brad meikle
Kira Talent, which earlier this year raised additional venture capital funding, has bought LikeLive, a U.S.-based video interviewing service. The financial terms of the deal were not released. Kira, the Toronto-based company behind Kira Academic, a video-based talent assessment platform designed for university and college admissions, said the purchase will substantially increase its client list. Founded in 2012, Kira's technology is currently being used by schools in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. It is backed by Canadian venture capital firm Relay Ventures, the Business Development Bank of Canada, and several angel investors.
Montréal-based Lightspeed is poised for a major growth spurt and may soon be ready to contemplate a public sale after raising the largest venture financing in Canada in more than a year. Lightspeed, a point-of-sale platform targeted to retailers, has secured $80 million in a Series C round co-led by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Investissement Québec, and joined by Accel Partners and iNovia Capital.
North American investors are pouring money into agriculture technology despite turbulent financial and commodity markets, as cutting-edge advances that enhance farm production bring opportunities for profits, Reuters reported. Investment in this technology is on pace in 2015 to smash last year's record US$2.36 billion, according to AgFunder, which matches startups with investors.
The C100 is teaming up with the Ontario government and other partners to host Venture North, a new event focused on promoting the Toronto-Waterloo region's startup community. The event, which is taking place this week, will see investment-ready startups from the region pitch their products and companies to potential venture capital investors through the C100 Startup Challenge. Venture North is the C100's first event located in Canada. Based in Silicon Valley, the nonprofit organization was established to support Canadian entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking and related programs.
Zonetail Inc, a mobile app provider to hotels and condos, has received $2.3 million in a Series A financing. The round's private investors were not fully disclosed. Toronto-based Zonetail said it will use the proceeds of the round to continue development of its "anchored local" white-label hotel app, and to grow its market and revenue. Founded in 2013, Zonetail said it has signed agreements with more than 100 hotel properties in 10 Canadian provinces and 15 U.S. states. It is currently negotiating with major international hotels to launch the app on a chain-wide basis.
Enbala Power Networks, a Canadian provider of real-time solutions for distributed energy resource management, has secured $3 million in follow-on funding. The investment was made by Obvious Ventures, a U.S. venture capital firm, and will be used by the company "to extend and enhance its technology platform." Earlier this year, Enbala raised $11 million from GE Ventures, Edison Energy, Export Development Canada, EnerTech Capital Partners, Sorfina Capital and Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital. Based in Vancouver, the company was founded in 2003. It is led by President and CEO Bud Vos.
Canadian software company You.i TV has raised $15 million in growth financing from private equity firm Kayne Partners, an affiliate of U.S.-based Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. Headquartered in Ottawa, You.i TV provides a proprietary user-interface engine to media and telecommunications companies to create video applications that run across multiple media devices, including mobile phones, tablets, game consoles, smart TVs and set-top boxes. The investment by Kayne is intended to help accelerate the company's product roadmap and establish a channel of agency partners. You.i TV was founded in 2008 by CEO Jason Flick and CTO Stuart Russell.
Acuity Brands Inc (NYSE: AYI) earlier this month completed its previously-announced buy of Distech Controls Inc, a provider of building automation and energy management solutions. Acuity paid $318 million for the Brossard, Québec-based company. The deal provided exits for Distech's venture capital investors, which include the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, EnerTech Capital, Export Development Canada, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Samsung Ventures and W2 Investments. As reported by peHUB Canada in May, the post-acquisition Distech will continue to operate from its Canadian head office, and will continue to be led by founder Étienne Veilleux.
Minutes Dépôt Inc, a platform for managing and sharing corporate minute books online, has been acquired by a group of Québec City-based investors. Louis Bédard, Louis-Marc Rodrigue and Tommy Rochette together bought the company for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is intended to support Minutes Dépôt's continued growth. Founded in 2014, Minutes Dépôt is located in Québec City.
The Better Software Co has raised $750,000 in seed-stage funding. Members of Capital Angel Network, an Ottawa angel organization, led the round with participation from Purple Angel, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) and existing investors, including Wesley Clover International and Naavon Capital. Founded by Canadian serial entrepreneur Steve Cody, Better Software is a provider of software solutions that help small enterprises improve and simplify their operations. The company, which has spent recent months as a client of L-SPARK, an Ottawa-based incubator and accelerator, has with this latest round secured $840,000 in total investment.