Private Equity
SonarMD, which is focused on managing complex patients, has raised $10 million in funding. The investors were BCBS Venture Partners and Arboretum Ventures.
1 min read · 17 December 2018
Hayward, California-based Omnivore, a point-of-sale connectivity platform, has secured $10 million in Series A funding. The lead investors were The Coca-Cola Company and Performance Food Group.
1 min read · 17 December 2018
Stray Dog Capital has raised $25.55 million for its second fund, according to an updated SEC filing. No target was listed on the document. Based in Leawood, Kansas, Stray Dog invests in early-stage businesses.
1 min read · 17 December 2018
Balderton Capital has hired Jodi Yang as head of investor relations. She is a founding partner at Gratia Capital, a spin-out of Canyon Capital.
2 min read · 17 December 2018
Northleaf Capital Partners has initially closed Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund II (NVCF II), a fund of funds earmarked for investments in Canadian venture capital funds and technology companies. The amount raised was not disclosed. The Globe and Mail reported NVCF II secured half of its $300-million target. NVCF II was launched with the help of the $400-million Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI). It was also backed by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Sun Life Financial and TD Bank Group. Ottawa announced in June that VCCI would commit capital to five fund-of-funds managers, including Northleaf, a Toronto-based private-markets investor. NVCF I closed at its $300-million hard cap in 2015.
3 min read · 17 December 2018
Versant Ventures has closed its seventh biotech fund at a hard cap of $600 million. Also, the healthcare investment firm closed its Canadian companion fund at $100 million. Versant Ventures Fund VII will focus on 20 or more biotech companies in the U.S., Canada and Europe while the Canadian fund, Versant Voyageurs I, will focus on five to eight startups in Canada.
3 min read · 17 December 2018
Versant Ventures has secured about $134 million (US$100 million) in commitments for a new fund earmarked to finance Canada’s biotech startups. In a news release, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm said Versant Voyageurs I will invest in five to eight companies in tandem with its primary life-sciences funds. Versant said the Canadian sidecar fund aims to address a shortage of risk capital and other resources available to local life-sciences companies. Managing Director Brad Bolzon, who will oversee the fund, said while Canada has “top-tier scientific infrastructure”, its VC and startup ecosystem has “not grown at the same pace.”
2 min read · 17 December 2018
Kensington Capital Partners has raised $85 million in commitments in the first close of Kensington Venture Fund II. Fund II, a fund of funds earmarked for investments in a range of venture capital funds and technology companies primarily based in Canada, was launched under the $400-million Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI). Other investors in the first close included BMO Capital Partners, Trend Forward Capital and Kensington Private Equity Fund. The federal government announced in June that VCCI would commit capital to five fund-of-funds managers, including Kensington, a Toronto-based alternative assets investor. Kensington Venture Fund I secured more than $300 million in a final close in 2016.
3 min read · 17 December 2018
Effenco, a Montréal-based electric and connected mobility platform, has raised $12 million in a Series A financing. The round was backed by BDC Capital, which invested $6 million, and Investissement Quebec. Founded in 2006 by engineers, Effenco develops and markets hybrid solutions to help heavy vocational trucks reduce operational costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Led by CEO David Arsenault, Effenco will use the funds raised to fuel growth and commercialize software that can rapidly detect and interpret behavioural, mechanical and logistics problems. BDC invested through Ottawa's $700 million clean technology strategy, announced in January.
4 min read · 14 December 2018
Sequoia Capital has set out to raise a principals' seed fund for the Chinese market, according to a filing with the SEC.
1 min read · 14 December 2018
