Private Equity
Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd and France's Michelin Group have committed to the latest fund of Emerald Technology Ventures. The amounts committed were not disclosed. Doosan and Michelin join a number of existing corporate investors, including Ecolab Inc, SK Group Inc and Suncor Energy Inc, all of which made fund commitments last June. Emerald, which has offices in Toronto and Zurich, Switzerland, invests in companies in the areas of energy, water, advanced materials and industrial information technology. The firm's 2014 deals include its investment in Canadian mapping service platform GeoDigital International Inc.
3 min read · 03 February 2015
CM Labs Simulations Inc has secured undisclosed funding from Canadian venture capital firm Emerillon Capital and Desjardins-Innovatech. Based in Montréal, CM Labs is a developer of technology called Vortex that provides real-time simulation capabilities for training and engineering applications. Its solutions are used in construction, port terminals, offshore operations and other industrial venues. The company said its partnership with Emerillon and Desjardins-Innovatech will allow it to accelerate global growth. Founded in 2001, CM Labs is led by CEO Robert Weldon.
3 min read · 02 February 2015
BitGold Inc has agreed to merge with Loma Vista Capital Inc (CSE: LOV) in a reverse take-over (RTO). The deal follows the close of BitGold's Series A financing round in late 2014, when the Toronto gold exchange company raised $3.5 million. Concurrent with the RTO, BitGold said it expects to complete a private placement to raise gross proceeds of about $6 million. The funds will be used to execute its marketing and customer acquisition strategy and develop its technology and intellectual property portfolio. BitGold said it is also discussing potential opportunities with Canadian alternative assets manager Sprott Inc.
10 min read · 29 January 2015
D-Wave Systems Inc recently secured $29 million in financing from an unnamed institutional investor and other sources. The investment adds to amounts raised last July by the Burnaby, British Columbia-based company, bringing its total raise in 2014 to about $62 million. D-Wave said the new funds will be used to accelerate development of its quantum hardware and software and expand its software application ecosystem. Founded in 1999, the company is backed by a number of Canadian and U.S. investors, including BDC Capital, Bezos Expeditions, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Goldman Sachs, Growthworks, Harris & Harris Group, IIU, In-Q-Tel and Kensington Capital Partners.
3 min read · 29 January 2015
Slyce Inc (TSX-V: SLC), a venture-backed visual search platform that went public in 2014, has agreed to purchase SnipSnap App LLC Co, a mobile couponing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The cash and stock deal, which is valued at US$6.5 million, is expected to close in early February. For the Toronto-based Slyce, the acquisition, its third in the past six months, provides for new opportunities in widening its service offering to retailers, the company said. Founded in 2011, SnipSnap has received funding from U.S. angel investors and venture capital firms, including Dreamit Ventures and MentorTech Ventures.
8 min read · 29 January 2015
Witkit has secured $5 million in financing from undisclosed sources. The software company said proceeds of the investment will help it launch a new collaboration platform that allows individuals and businesses to easily assemble groups to tackle projects and solve problems safely and without the risk of data breaches. Additionally, the platform facilitates creation of tailored collaborative workspaces, Wikit said. Based in Vancouver, the company is led by president and CEO Sean Merat. It was founded in 2012.
3 min read · 27 January 2015
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil has announced that a group of private investors have plans to launch a new venture capital fund based in Nova Scotia. The fund, which will be capitalized at $50 million, is being initiated by Victor Chu, chairman of First Eastern Investment Group, a private equity and venture capital firm with headquarters in Hong Kong. Premier McNeil said a key focus of the fund will be to create new opportunities for Nova Scotia small businesses in China. The announcement follows last November's launch of a new $15 million venture capital fund in Newfoundland and Labrador.
2 min read · 27 January 2015
QuickMobile Inc recently appointed Craig Brennan as its new CEO. He succeeds company founder Patrick Payne, who will continue to serve on the board of directors and as an advisor. Brennan joined QuickMobile as its board chairman in 2014. Prior to then, he was an advisor to Silicon Valley startups and led Overtone, a social media listening analytics company, and Brio Software, a business intelligence company. The Vancouver-based QuickMobile is a provider of mobile enterprise meeting and event apps. It is backed by BDC Capital IT Venture Fund and other investors.
3 min read · 27 January 2015
Carrier Corp has made a minority investment in ecobee Inc, a Toronto-based provider of energy conservation solutions. The equity investment, the value of which was not disclosed, expands the strategic relationship formed between Carrier and ecobee, which has recently focused on the latter's digital programmable thermostat technology. The Farmington, Connecticut-based Carrier is a specialist in heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems. Founded in 2007, ecobee is backed by a number of Canadian venture capital firms, including Relay Ventures, Tech Capital Partners and the Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund.
3 min read · 26 January 2015
Singspiel has secured $350,000 in seed-stage financing. The round was led by MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF), an early-stage venture capital fund managed by MaRS Discovery District. The company, which was co-founded in 2013 by CEO Arian Rahbari and CTO Ivan Cheung, has developed a mobile app to make it easier for individuals to learn and practice music. It plans to use proceeds of the round to expand the core engineering team, accelerate sales and marketing efforts and increase user adoption. Based in Toronto, Singspiel received initial financing when it participated in JOLT's Winter 2013 accelerator program.
3 min read · 26 January 2015
