brad meikle

A report by eSentire Inc and Private Equity International (PEI) has found that most private equity firms are "gravely unprepared" to fend off cyber threats. Based on a PEI survey of close to 100 firms, the report found that over 70 percent of investors believe cybersecurity is a high risk, but only 23 percent have a fully operational and compliant cybersecurity program. Many private equity firms also lack relevant in-house expertise. Cambridge, Ontario-based eSentire is a threat detection platform. It is backed by Georgian Partners, Edison Ventures, Cisco Investments and other investors.

Toronto-based native advertising company StackAdapt has secured $1 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Plaza Ventures, and builds on StackAdapt's seed round of September 2014. As a result, Rob Richards, managing partner at Plaza, has joined the company's board of directors. Founded in 2013, StackAdapt provides brands and agencies a single access point for the supply of native advertising, both via in-feed ads and content recommendation widgets. To date, clients have launched over 1,500 campaigns on its platform. The company plans to use the new funds to scale the platform and add to its team.

Pelorus Venture Capital, manager of Venture Newfoundland and Labrador, has invested $750,000 of fund capital in three companies. They include Sentinel Alert, a safety software provider, which raised $525,000 in total seed funding. Pelorus also backed Clockwork Fox Studios, a developer of educational games and technologies, and HeyOrca, a provider of social media content planning and approval solutions. All three companies are based in St. John’s. Venture Newfoundland and Labrador was launched in late 2014 to invest in local entrepreneurs and startups.

Kensington Venture Fund, a venture fund of funds managed Canadian alternative assets firm Kensington Capital Partners, has made a commitment to the eleventh fund of Sierra Ventures, a San Mateo, Calif.-based venture capital firm. Sierra Ventures Fund XI recently closed at an oversubscribed US$170 million. Like its predecessors, Fund XI will invest in early-stage companies targeting enterprise and consumer technology markets. In mid-2015, the Kensington fund raised $237 million of its $300 million target in a third close.

Juniper Networks Inc (NYSE: JNPR) has agreed to acquire BTI Systems Inc, an Ottawa-based provider of cloud and metro networking services. No financial terms were released about the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Juniper, a networking equipment maker, said the acquisition will allow it to accelerate the delivery of open and automated packet optical transport solutions. Founded in 2000, BTI Systems has raised nearly US$122 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. Its investors include Bain Capital Ventures, BDC Capital, Covington Capital, Difference Capital Financial, Kodiak Venture Partners and Wellington Financial.

Canadian mobile games company icejam Games Inc has secured $3 million in seed-stage financing. The deal, which brings icejam's total funding to $3.5 million, saw an investment from Canadian venture capital firm Build Ventures. As a result, Build Ventures GP Patrick Keefe has joined the company's board of directors. Icejam’s technology integrates real-time, real-world data streams into the mobile game to enhance gameplay. It plans to use the new funds to build out platform capabilities and prepare for market introduction. Charlottetown, P.E.I.-based icejam was founded in 2014 by CEO Stuart Duncan.

EnerTech Capital, a venture capital firm with offices across Canada, has been named "Financial Investor of the Year" as part of the 2015 Global Cleantech 100 program. The award, which was accepted by EnerTech Managing Director Wally Hunter, is extended to investors with the highest share of Global Cleantech 100 companies in a given year's list. EnerTech is currently investing from its fourth energy and power venture fund, which raised $120 million in 2013. The Global Cleantech 100 program is produced by San Francisco-based Cleantech Group.

Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund (NVCF) has made $30 million in commitments to two Canadian venture capital funds: iNovia Investment Fund 2015, which held a $175 million final close this month, and Information Venture Partners II, which held a $72.5 million initial close. NVCF was the lead investor in both funds. A venture fund of funds managed by Northleaf Capital Partners, NVCF closed at its hard cap target of $300 million in mid-2015. To date it has deployed more than 75 percent of its capital. NVCF is managed by Northleaf Director Ian Carew.

ProctorFree, an automated, online test proctoring service, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Real Ventures, which last year closed its third early-stage fund at $89 million. It was joined by Task Force X Capital and a number of individual investors. With the financing,  Mark McDowell, a special limited partner at Real Ventures, will serve on the company's board of directors. Huntersville, North Carolina-based ProctorFree said it plans to use the funds to maintain and enhance its technology, accelerate sales and marketing, and add key new hires to meet market demands. The company was founded in 2012.