brad meikle
The National Angel Capital Organization today released its 2014 angel activity report based on a survey of Canadian angel groups, which represents more than 1,700 individual investors. A total of 237 angel investments were completed last year for a combined $90.5 million of financing. This constituted a 19 percent increase over the 199 deals reported in 2013, but dollars invested saw little change year-over-year, going up only 2 percent.
Unbounce Marketing Solutions, a landing page platform developer, announced today that it has acquired Rooster Engagement Tools, a developer of tools to convert abandoning visitors online. Both companies are based in Vancouver. Unbounce has been venture-backed since 2011 by Version One Ventures, Real Ventures and Atlas Ventures, among others. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Xactly, a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of cloud-based incentive compensation software, has successfully priced its US$56.3 million IPO and began trading on the NYSE on Friday. Xactly has been venture-backed by several U.S.-based investors since 2005, and has been a portfolio company of Toronto-based Wellington Financial since 2013.
Amazon has launched its US$100 million Alexa Fund focused on voice technology companies, and has announced seven initial investments. Vancouver-based Mojio, a developer of a range of apps for vehicles, is among Amazon's investments. The company recently raised $8 million in Series A funding from Canadian venture capital firms Relay Ventures and BDC Capital, among others. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Tesora, a U.S. cloud database-as-a-service platform, has raised US$4.5 million in funding. The follow-on round, which brings the company's total financing to US$13.2 million, included new investor Rho Canada Ventures, the Canadian affiliate of Rho Capital Partners. It was joined by existing investors General Catalyst Partners, CommonAngels Ventures, Point Judith Capital and angel investors. With the deal's closing, Rho Canada Partner Sean Brownlee joined Tesora's board of directors. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company was founded by CEO Ken Rugg and CTO Amrith Kumar in 2010.
Farm At Hand Inc, a Vancouver-based provider of cloud-based farm management software, has formed a board of advisors in preparation for its Series A round. The company has named Kevin North, CEO of Terapeak, as the first board member who will provide advice on fundraising, global expansion and monetization activity. Founded in 2012 by Himanshu Singh and Kim Keller, Farm At Hand currently serves more than 21,000 farms on five continents. A portfolio company of Canadian accelerator HIGHLINE, it received initial funding from an undisclosed source in 2014, according to Thomson Reuters' database.
Jelli Inc, a U.S. cloud-based programmatic ad platform, has secured US$21 million in a Series B financing. Investors in the round included Canadian venture capital firm Relay Ventures, as well as Intel Capital, First Round Capital, iHeartMedia and Universal Music Group. Based in San Mateo, California, Jelli has developed technology that facilitates the buying and running of audio advertising. Founded in 2008, the company has raised US$37.6 million in funding to date.
MaRS Discovery District has launched LegalX, a new industry cluster that will support startups and other sources of innovation in the legal sector. Aron Solomon, innovation lead at MaRS, will direct the new cluster in consultation with Jason Moyse, manager of legal business solutions at Elevate Services. MaRS said it is currently accepting applications from Canadian ventures innovating in the legal field through technology, design and service delivery. The Toronto-based MaRS launched its financial technology cluster in February.
Gladius Pharmaceuticals Inc has secured $4.1 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Lumira Capital through its Merck Lumira Biosciences Funds. Joining Lumira in the deal was the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and SR One, an affiliate of GlaxoSmithKline. Based in Montréal, Gladius is a biotechnology company focused on developing novel drugs to treat life-threatening, multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections. It is led by CEO Michael Atkin. Lumira's Daniel Hétu said the Gladius technology "is demonstrating strong promise to restore treatment options for resistant Gram-negative infections which have become a global challenge."
Halifax-based Spring Loaded Technology has won the 2015 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award, which provides a $100,000 grand prize to innovative Canadian entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35. Of the ten finalists selected to compete, Spring Loaded co-founders Chris Cowper-Smith and Bob Garrish won as a result of their bionic knee-brace technology, which was developed to improve mobility, rehabilitation, strength and performance. The company, which was seeded by Innovacorp and angel investors in 2014, said it will use the prize money to help bring its technology to market this fall. The contest runner-up was Real Food Market's Melissa Butler.