brad meikle

MLA48 LP, a fund launched last October by Canadian angel organization Maple Leaf Angels, has made its premiere investment. The fund committed an undisclosed amount to Orchard Labs Inc, a Toronto-based company that enables the buying and selling of pre-owned iPhones through a secure platform. Maple Leaf Angels said the initial investment spurred over $500,000 of further investment from its membership and other angel investors. MLA48 was formed to provide prompt financing to companies in information, communication and entertainment sectors in southern Ontario.

U.S. biopharmaceutical company XTuit Pharmaceuticals Inc has received US$22 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and joined by founding investor Polaris Partners, as well as new investors, which included Canadian firm CTI Life Sciences. XTuit, which is developing a novel class of therapeutics targeting disease-promoting microenvironment in cancer and fibrotic diseases, said it will use the proceeds of the deal to advance development of its lead products and to build its biomarker platform. In January, CTI secured $134 million in the first close of its second fund, CTI II.

TripleLift, a U.S. programmatic native technology company, has secured US$10.5 million in a Series B funding round. U.S. venture capital firm Edison Partners led the deal with participation from existing investors, including Canadian firm iNovia Capital. True Ventures, Laconia Capital and NextView Ventures also invested. Headquartered in New York, TripleLift said it will use the latest capital injection to fuel expansion of its industry-first native advertising exchange and to hire more employees. The company raised US$4 million in its Series A round in March 2014.

Rowanwood Ventures, a venture capital investor in digital health, Internet and software sectors that is sponsored by iGan Partners, has completed the first close of its second fund. Rowanwood Investment Fund II LP, which is targeted to raise $50 million, brought in initial capital commitments totalling $26 million. The fund received the backing of iGan and a number of family offices. Rowanwood, which deployed $50 million to eight early-stage companies in its first investment vehicle, is expecting a final close of Fund II to take place in the third quarter of 2015. Rowanwood and iGan are based in Toronto.

Snug Vest, an affiliate of Wearable Therapeutics Inc, has obtained $500,000 in seed-stage funding. The first-time investment was led by Arc Capital Development, a U.S. venture capital firm, and was joined by VANTEC Entrepreneurs Fund, Pique Venture Investments, Sunshine Coast Venture Partners and other investors. Headquartered in Vancouver, Snug Vest is a therapeutic wearable vest for individuals managing autism, stress or sensory processing disorders. It will use the funds to scale up operations, increase marketing efforts, support production, develop additional technologies, and other purposes. Snug Vest was founded in 2011 by CEO Lisa Fraser.

Ticketmaster, a division of Live Nation Entertainment Inc (NYSE: LYV), has bought Universe, a Canadian do-it-yourself ticketing company that provides event organizers with marketing and management tools. The value of the acquisition was not released. Based in Toronto, Universe serves thousands of event organizers on a global basis. The U.S.-based Ticketmaster said the startup has built an innovative platform that will enhance its global ticketing marketplace. Founded in 2011, Universe was a portfolio company of Canadian early-stage venture capital firm Real Ventures.

Canadian impact venture capital firm Renewal Funds has made an undisclosed investment in Farmhouse Culture Inc, a producer of raw, organic and probiotic-rich foods based in Santa Cruz, California. The firm did the deal in partnership with the company's founder and CEO Kathryn Lukas and other investors, including White Road Investments, a U.S. consumer-focused private equity firm. Proceeds of the investment will be used to support Farmhouse’s expansion and growth. In May, Renewal Funds invested in Cascadia Windows and Doors, a Canadian maker of energy efficient building envelope products.

Osprey Informatics, a provider of cloud-based intelligent visual monitoring solutions to energy companies, has obtained $1.2 million in a Series A financing. The round, which brings the company's total funding to $4 million, was led by U.S. venture capital firm Anzu Partners and was joined by existing investors. Osprey said it will use the proceeds of the deal for sales expansion and to develop the next generation of its technology platform, which analyzes visual data to create operational insights. Founded in 2012, the startup has more than twenty customers in North America's oil and gas industry. Osprey is headquartered in Calgary and has an office in Washington, D.C.

Unique Solutions Design Ltd, a.k.a. Me-Ality, has secured $15 million in an equity private placement, exceeding its funding target. The deal was led by Canadian venture capital firm Northwater Capital Management and Skip Battle, chairman of Fair Isaac Corp. Me-Ality, a developer of body measurement technology for apparel manufacturers and other industries, said the investment's proceeds will provide working capital for its on-going operations, including the commercialization of its handheld body scanner. Headquartered in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, the company also has offices in Santa Clara, California and Philadelphia. It was founded in 1994.

Control Mobile Inc, a payment management solutions provider, has secured $1.5 million in seed-stage financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firms Vanedge Capital and BDC Capital, and was joined by a number of angel investors. Founded in 2014 by CEO Kathryn Loewen, the Vancouver-based Control has so far helped 20,000 businesses around the world to monitor, measure, and manage online payments. It said the proceeds of the seed round are earmarked for talent acquisition and product development. As a result of the deal's closing, Amy Rae, a principal at Vanedge, will join the company's board of directors.