brad meikle

EnerTech Capital has hired Chris Buckman as vice president. Buckman joins the firm after spending the past 14 years as a senior executive in the Canadian oil and gas industry, most recently as vice president, business development at Moore Pipe 2015 Inc. Previously, he was an executive vice president of corporate development at Ignite Energy Services Inc, and President of Ignite Frac Services Inc. Buckman will join EnerTech, an investor in energy and power sectors, in March 2016. He will lead its activities and relationship building in Western Canada. EnerTech has offices in Calgary, Toronto, Montréal and in the United States.

San Francisco-based mobile technology company Zendrive has obtained US$13.5 million in a Series A financing, bringing its total investment to US$15 million. The latest round was led by Shervin Pishevar of Sherpa Capital. Other investors included Thomvest Ventures, the US$250 million venture capital fund of Canada's Peter Thomson, as well as Nyca Partners and First Round Capital. Zendrive's technology leverages mobile sensor data to provide insights that improve safety for car passengers and drivers. It will use the new funds to grow its team and continue product development.

The United States continues to have the largest share of the world's unicorns, or startups with valuations in excess of US$1 billion, according to a report released by the USC Marshall Center for Global Innovation. The report found the United States accounted for nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of all unicorns worldwide during the past two years. Silicon Valley led regional centres with a 39 percent share. Among nations, China ranked second to the United States with a 14 percent share, followed by India (4 percent) and the United Kingdom (3 percent). Canada kept company with three other countries in accounting for 2 percent of all unicorns.

Canadian financial technology startup INSTANT Financial has raised $1.2 million in seed-stage financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Real Ventures with participation from a number of angel investors. Based in Vancouver and Montréal, INSTANT has developed a mobile app that helps workers gain immediate access to their earned pay. Its solution also helps employers reduce pay distribution costs, the company said. INSTANT was founded last year by CEO Steve Barha, CTO Kevin Falk and CRO Ryan Volberg. Real Ventures raised $89 million for its third early-stage fund last August.

Vancouver-based food concierge service Foodee has received $6 million in a Series A financing, bringing its total fundraising so far to $10.5 million. The latest round was led by Canadian venture capital firm BDC Capital. The company's other investors include Yaletown Venture Partners, Voyager Capital and Structure Capital. Foodee delivers lunches from local restaurants to the boardrooms of corporations. Founded in 2011, it reports having established over 2,600 customers and 90 restaurant partnerships in several North American cities in the past three years. Foodee plans to use the proceeds of its Series A round to fuel further expansion into markets in the United States.

Fremont, Calif.-based memory technology specialist Avalanche Technology Inc has closed a US$23 million financing. The round included investments from Thomvest Ventures, the venture capital fund of Canadian investor Peter Thomson, and Rogers Venture Partners, which is backed by Toronto-based Rogers Communications Inc. Vulcan Capital and VTB Capital also invested, while Horizon Technology Finance provided a debt facility. Avalanche said it will use the combined funds to advance commercialization and production of its spin-transfer torque magnetic random-access memory (STT-MRAM) products.

EnerTech Capital, a venture capital firm with offices across Canada, has entered into a strategic partnership with Southern California Gas Co (SoCalGas), a natural gas distribution utility affiliated with Sempra Energy. The focus of the partnership is to advance natural gas technologies with improved emissions performance and that enhance the safe and efficient operation of the natural gas system. The two organizations will share knowledge and explore innovation opportunities that have the potential for use in Southern Californian communities. EnerTech is currently investing from its fourth energy and power venture fund, which raised $120 million in 2013.

Venture capital investment in Canadian startups continued at a strong pace in 2015 with a total of $2.6 billion invested in 579 deals, according to final data released by Thomson Reuters. Led by deal-making in information technology sectors, dollars invested in Canada last year was up 11 percent from 2014, and in fact reflected the best result in the domestic market since 2002. The number of financing rounds was also the highest in ten years. Canadian investor activity in foreign markets also rose substantially in 2015. Fundraising in Canada's venture capital industry accounted for $1.2 billion in commitments in 2015, which is effectively unchanged from the year before.

Québec City-based web recruiting company Jobillico has raised $8 million in financing. The investors included Capital régional et cooperatif Desjardins (CRCD), a retail fund managed by Desjardins Capital de risque. Founded in 2007, Jobillico provides an online recruitment solution that matches employers with a pool of potential hires. At present, some 650,000 Canadian job seekers use its platform, the company said. Jobillico will use the funding to back its "westward expansion", including further growth in Ontario. The company opened a Toronto office in 2015. The funds will also support product development and strengthening of Jobillico's market position in Québec.

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) has appointed Barbara Zvan to senior vice president, strategy and risk and chief investment risk officer. In her new role, Zvan will lead Ontario Teachers' strategy and risk team in plan design decision-making and in determining benchmarks and risk appetite. She will also drive responsible investing and climate change risk management. Zvan joined Toronto-based Ontario Teachers, a $154.5 billion pension plan, in 1995.