Private Equity
Ottawa-based Interset, a provider of advanced threat detection solutions, has received $10 million in follow-on financing. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm Toba Capital and was joined by another new investor, U.S. data integration software company Informatica Corp (Nasdaq: INFA). It was also backed by existing investors Anthem Venture Partners and Telesystem, a Canadian technology investment firm. Update: Interset said proceeds of the round will help it expand capabilities and accelerate the adoption of its cybersecurity platform. Founded in 2002, the company is led by President and CEO Dale Quayle.
5 min read · 18 March 2015
CrowdCare Corp has secured $750,000 from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). FedDev Ontario said $1.5 million in funding was also obtained from Canadian venture capital firms Extreme Venture Partners and Mantella Ventures Partners, as well as investors from Extreme Angels. Proceeds of the round will support several CrowdCare goals, including additional upgrades to its Wysdom software platform, which helps mobile carriers solve the technical problems of customers. Last October, Extreme Venture Partners led a $3.5 million investment in the Richmond Hill, Ontario-based company.
3 min read · 17 March 2015
SD Tech Fund, a venture capital fund sponsored by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), has invested $27.3 million in ten clean technology projects based in British Columbia. The companies that are developing the projects are: West Fraser Mills Ltd; BBCP Conductor Inc; David Bromley Engineering Ltd; Carbon Engineering Ltd; ZincNyx Energy Solutions; Saltworks Technologies Inc; SWITCH Materials Inc; Terramera Inc; Polymer Research Technologies; and Unit Electrical Engineering Ltd. To date, SD Tech Fund has backed 269 projects with $684 million from the federal government.
7 min read · 17 March 2015
Blue Pillar Inc has secured US$14 million in a follow-on round of financing. The deal was led by EnerTech Capital and was joined by Allos Ventures, Arsenal Venture Partners, Claremont Creek Ventures and the Maryland Venture Fund. Based in Frederick, Maryland, Blue Pillar is a provider of software solutions that help organizations to monitor, manage and control distributed energy assets. The company said it plans to use proceeds of the investment to meet demand for its products. EnerTech Capital, which has offices in Toronto, Calgary, Montréal, Philadelphia and Menlo Park, earlier this month led the latest funding of Terralux Inc.
4 min read · 16 March 2015
VarageSale, a Toronto online marketplace that provides people with a trusted environment in which to buy and sell goods, has closed a Series A financing, according to a report by a U.S. media outlet. The report said the round, the value of which was not disclosed, was led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.
2 min read · 16 March 2015
Checkfront Inc, a provider of cloud-based online booking management solutions, has secured $1 million in seed-stage financing. The round was led by Rasool Rayani, the co-founder of Metalogix Software, and was joined by a number of angel investors and entrepreneurs. Checkfront, which has its headquarters in Victoria, British Columbia, said it will use deal proceeds to accelerate growth, pursue strategic partnerships, and expand its team. The company said it has processed over US$350 million in online bookings in the last twelve months, and has seen 100 percent revenue growth year-over-year since launching in 2010.
3 min read · 13 March 2015
Prevtec Microbia Inc, a Canadian biotechnology company developing technologies for the prevention of diseases in food-animals, has raised $4.7 million in follow-on financing. Most of the round was accounted for by VVC, a Canadian venture capital firm focused on investing in animal health. The other investors included existing backers Telesystem, Groupe Jafaco Gestion and Desjardins-Innovatech. Founded in 2001, the Montréal-based Prevtec is led by President and CEO Michel Fortin. The company said it plans to bring a number of new innovative products to market in the coming years.
2 min read · 13 March 2015
Technology companies look set to supplant energy and mining firms as the driver of Canadian initial public offerings this year as global optimism about tech startups boosts valuations and spurs early investors to cash out, Reuters reported. "In the next 12 to 24 months, you're going to finally see the most significant volume of Canadian tech IPOs you've seen in the past decade, if not ever," said John Ruffolo, CEO of OMERS Ventures.
3 min read · 12 March 2015
U.S. security company OpenDNS has acquired BGPmon Network Solutions Inc, a provider of network and routing monitoring services based in Vancouver. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. OpenDNS said the acquisition will facilitate its expansion of security research capabilities and offer its customers broader protection against cybersecurity threats. Based in San Francisco, OpenDNS has been venture-backed since its founding in 2005. Its investors include Cisco Systems, Evolution Equity Partners, Glynn Capital, Greylock Partners, Lumia Capital, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Northgate Capital, Sequoia Capital and Sutter Hill Ventures.
3 min read · 12 March 2015
Docker Inc has bought Kitematic, a Canadian startup focused on giving software developers the ability to set up development environments in the cloud. The acquisition's value was not published. Kitematic was founded last year by Sean Li, Michael Chiang and Jeffrey Morgan with the help of the University of Waterloo's Velocity Garage program. Docker, an open platform for distributed applications that is also targeted to developers, is based in San Francisco. Founded in 2010, it is backed by AME Cloud Ventures, Benchmark, Greylock Partners, Insight Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, Trinity Ventures and Y Combinator.
4 min read · 12 March 2015
