Private Equity
Canadian angel organization Full Stack Foundry GP has made investments in product consulting company Brewhouse and organic juice producer Nectar Juicery, reports T-Net British Columbia. Financial terms of the two deals were not disclosed. The report said these are Full Stack's first investments in 2014. Based in Vancouver, Full Stack describes itself as a "napkin capital" investor. The firm, founded in 2013 by entrepreneurs Boris Mann and Lance Tracey, typically commits $50,000 to $150,000 as a first investment in early-stage companies.
1 min read · 12 March 2014
Healthcare mobile solutions provider PatientSafe Solutions Inc has obtained a strategic investment of US$3 million from TELUS Ventures, the venture investment arm of Canadian telecommunications company TELUS Corp (TSX: T). The new funds will power adoption of the company's clinical workflow solution, the PatientTouch® system, a mobile platform that allows caregivers to collaborate with each other from the patient’s side. Founded in 2002, the San Diego, Calif.-based PatientSafe Solutions is backed by several U.S. venture capital firms. Merck Global Health Innovation Fund led the company's Series C financing round in 2013.
4 min read · 12 March 2014
Personal vision innovator eSight Corp recently secured an investment from Canadian venture capital firm iGan Partners. The value of the financing round was not published. The Ottawa-based eSight's eyewear solution captures live images through an embedded high-resolution camera that allows visually impaired people to see. Founded in 2006, the company previously received funding from FedDev Ontario, First Leaside Visions II LP and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund. It has also been backed by members of angel organizations Boston Harbor Angel, Capital Angel Network, Golden Triangle AngelNet and Angel One Investor Network.
2 min read · 12 March 2014
Identity verification platform Trulioo Inc has received US$6 million in a Series A financing round. The deal was led by U.S.-based Tenfore Holdings, with the participation of Canadian investor BDC Venture Capital and Blumberg Capital. Tenfore's Dan Levine has joined the company's board of directors. The latest round, which will be used to accelerate growth into developing and emerging markets where traditional identity verification products are largely unavailable, brings Trulioo's total funding so far to over US$8.3 million. The Vancouver-based startup recently announced that it had surpassed 100 million cyber identities scored, mostly in North America and Europe.
4 min read · 12 March 2014
500px, a Toronto-based platform for discovering, sharing, buying and selling photos, has purchased Authintic Analytics Technologies Inc. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition of Authintic, an analytics technology provider with offices in Toronto and New York City, brings additional data sciences and advertising industry expertise to 500px as it enters the photo licensing business, the company said. Founded in 2009, 500px has been venture-backed since 2012. In August 2013, the company secured $8.8 million in a Series A financing round led by U.S. venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Harrison Metal.
3 min read · 11 March 2014
Hatchbrands Ventures, an internet accelerator and micro-fund based in Ottawa, has hired Marco Janeczek as venture partner. Janeczek's experience includes working at H-FARM and First Stone Ventures. Hatchbrands Ventures was recently bought by iBrands Corp, a Roswell, Georgia-based holding company that acquires and operates niche market brands.
2 min read · 11 March 2014
Interactive video content network Keek Inc has completed its previously-announced reverse take-over of Primary Petroleum Corp and has commenced shares trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol KEK. As a result, Canadian private equity and venture capital firm Pinetree Capital announced a purchase of Keek equity representing 11.3% of the company's total issued and outstanding common shares. Based in Toronto, Keek has been venture-backed since 2011. In January 2013, it raised $18 million in a deal led by AGF Investments, Pinetree and Plazacorp Ventures, and with Cranson Capital also participating.
2 min read · 10 March 2014
Canadian venture capital firm Renewal Funds has raised a total of $63 million in the final close of its third fund, Renewal3. The fund, which is focused on investing in early-stage growth companies in organic and natural foods, green products, and environmental and social innovation sectors, received capital commitments from individual investors, families, foundations and institutional investors based in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Limited partners include 22 foundations. With Fund III's final close, total assets under management now stand at nearly $100 million. Founded in 1994, Renewal Funds has its headquarters in Vancouver.
2 min read · 10 March 2014
Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc has priced its initial public offering (IPO) of 4.2 million common shares at $11.00 per share. The IPO is intended to raise gross proceeds of $46.2 million. Aquinox's stock has been approved for a NASDAQ listing and is expected to begin trading immediately under the symbol AQXP. Based in Vancouver, Aquinox is a clinical-stage biotech company that develops novel and targeted small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory disease. It has been backed by Canadian and U.S. venture capital firms since 2007. In April 2013, the company secured a US$18 million Series C financing led by Johnson & Johnson Development Corp.
2 min read · 07 March 2014
U.S. venture capital funds showed gains in performance in the third quarter of 2013, according to the Cambridge Associates LLC U.S. Venture Capital Index®, the benchmark of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). The quarterly, 1-, 3-, 5-, 10- and 15-year time horizons all showed higher returns, with no change in the 20-year horizon. The NVCA attributed the improved performance to a better exit environment and a healthier market for initial public offerings.
4 min read · 07 March 2014
