Reuters News
Wealthsimple, a Toronto-based online wealth management startup, has raised $65 million (US$51 million) in funding from Power Financial Corp, as it seeks to compete in the increasingly crowded digital investment advice market, Reuters reported. The company, which is among the group of digital investment managers known as robo-advisers, last year became the first such foreign startup to enter the U.S. market and later opened in the United Kingdom. It currently manages about $1.9 billion for more than 65,000 clients in the three markets it operates in. The latest round brings the total investment of Power Financial in Wealthsimple to $165 million.
At least two Canadian forestry companies are reviewing offers by cryptocurrency miners who want to lease excess mill space in Québec, a province where electricity prices are among the lowest in North America, Reuters reported.
Resolute Forest Products and Fortress Global Enterprises said they have received interest from Canadian and foreign cryptominers, although both cautioned their talks are preliminary. A surge in demand for space to build data centres that “mine” digital currencies offers potential new revenue streams for forestry businesses looking to find uses for space in mills no longer used for production due to declining demand for certain traditional products. The threat of a crackdown in countries like China has driven miners to Canada, with the country’s largest electric utility Hydro Québec seeing its cryptocurrency sales pipeline more than triple in a month to over 100 projects.
U.S. business software developer Salesforce.com Inc will pump US$2 billion ($2.5 billion) into its Canadian business over the next five years, it said this week, the latest major U.S. technology investment across the border since early 2017, Reuters reported. Toronto is a hub for artificial intelligence research and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is visiting California this week in part to speak with U.S. technology chief executives. Canadian leaders have promoted their country’s immigration policies as an alternative to the U.S. administration’s ban on travellers from some Muslim countries and restrictions on work permits for some foreigners. “You want the best minds wherever they are,” said Mike McDerment, chief executive of FreshBooks, a Toronto company that develops accounting software.
China’s Ant Financial Services Group is planning to raise up to $5 billion in fresh equity that could value the online payments giant at more than $100 billion, sources told Reuters.
Loot Crate Inc, a monthly subscription service that sends video game and sci-fi paraphernalia to customers, has hired strategic consulting firm Dendera Advisory LLC as it seeks to raise new funds, sources told Reuters.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is pooling $200 million in a new mobility tech fund, three sources said, in the latest move by major carmakers to adapt to rapid industry change by investing in startups through their own venture capital arms.
Network security company AlgoSec has raised US$36 million from investment firm Claridge Israel to help it expand globally, Reuters reported. AlgoSec, which is headquartered in the United States with its research and development in Israel, provides a system that automates and orchestrates network security policy management. Founded in 2004, the company is led by Chairman and CEO Yuval Baron. Claridge Israel is a partnership between Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, one of the largest institutional investors in Canada, and the Bronfman family’s investment firm Claridge Inc, which is based in Montréal.
U.S. ride-hailing company Lyft Inc this week launched its service in Toronto, marking the first time it has taken its battle against the much larger Uber Technologies Inc outside of the United States, Reuters reported. Lyft presents itself as a friendlier version of Uber, which is facing investigations by governments around the world, including in Canada, over its cover up of a massive 2016 data breach. Lyft raised US$1 billion in October, in a financing round led by CapitalG, the growth investment fund of Alphabet Inc and in September hired an initial public offering advisory firm. Canadian investors in the company include Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Public Sector Pension Investment Board.
U.S. ride hailing company Lyft raised an additional US$500 million in its recent round of funding, bringing in new capital totaling US$1.5 billion, Reuters reported. The funding round was led by one of Alphabet Inc's investment funds, CapitalG, bringing Lyft's current valuation to US$11.5 billion, the company said. Fidelity Management & Research, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, AllianceBernstein, Baillie Gifford, KKR, Janus Henderson Investors and Rakuten also took part in the round. San Francisco-based Lyft is also backed by Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).
Ride-hailing company Lyft Inc said this week it would launch its service in Toronto, marking the first international expansion for the U.S.-based rival of Uber Technologies Inc, Reuters reported. "Before you know it, Lyft will be coming to you live in Toronto," the company said in a blogpost, without giving a launch date. Lyft is crossing into Canada at a time when rival Uber has opted out of operating in Québec to avoid following tough new regulations for drivers. Lyft raised US$1 billion in October, in a round led by the growth investment fund of Alphabet Inc. One of the company's investors is Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).