Photo: (Left) Andrew D’Souza, Co-founder and CEO, Clearbanc and (Right) Michele Romanow, Co-founder and President, Clearbanc. On Nov. 12, Toronto-based Clearbanc announced it had successfully raised USD $70M from a syndicate that included, inovia capital, Real Ventures, Portag3 Ventures, Emergence Capital Partners, 8VC, Social Capital, CoVenture, Founders Fund, Precursor, WTI, Berggruen, and FJ Labs. Clearbanc
On Oct. 31, Montreal and Toronto-based private equity firm, Persistence Capital Partners announced the acquisition of their portfolio company, EnvironeX Group Inc. by Eurofins Scientific (EUFI.PA), a global scientific leader in bioanalytical testing. Québec-based EnvironeX Group is one of the largest analytical laboratories in Québec, with over 250 specialists and technicians, managers and professionals in
I often find myself in various conversations where I hear a very similar statement. It’s normally something along the lines of, “Sure, we have plenty of interest in the seed and early stage venture rounds. What we’re missing in Canada is support for the later stage venture rounds.” While I don’t aim to disprove this
Photo: Sophie Forest, Managing Partner, Brightspark Ventures & Fred Lalonde, Founder & CEO, Hopper. On October 3, Montreal-based Hopper announced it had successfully completed a USD $100M Series D round, led by OMERS Ventures and included participation from CVCA members Brightspark Ventures, BDC Capital and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). Other participating firms
On Sept. 12, new Toronto-based VC, Ripple Ventures, announced the closing of their new CAD $10M early stage focused Fund I. The fund will focus on early-stage companies in Toronto, Waterloo, Montreal, and Boston with preference given to software companies in healthcare and enterprise, as well as companies in industrial services, real estate, blockchain and
On May 9, #paid, a Toronto-based company that connects marketers with influencers for campaigns and content creation, announced that it had closed CAD $9M in Series A financing from a syndicate of investors. The CVCA members involved in the deal included Good News Ventures, ScaleUP Ventures and Freycinet Ventures. #paid was founded in 2014 and
On June 20, publicly-traded marijuana stocks in Canada picked up steam after the bill to legalize recreational marijuana passed the Canadian senate, the last major hurdle in Canadian parliament. That wasn’t the first time cannabis stocks have surged in the country; when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won the Federal General Election in 2015, stocks rose
On Feb. 5, Vancouver-headquartered Regimen Equity Partners announced it had acquired, in partnership, Radial Engineering Limited, a lower mainland-based world-renowned manufacturer of pro-audio accessories and acoustical treatment products. As part of our “Behind The Deal” series, the CVCA caught up with two of Regimen Equity Partners’ Managing Directors, David Eisler and Cooper Seeman, to discuss
On May 7, Kitchener-based Miovision announced that McRock Capital led a CAD $15M in financing along with participation from existing investor, MacKinnon, Bennett & Co. (MKB), and new investors BDC Capital and HarbourVest Partners. As part of the financing, McRock co-founder, Whitney Rockley, has joined the Board of Directors. Founded in 2005, Miovision is a leader
On Mar. 20, Vancouver and San Francisco-based Axiom Zen, the maker of CryptoKitties announced that it had raised CAD $12M in Seed/Series A funding. The syndicate of investors on this deal included Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, CAA Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Rising Tide Fund, YesVC, Hex Capital and CVCA member firm, Version One Ventures.
This report offers a comprehensive analysis of the seed and pre-seed venture capital funding landscape in Canada, focusing on key trends across provinces, deal sizes, foreign investor participation, and top-performing verticals like AI, Web 3, and SaaS. It provides year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter insights, comparing Canada's seed investment activity with global trends. The report is a valuable resource for understanding venture investment dynamics at the earliest stages in Canada's startup ecosystem for 2024, providing detailed context on the evolving focus and funding environment.
