brad meikle

Univalor, a Québec university technology transfer organization, has closed a deal in which it transferred certain intellectual property assets to CogniSens Inc in exchange for share capital. Univalor said it undertook the transaction to support commercialization of the company's products, which have been developed from research at the Université de Montréal. CogniSens, which is based in Montréal, specializes in the application of neurological technologies to enhance cognitive capabilities.

Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD), a retail fund managed by Canadian private equity firm Desjardins Capital de risque, has secured $150 million in its 2015 fundraising year. A total of 51,700 Québec taxpayers bought shares this time, 24 percent of which were first-time buyers. CRCD, which has net assets of about $1.6 billion, is a partner to 400 companies, co-operatives and funds. They include Courchesne Larose Ltd, a Montréal-based fruit and vegetable distribution network backed by CRCD earlier in November.

Over half of Canadian executives believe cloud-based technology will make their businesses more competitive and are taking steps to harness its benefits, a new report from Microsoft Canada Inc said. This is an improvement from a year ago when only 10 per cent of executives surveyed said they were even familiar with cloud computing. On the other hand, 85 percent of respondents recognize they are making slow progress in putting the technology to use in their business operations, with most failing to move beyond early incremental adoption.

Toronto-based photo community and marketplace 500px has hired Kelly Thompson as head of marketplace. Thompson is the former chief operating officer of iStock by Getty Images. Earlier this year, 500px secured $13 million in Series B funding from Visual China Group, Andreessen Horowitz, Harrison Metal and ff Venture Capital.

Canadian women-owned businesses have so far seen $150 million in commitments from a $700 million program launched earlier this year by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). The program, announced in March, aims to increase term lending to companies led by women over a three-year period. BDC client data show these companies earn less than half of the revenue of comparable men-owned entities

Canadian venture capital firm Quest Ventures has proposed to buy 100 percent of Slyce Inc (TSX-V: SLC), a visual product search platform that went public in 2014. The all-cash offer is priced at $0.85 per share. In a letter to Slyce's board of directors, Quest CEO James Beals said the firm is "confident that the operating outlook for Slyce Inc in a private company scenario would be substantially improved over its current prospects." Quest has committed to invest $35 million to help grow the business once privatized. Toronto-based Slyce was co-founded by Cameron Chell, a Canadian serial entrepreneur. It has been backed by angel investors and venture capital firms since its launch in 2012.

U.S.-based consumer healthcare company First Aid Shot Therapy (FAST) has closed a US$24 million Series C financing. Johnson & Johnson Innovation-JJDC led the round and was joined by new investor Lumira Capital, a Canadian venture capital firm. Sofinnova Ventures, Redmile Group, HealthQuest Capital and other existing investors also participated. FAST, which provides over-the-counter medicine in liquid shot form, said the funding will be used to expand its product portfolio and support growth of its customer base. With the round's close, Lumira Managing General Partner Peter van der Velden has joined the company's board of directors.

TELUS Ventures, the venture investment arm of TELUS Corp (TSX: T), has made a strategic investment in Zenedge, a provider of cloud-based cybersecurity solutions to businesses. TELUS invested via the company's US$4 million Series B financing. Other backers of the round were not disclosed. Zenedge, which is headquartered in Los Angeles, said the round's proceeds will allow it of add mitigation centres in Toronto and Amsterdam. Additionally, TELUS plans to offer Zenedge solutions to its own customers. Kenneth Haertling, vice president and chief security officer of TELUS, will join the company's board of directors.

Lightspeed, which recently raised an $80 million Series C financing, has acquired SEOshop, an Amsterdam-based e-commerce specialist focused on the European market. No financial terms were released. As a result of the deal, Lightspeed, a cloud point-of-sale platform designed for retail merchants and restaurants, said it now serves 34,000 businesses in more than 100 countries, processing US$12 billion in annual transactions. SEOshop was backed by Dutch venture capital firm henQ. Montréal-based Lightspeed, founded in 2005, has raised a total of $145 million from its investors, which include Accel Partners, iNovia Capital, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Investissement Québec.