finalists selected to compete, Spring Loaded co-founders Chris Cowper-Smith and Bob Garrish won as a result of their bionic knee-brace technology, which was developed to improve mobility, rehabilitation, strength and performance. The company, which was seeded by Innovacorp and angel investors in 2014, said it will use the prize money to help bring its technology to market this fall. The contest runner-up was Real Food Market's Melissa Butler.
4 min read · 22 June 2015
Vox Mobile, a U.S. provider of enterprise mobility solutions, has obtained US$6.7 million in a follow-on investment. The round was co-led by TELUS Ventures, the venture investment arm of Canada's TELUS Communications Co. Other investors included Mutual Capital Partners, Edison Partners and Permal Capital. Vox Mobile, which is based in Cleveland, Ohio, helps businesses manage mobile infrastructure, addressing every aspect of mobile innovation planning, administration and support. It said the round's proceeds will help expand its global reach. The deal also solidifies the company's Canadian market partnership with TELUS.
5 min read · 19 June 2015
Mogo Finance Technology Inc has confirmed earlier reports that it is seeking gross proceeds of $50 million from an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "GO." The Vancouver-based company is offering 5 million common shares at $10 per share, with an option to sell a further 750,000 shares at the same price. Founded in 2003, Mogo is an online lending platform that provides consumers with a range of credit solutions. As reported by peHUB Canada in May, its investment history is not fully known, however, the company has disclosed that is currently drawing on credit facilities provided by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group.
3 min read · 19 June 2015
Tom Kennedy has led Canadian alternative assets manager and advisor Kensington Capital Partners for nearly two decades according to a key principle: always put your own money up. Today, that principle is applied to Kensington's offer of fund and advisory services to institutional and individual clients, as well as its increasing focus on direct investment strategies.
3 min read · 18 June 2015
Toronto-based Volley has emerged from stealth and announced it has raised $500,000 in seed-stage funding from Canadian venture capital firm Version One Ventures. The company, founded last year, provides a social media network for developers, designers and entrepreneurs to ask questions and receive feedback to help with issues, including technical problems and career advice. Update: Volley said the proceeds of the seed round will help grow and expand its community to other platforms. The company's co-founders are CEO Mike Murchison, C3PO David Hariri and CTO Brendan Lynch.
3 min read · 18 June 2015
FlashStock Inc announced it has raised $1.5 million in funding, all of it from individuals. Investors included marketing executives from LinkedIn, Facebook and Anheuser-Busch InBev, such as Jonathan Lister, Tom Arrix, Chris Burggraeve, William Campbell, Michael Scissons and Grant Munro. With headquarters in Toronto, the company works with photographers to create customized libraries of images that brands and agencies can access on-demand when searching for visual content. Update: Founded in 2014, FlashStock said the funding round will help to accelerate its penetration into mainstream markets.
3 min read · 18 June 2015
Recon Instruments, a Canadian developer of smart eyewear technology for sports and activity-specific environments, has been bought by Intel Corp. The financial terms of the deal were not released, however, Techvibes reports the acquisition price to be "upwards of $175 million." CEO Dan Eisenhardt, who co-founded the company in 2008, said the acquisition will give Recon access to resources to continue growth "with a level of efficacy and speed that’s beyond the reach of a pioneer in a new market." Based in Vancouver, Recon was backed by Canadian and U.S. investors, including Intel Capital, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, Kopin Corp and Vanedge Capital, which led its Series A financing in 2011.
3 min read · 17 June 2015
