brad meikle
Venture capital investment in Canadian startups continued at a robust pace in the third quarter of 2015, with $783 million invested in 106 financings, according to final data released by Thomson Reuters. Led by strong investment in information technology, deal-making in Q3 2015 was 23 percent higher year over year. At the end of September, venture capital invested in Canada reached $1.9 billion in 406 financings, up 17 percent from a year ago. It was also the best result for a first three-quarters period since 2001, Thomson Reuters found. Like investment trends, fundraising in the domestic market saw growth in the first nine months of 2015, with commitments of $1.1 billion, up 20 percent from the year before.
Densitas Inc, a medical device software company, has secured a $250,000 investment from Innovacorp, a Canadian venture capital firm. The funding forms part of a larger, undisclosed seed round backed by private investors. Based in Halifax, Densitas is focused on developing digital mammography products addressing the clinical, administrative and quality needs of hospitals and radiology clinics. The round's proceeds will support its plans for commercialization. Densitas CEO Mohamed Abdolell founded the company in 2011.
Canadian private markets investor Northleaf Capital Partners has added capabilities to its 70-person global investment team, and has promoted six professionals within it. The Toronto-based firm hired Richard Bolton as an associate in its London office, focused on private equity investments. Northleaf also made the following promotions: Ian Carew to the role of director, private equity partner relations; Matthieu Ducharme to the role of director; Susie Lee to the role of vice president, investor operations; Nadim Vasanji to the role of vice president with corporate development responsibilities; and Brad Blowes and Chris Rigobon to the role of senior associate.
Rodan Energy Solutions Inc has bought Energent Inc, a Kitchener, Ontario-based provider of energy management information systems. No financial terms were released. Rodan, a Canadian provider of smart grid solutions to electricity consumers, distributors and power producers, said the acquisition will help customers to enhance their energy management strategies and reduce costs. Founded in 2007, Energent was backed by the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, an early-stage venture fund affiliated with MaRS Discovery District. The company also received funding from the Ontario Centres of Excellence.
Anges Québec has appointed Michel Brûlé the new chair of the organization's board of directors, replacing Robert Brouillette, who will remain a director. Brûlé was named Canadian Angel of the Year by the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) in 2010. He will be supported in his new role by Nathalie Marcoux, who has been renamed Anges Québec's deputy chair. Montréal-based Anges Québec is a network of 165 private investors that invests in and coaches high-growth companies in Québec. To date, it has made 77 investments and re-investments in 53 companies.
Black Rock Tidal Power, a division of Germany's Schottel Group, has received $10.5 million to finance its Triton project, a floating platform carrying instream turbines that generate up to 2.5 megawatts of electricity from tidal currents. The investors included Singapore-based clean technology investor Envirotek, Inerjys Ventures, a Canadian venture capital firm, and Schottel shareholders. The funding, along with a $4.5 million commercial loan, will support the installation of the Triton platform at Nova Scotia's Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy in 2016. Black Rock said it will also create the potential for more Triton projects in the Bay of Fundy and around the world.
El Segundo, California-based Kaleo Software, an enterprise cloud platform for capturing and sharing employee know-how, has raised US$7 million in follow-on funding. OMERS Ventures, the venture investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) led the round, with participation from Saturn Partners, and from existing investors Karlin Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Double M Partners and Greycroft Partners. Kaleo, which was founded in 2012, said it plans to use the proceeds of the round to continue development and enhancement of its knowledge-sharing technology solution.
Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial has provided debt financing to an undisclosed information technology company based in the United States. The amount invested was US$15 million. As reported by PE Hub Canada, Toronto-based Wellington launched its fifth innovation-focused private debt fund earlier this month. Targeted to raise $300 million in total, the fund secured $285 million of committed capital in a first close.
Venture capitalists continued to invest at a torrid pace in the third quarter with US$16.3 billion distributed to startups in the United States, the second largest quarterly total in 15 years, according to the MoneyTree Report. The quarter is the seventh in a row with more than US$10 billion put to work and sets the year on course to surpass 2014, which was the largest investment year since the peak of the dot-com bubble in 2000.
London, U.K.-based Velocity, a digital hospitality service, has bought Tab Payments Corp, a Canadian mobile payments app accepted at over 100 restaurants in Toronto and Montréal. The acquisition's value was not disclosed. Velocity, which connects guests with restaurant and nightlife experiences, said the deal expands its reach, which now includes restaurants in six cities in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Earlier this year, Velocity raised US$16 million in a Series A financing. Its investors include Initial Capital Partner, Lerer Ventures, OATV, Spark Capital, and a number of angel investors.