Private Equity
Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has provided financial support to Notman House, a collaborative hub in which Montréal entrepreneurs building high-tech companies can share knowledge, exchange ideas and build collaborative networks. As part of its sponsorship of OSMO Foundation, BDC will initially commit $325,000 to Notman House, to be followed by an additional $100,000 in commitments over the next four years.
2 min read · 17 January 2013
Open Prairie Ventures has backed NewLeaf Symbiotics, an agricultural biotech firm. The investment, from Open Prairie Ventures II, was part of a $7.0 million Series A round of financing that will be used to further NewLeaf Symbiotics’ field trials. Other investors in the syndicate include Rockport Capital, Pangaea Ventures and several individuals.
3 min read · 15 January 2013
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a plan on Monday to provide $408 million in venture capital to stem the loss of young entrepreneurs to the United States and to rekindle investor interest in providing start-up funds for new ventures.
3 min read · 14 January 2013
Winnipeg, Manitoba and Kalamazo, Michigan-based Monteris Medical Inc. has closed on US$7.8 million in new financing. BDC Health Venture Fund, managed by the Business Development Bank of Canada, led the round, with participation from the SWMF Life Science Fund, and several unnamed investors. The total funding raised in 2012 approached US$16 million, the company said in a press release. Monteris Medical has been backed by a mix of Canadian and US venture capital funds since 2001.
2 min read · 07 January 2013
Vantrix, a developer of content delivery technology for mobile network operators, closed on $13.5 million in Series D financing. Summerhill Venture Partners, JK&B Capital and Tudor Ventures led the round, with pro rata participation from BDC Venture Capital, Innovacom and Entrepia Ventures, the company said.
5 min read · 20 December 2012
Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital says it has seen about a 75% increase in the value of its third fund since the fund kicked off four years ago. The Vancouver VC offered the assessment in an end-of-year press release that said it completed 18 follow-on portfolio companies financings during 2012. It also made a new investment in the wastewater treatment company Axine Water Technologies. Chrysalix Energy III is a $123 million early stage fund with a first close in 2008, according to Thomson Reuters, publisher of this blog. The firm offered no additional details on the fund's performance.
4 min read · 17 December 2012
Naurex Inc., a clinical-stage company focused on psychiatry and neurology, raised $38 million in Series B financing led by new investor Baxter Ventures. New investor Savitr Capital also participated in the financing, along with existing investors Adams Street Partners, Latterell Venture Partners, Genesys Capital, PathoCapital, Druid Bioventures, and Northwestern University, the company announced. Corporate investors Lundbeck, Takeda Ventures and Shire also contributed to the round. Naurex is based in Evanston, Illinois.
7 min read · 17 December 2012
Toronto and San Francisco-based Influitive, a business-to-business marketing startup, has raised $7.3 million in Series A financing, the company announced. Investors include Hummer Winblad, Relay Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Illuminate Ventures, Resolute.VC, and Common Angels. As a result of the round, Lars Leckie from Hummer Winblad and Alex Baker from Relay Ventures will join Influitive's board.
3 min read · 17 December 2012
If you ever have doubts about the role of venture capital in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in Canada, I have four words for you: Canadian Technology Fast 50.
2 min read · 17 December 2012
Canopy Labs has closed a $1.5 million investment led by the BDC Venture Capital IT Fund with participation by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures and a number of angel investors. A recent graduate of the Y Combinator program, the company will use the funds to scale operations and launch new analytics products. Based in Toronto, Canopy Labs provides tools and customer models to mid-sized customer-facing businesses wanting to understand their customer feedback.
4 min read · 13 December 2012
