brad meikle
Vidyard, which raised $18 million in Series B funding earlier this year, has bought Switch Merge, a San Francisco-based personalized video platform. The acquisition's value was not disclosed. Vidyard said Switch Merge's technology has been integrated into its video marketing offering, and will help marketing and sales teams to create, share and track engagement in personalized video content in an automated fashion. Based in Kitchener, Ontario, Vidyard is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, iNovia Capital, OMERS Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and SoftTech VC.
CoPower, an online marketplace for clean energy investments, has raised $850,000 in seed capital from Innovation Support and RBC. Montréal-based CoPower supports financings of clean energy infrastructure projects, including energy efficiency retrofits and solar rooftop installations, which can generate strong returns while reducing carbon output. Since late 2014, it has raised and deployed over $1 million in project loans. Co-Power, recently named one of Canada’s 10 “most game-changing” clean technology companies by CIX Cleantech, plans to open to the public next year.
The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) and BDC Capital have given the Canadian Angel of the Year award to Mike Cegelski. The award, presented at NACO's National Angel Summit, recognizes an investor who has made a significant contribution to Canada's angel ecosystem. Cegelski, a member of Anges Québec, has over 25 years of experience in information technology sectors. He is currently a full-time angel and mentor who has invested in more than 30 Canadian and U.S.-based companies in the last 5 years.
The GreenSky Accelerator Fund I LP, a venture capital fund formed in July, has invested in Mirexus Biotechnologies Inc, a natural biomaterials company based in Guelph, Ontario. The fund joined a $4.5 million syndicate alongside Goddard Enterprises Ltd, which invested in the company earlier this year, as well as Japan's Asahi Kasei Corp. Mirexus, a client of Canadian innovation hub RIC Centre, is commercializing a novel nanotechnology that can be used in a wide variety of markets, including cosmetics and nutraceuticals. As part of the investment, GreenSky Principal Greg Stewart has been named chairman of the company's board of directors.
Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial has provided US$5 million in venture debt funding to FilmTrack Inc, a provider of intellectual property management software to the media and entertainment industry. Wellington's investment formed part of a US$10 million financing to which Silicon Valley Bank also contributed. FilmTrack, which is based in Studio City, California, said the additional capital will give it the ability to increase product innovation, support expansion, and acquire strategic technologies and services. Founded in 1996, the company is backed by U.S. venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners and the Sandberg-Goldberg Trust.
Toronto-based Hubba, a business-to-business product-sharing and discovery platform, has secured $11 million in Series A financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Real Ventures with Kensington Venture Fund and funds managed by Canso Investment Counsel. They were joined by existing investors, including Brightspark Ventures. Hubba, which last year grew its user base to over 10,000 brands and retailers, said it will use the round's proceeds to accelerate expansion into new verticals and regions, and to continue investing in new products. Earlier this year, the company received the backing of Canadian angel investment firm Two Small Fish Ventures.
In the coming weeks, the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) and Thomson Reuters will issue their reports on Canadian venture capital market activity in the third quarter of 2015. In the meantime, PE Hub Canada has compiled a list of the likely top 10 (disclosed) financings completed between July and September.
Venture fundraising in the United States slowed considerably over the summer with just US$4.4 billion raised in the third quarter, according to Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association. The soft quarter suggests that 2015 could end up behind 2014, when US$30.9 billion was raised and fears of industry over-funding began to take shape.
Energy Storage System (ESS Inc) has secured US$3.2 million in Series A funding. Pangaea Ventures, a Canadian venture capital firm, led the round with participation from U.S. angel organization Element 8 and other investors. Based in Portland, Oregon, ESS is a developer of a low-cost, long-duration battery for commercial and utility-scale energy storage. It plans to use the round's proceeds to make investments in tooling that will position the company for volume production of its battery components and support its market development activities. ESS was founded in 2011.
The Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) has said proposals raised in the 2015 federal election to increase taxes on stock options would "cripple participation in the growth and innovation sectors and drive entrepreneurs and their employees out of Canada." In a published letter, CVCA CEO Mike Woollatt said stock options help private companies in growth mode to attract and retain the best talent. Several Canadian entrepreneurs, such as Ryan Holmes, founder and CEO of Hootsuite, and Tobias Lütke, founder and CEO of Shopify, have criticized a New Democratic Party plan to alter the tax treatment of stock options.