Kirk Falconer

Canadian innovation hub MaRS Discovery District has appointed Jon Dogterom as senior vice president of venture services. Dogterom replaces Salim Teja, who earlier this year joined Radical Ventures as a partner and general manager. Dogterom was previously managing director of MaRS Cleantech. In the new role, he will lead MaRS' strategy of helping Canadian startups and scale-ups grow and enter new markets, and manage the organization’s stakeholder relations globally. Dogterom joined MaRS in 2010. Before then, he was director of business development at Toronto-based hydrogen systems maker Hydrogenics Corp.

Radical Ventures is adding to its bench strength with a fresh crop of hires, including a former operating executive in the value-creation platform of buyout giant KKR. The Toronto-based artificial-intelligence VC firm recently brought on Parasvil Patel as a principal. Patel joined from KKR-Capstone, where for four years he was part of a New York-based group that supports KKR’s global investment activity and portfolio companies. At Radical, Patel will help to source AI opportunities and support the growth of portfolio companies, something he is "uniquely skilled for,” Managing Partner Jordan Jacobs told PE Hub Canada.

Sensibill, a Toronto-based digital receipt management platform, has raised about $41.2 million (US$31.5 million) in its latest financing, according to a report by the Globe and Mail. The round was led by Canadian artificial-intelligence venture capital firm Radical Ventures, the report said. It was joined by Information Venture Partners and First Ascent Ventures (formerly Open Text Enterprise Apps Fund), which led 2017's $17.3 million Series A financing, as well as National Bank of Canada. Founded in 2013 by CEO Corey Gross and CTO Jamie Alexander, Sensibill provides receipt management software that can be built into mobile banking apps.

Bicameral Ventures has made an undisclosed investment in Balance, a Toronto-based financial technology startup focused on custody solutions for digital assets. The deal, the proceeds of which will be used to accelerate Balance's growth, entitles Bicameral to a board seat. Founded two years ago by CEO George Bordianu and COO Baha Nurlybayev, Balance develops solutions for securely buying, holding and trading a basket of cryptoassets. The company was part of the 2019 class of Techstars Toronto Accelerator. Based in Toronto, Bicameral invests in early-stage projects leveraging blockchain and virtualized technologies.

CTRL-labs has acquired the intellectual property for the Myo gestural armband from North, a Kitchener, Ontario-based wearable technology company. Terms weren't released for the deal, which CTRL-labs announced on Twitter. The New York-based neural interface technology developer said it will "bring these inventions back to life." North, which is said to have raised a US$40 million convertible debt financing earlier this year, recently focused on its augmented reality eyewear called Focals. In February, CTRL-labs reportedly closed a US$28 million round led by GV, Google’s venture capital arm, and joined by Amazon’s Alexa Fund, Lux Capital, Spark Capital and others.

Radical Ventures is adding to its bench strength with a fresh crop of hires, including a former operating executive in the value-creation platform of buyout giant KKR. The Toronto-based artificial-intelligence VC firm recently brought on Parasvil Patel as a principal. Patel joined from KKR-Capstone, where for four years he was part of a 70-person, New […]

Mobile Klinik has acquired Device Care, a Cambridge, Ontario-based smartphone accessories and repair chain, for an disclosed amount. Founded in 2014, Device Care provides branded and private-label accessories and repair services to customers through six locations in Ontario and Québec. Mobile Klinik, a Toronto-based smartphone and tablet repair, care, sales and services retailer, said the acquisition both complements and enhances its Canada-wide business. In May, Mobile Klinik raised $27.5 million in a Series C financing, bringing total funding to $44 million. The round included a minority investment from Canadian Business Growth Fund.

AlayaCare, a Toronto- and Montréal-based healthcare software platform, has secured a $51 million investment, $33 million of which is new equity. The investors included Inovia Capital, which led last year's $13.8 million Series B round, as well as Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Investissement Québec. Inovia Capital Growth Fund accounted for the new equity. The remaining $18 million invested purchased stock from early shareholders. Founded in 2014 by CEO Adrian Schauer, AlayaCare provides a secure, cloud-based system that helps home and community care agencies manage all aspects of their business and operations. The deal's proceeds will allow the company to scale and focus on research and development to optimize its technology.

A report by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) and BDC Capital provides new data on diversity and inclusion in Canada's private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) industries. The report, based on a survey conducted by Deloitte in early 2019, found only 12 percent of partners at PE firms and 11 percent of partners at VC firms were female. It also found that only 6 percent of partners at PE firms and 18 percent of partners at VC firms were visible minorities. In all, 59 firms participated in the survey, which is intended to establish baseline data to measure progress over time and advance best practices in the area.