Private Equity
A new study from the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire has reported that the U.S. angel market saw a larger number of investors disbursing fewer dollars in 2014. According to the report, a total of 316,600 individual angels invested US$24.1 billion last year, which is down 2.8 percent from 2013. On the other hand, the number of U.S. startups receiving angel funding was up 3.8 percent in 2014, compared to the year before. Angel investors were most active in software, followed by healthcare services, medical devices and related equipment.
3 min read · 15 May 2015
Eigen Innovations Inc, a provider of software solutions for the Industrial Internet, has secured a $250,000 investment from New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF). The company, which is based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, will use the proceeds of the deal to help manufacturers improve their productivity by making big data analytics easy to use in their operations. Founded in 2012, Eigen was spun out of the work of researcher and co-founder Dr. Rickey Dubay at the University of New Brunswick.
2 min read · 14 May 2015
Securities regulators in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia announced they have implemented, or expect to implement, registration and prospectus exemptions that will allow early-stage companies to raise capital through crowdfunding in their jurisdictions. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) said members have agreed to a common set of rules that will allow startups to raise up to $500,000 per year from authorized funding portals. Related rules and policies can be viewed on CSA member websites.
2 min read · 14 May 2015
TELUS Ventures, the venture investment arm of telecommunications provider TELUS Corp (TSX: T), has made an undisclosed strategic investment in Sprout, a technology company focused on helping companies engage employees to improve their health and wellness. Sprout said the capital injection will enable it to expand the reach of its platform to additional businesses, and to increase the size of engineering, account management and customer success teams. TELUS Health said it has entered into a reseller arrangement with the company to allow TELUS to promote Sprout's solution to large enterprise customers. Founded in 2011, Sprout has offices in Toronto and Vancouver.
4 min read · 14 May 2015
Slyce Inc (TSX-V: SLC), a venture-backed visual product search platform that went public last year, has raised $8.7 million in a bought deal financing. The offering, which brings the company's total funding to over $36 million, was led by Salman Partners and Beacon Securities, with PI Financial also participating. Slyce said the investment's proceeds will allow it to respond to increasing demand in the market. The company currently serves 4.5 million proprietary users and over 8 million users in total. Based in Toronto, Slyce has completed three acquisitions since 2014. They include its buy in January of SnipSnap App LLC Co, a U.S. mobile couponing company.
4 min read · 14 May 2015
Montréal-based mnubo, an Internet-of-Things data analytics company, has secured $6 million in Series A financing. The round was led by U.K. venture capital firm White Star Capital and was joined by Canadian firm McRock Capital. Founded in 2012, mnubo said funds will be used to expand its commercial team, enhance user experience, and accelerate data science and machine learning initiatives. It said that over the past year the company has seen an increase of over 400 percent in the number of connected objects on its platform, and now counts customers in North America, Europe and Asia. In April, McRock Capital's latest fund, McRock iNFund LP, exceeded its target with new limited partner commitments.
4 min read · 14 May 2015
BitGold Inc, a Canadian platform for savings and payments in gold, has completed its previously announced going public transaction. The company obtained a listing on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol XAU through a reverse take-over (RTO) deal with Loma Vista Capital Inc. Established last year, the Toronto-based BitGold secured $3.5 million in a Series A financing in December. The round's backers included PortVesta Holdings, PowerOne Capital and Soros Brothers Investments.
9 min read · 13 May 2015
COM DEV International Ltd (TSX: CDV) has invested US$500,000 in Anokiwave Inc, a fabless semiconductor company based in San Diego, California. COM DEV said its investment is part of a recent financing of the company. According to Crunchbase, Anokiwave secured US$2.6 million from unidentified venture capital sources in March. COM DEV, a Canadian designer and manufacturer of space hardware, said its investment in Anokiwave will give it access to the company's technology, which is targeted to the satellite communications market.
3 min read · 12 May 2015
Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial has provided US$3 million in a venture debt financing facility to a U.S. provider of automation and management software. The business, which Wellington said is backed by venture capital investors, was not identified. Funding proceeds are intended to support the company's next phase of growth. Based in Toronto, Wellington provides term, venture and amortizing loans of up to $30 million. Since 2012, it has led more than $230 million in transactions.
2 min read · 12 May 2015
Bit Stew Systems, a Canadian provider of data integration and management solutions to utilities, has closed a Series B financing to bring its technology to a broader range of customers, including energy businesses. The round, which provided Bit Stew with US$17.2 million in fresh capital, was led by the venture investment arm of U.S. conglomerate General Electric (GE), the second major strategic investor to throw its weight behind the startup.
3 min read · 12 May 2015
