brad meikle
Granify, an automatic e-commerce revenue optimization platform, has raised US$7 million in Series A funding. U.S. venture capital firm Valar Ventures led the round with participation from iNovia Capital, Social Starts and several angel investors. The Edmonton, Alberta-based Granify said the Series A round, which builds on a $1.5 million seed-stage financing obtained in November 2013, will enable the company to accelerate its growth plan and increase its profitability. Founded in 2011, Granify is also backed by BDC Capital, Klass Capital and other investors.
BDC Capital and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) have renewed their support for the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) initiative, which helps Canadian high-growth, market-ready companies gain access to global markets and entrepreneurship services. Since the BDC-DFATD partnership began in 2013, the network of CTAs has grown from four to 12 located in the United States, France, the United Kingdom and India, and covering a variety of technology sectors. Since 2009, more than 350 companies have participated in the CTA initiative.
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ has made a $14.3 million commitment to the third fund of Forbion Capital Partners, a Dutch venture capital firm that invests in life sciences and biomedical technology sectors. The investment completes a recent cycle of fund commitments by the Fonds, which includes its participation in January's $134 million initial close of CTI Life Sciences' second fund. In the years ahead, the Fonds said it will shift its market focus to direct investments in life sciences companies. In the first quarter of 2015, the Fonds was one of the backers of new financings of enGene, an intestinal gene delivery platform, and of Thrasos Therapeutics, a biotherapeutics company.
Ryan Holmes, the founder and CEO of Canadian social media platform Hootsuite Media, has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA). The CVCA award recognizes Canadian entrepreneurs that have demonstrated a track record of success in delivering returns, innovation leadership and a contribution to their community. Hootsuite was founded by Holmes in 2008. Since then, it was raised US$250 million in venture capital financing, including its US$60 million follow-on round in September 2014. Holmes recently told Reuters he is actively considering plans to launch Hootsuite's initial public offering.
Digital Specialty Chemicals Ltd, a fine chemicals manufacturer and a provider of advanced materials to semiconductor, pharmaceutical and specialty chemical markets, has secured equity funding. The investor was Intel Capital, the venture capital investment arm of U.S. technology business Intel Corp. The value of the funding was not disclosed. Update: Digital Specialty Chemicals, which was founded in 1987, said the deal's proceeds will enhance its research and development capabilities and accelerate manufacturing capacity expansion. The company has it headquarters in Toronto.
Hootsuite, a provider of software to manage social media on a global scale and one of Canada's most valuable tech startups, hinted it may move up its timeline on an IPO in light of the success of fellow startup Shopify, Reuters reported. On Thursday, Shopify's shares rose as much as 69 percent in their U.S. debut, valuing the company at about US$2.14 billion.
RtTech Software Inc, which raised its Series A financing in February, has received this year's BDC Innovation Award at the 2015 annual conference of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA). The award recognizes an early-stage company that has shown an ability to bring innovation to market and to help reshape a sector in new ways. RtTech Software, a developer of software apps that provide operational intelligence for industrial facilities, has its headquarters in Moncton, New Brunswick. It is backed by Canadian venture capital firm McRock Capital, which led its Series A round, and New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.
Canadian e-commerce software maker Shopify Inc said its U.S. initial public offering was priced at US$17 per share, valuing the company at about US$1.27 billion, Reuters reported. The venture-backed startup's IPO of of 7.7 million class A subordinate shares raised about US$131 million, after it was priced above the top end of the expected range. The company sold all the shares in the offering.
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Futurpreneur Canada have named Jeff Ryzner as the winner of the 2015 BDC Mentorship Award, which provides recognition of outstanding mentorship activity that has contributed to the growth of Canadian innovative companies. Ryzner is the president of The Eureka Project, Manitoba’s technology accelerator, and a founding partner of three technology startups. He also founded the consultancy Endgame Business Strategy.
Ascenta Health Ltd, a Canadian manufacturer of natural health products, has been bought by Nature's Way, an affiliate of Germany's Dr. Willmar Schwabe Pharmaceuticals. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2003 by CEO Marc St-Onge, Ascenta Health is a developer, producer and marketer of omega-3 supplements for human and animal health. Based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, it has been a portfolio investment of Canadian venture capital firm Avrio Capital since March 2009. Avrio invested $4 million in the company.