Canada

Vancouver-bound SocialChorus nabs $7.5 mln in Series B round

SocialChorus Inc said Thursday that it has received US$7.5 million in Series B funding. U.S. venture capital firm Kohlberg Ventures led the round. In addition to the funding, the company said it will be opening its first international office in Vancouver. Also, SocialChorus has hired Lee Diaz as its new solutions director. Based in San Francisco, SocialChorus is an advocate marketing platform purpose-built for all employees and brand ambassadors.

New report flags private capital's potential to solve social challenges

A new report by the global Social Impact Investment Taskforce focuses on the potential for impact investing, or private financing of ventures that address social challenges. A parallel Canadian report, Mobilizing Private Capital for Public Good: Priorities for Canada, which has been made available through the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing, a division of MaRS Discovery District, discusses the importance of social entrepreneurship and means for encouraging new sources of impact investment in a Canadian context.

Lumenpulse's $66.5 mln secondary offering rejigs ownership

Lumenpulse Inc (TSX: LMP), which completed a $100 million initial public offering in May, announced a $66.5 million bought deal offering of common shares by a group of shareholders. The group includes the company's founding shareholders, including François-Xavier Souvay, its president and CEO, and Groupe W Inc, and several investors, including Canadian venture capital firm XPND Capital. The offering will diversify the holdings of the shareholders, while allowing them to maintain significant ownership interests. Based in Montréal, Lumenpulse designs and manufactures high performance and sustainable LED lighting products.

iNovia Capital, Accel Partners lead $35 mln funding of LightSpeed

LightSpeed Retail Inc, a Montréal-based retail commerce platform, has secured $35 million in new financing. The round was co-led by Canadian venture capital firm iNovia Capital and U.S. firm Accel Partners, which led LightSpeed's prior funding in 2012. The investment, which brings the company's total funding so far to $65 million, will allow for scaling of market reach and breaking into new verticals and geographies. LightSpeed reports that more than 20,000 stores processing more than $7.5 billion in transactions annually use its platform to unify inventory, customer preferences, sales and analytics, in-store and online. The company was founded in 2005 and has additional offices in New York City, Olympia, Ottawa, and Santa Cruz, California.

Montréal startup taps crowdfunding for virtual reality headset: Reuters

A tiny Montreal company is turning to crowdfunding in hopes of moving its virtual reality headset from a working prototype to a mass produced rival to products from Facebook, Samsung and Sony. Vrvana Inc aims to raise $350,000 via website Kickstarter to make the first 1,000 units of its Totem headset, it said ahead of the month-long campaign's launch this week.

Givex acquires venture-backed Marqui

Marqui Inc, a provider of content management services and digital design services and technology, has been acquired by Givex Corp. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Givex, a Toronto-based provider of cloud-based information services to enterprises, said the acquisition strengthens its product offering to customers. Founded in 2000, Marqui is based in Vancouver. It was a portfolio company of Canadian venture capital firms GrowthWorks and Ventures West Capital, the investments of which are now managed by Five Corners Capital.

eSentire lands $14 mln in Series C funding to bring cybersecurity to new venues

Businesses and governments everywhere are being forced to grapple with escalating, stealthy and increasingly destructive cyber-attacks. One Canadian startup believes it has a solution. This week, Cambridge, Ontario-based eSentire, which has developed an active threat detection platform popular with hedge funds, secured a $14 million Series C financing from a consortium of Canadian and U.S. venture capital firms and strategic investors to promote further growth and customer diversification.

Difference Capital, DC Thomson invest $7 mln in Carta's Series D round

Carta Worldwide has received a $7 million tranche of a planned $12 million Series D funding round. The co-investors in the tranche included Canadian specialty finance firm Difference Capital Financial and U.K.-based media company D. C. Thomson & Co Ltd. Headquartered in Ontario, Carta is a mobile payment solutions provider. Update: The company said it plans to close the remaining $5 million raise in the coming weeks. Investment proceeds will help accelerate Carta's global expansion.

Slyce buys Israel's venture-backed Pounce app for $5 mln

Calgary and Toronto-based visual search technology company Slyce (TSX-V: SLC) said Tuesday that it has acquired BuyCode Inc for a total consideration of US$5 million in shares, cash and earn-out incentives. Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, BuyCode is the developer of the Pounce mobile commerce app and platform, which was backed by Entrée Capital, Gigi Levy-Weiss and Plus Ventures. Update: Slyce, which has also been backed by venture capital investors, recently completed a going public transaction.

Wealthsimple launches with $1.9 mln from angels, Impression Ventures

Wealthsimple has officially launched with the support of startup funding. The company's CEO and founder Michael Katchen confirmed to peHUB Canada that the company has raised $1.9 million from Joe Canavan, Roger Martin, David Ossip, Dan Debow and Canadian venture capital firm Impression Ventures. Based in Toronto, Wealthsimple provides low-cost, technology-driven investment strategies and personalized service to investors in Canada. Impression Ventures, which is led by Bryan Kerdman and Christian Lassonde, is focused on investing in software companies in e-commerce, financial applications, SaaS, consumer applications and enterprise solutions.