Montreal mayor Denis Coderre and Martin Coiteux, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy and Minister responsible for the Montréal region, officially announced the creation of Capital Intelligent Mtl, a group of 23 venture capital firms, financial institutions, and corporations.
The 23 members have made $100 million in private capital available for businesses that are building smart cities. Since releasing its Smart and Digital City Action Plan 2015-2017, the City of Montreal has taken steps to facilitate its growth as a smart city including a two-year partnership with Waze.
“What a great opportunity for entrepreneurs from here and elsewhere: venture capital funds coming together to stimulate the growth of innovative projects,” said Jacques Bernier, President of Teralys Capital and founding member of Capital Intelligent Mtl. “The signal we’re sending to entrepreneurs and investors is clear: we’re ready to do business to encourage the development of the smart city.”
The city of Montréal offered financial support of $400,000 for the administration of Capital Intelligent Mtl through to 2018, $300,000 of which comes from Québec government funding granted within the framework of Entente Montréal 2025, administered by the Secrétariat à la région métropolitaine du ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Occupation du territoire.
“The vision and the leadership of the city of Montréal and of the venture capital industry takes shape today in the form of Capital Intelligent Mtl,” said Coderre. “The message to entrepreneurs is clear: there’s a future in smart cities. I strongly encourage businesses to step up and become international smart city leaders.”
The full list of members includes:
Extraordinary member:
Québecor
Major members:
Le Fonds de solidarité FTQ
Fondaction CSN
Members:
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
BDC Capital
Desjardins Entreprises
Teralys Capital
Venture Capital Members:
iNovia Capital
Emerillion Capital
Cycle Capital Management
EnerTech Capital
McRock Capital
Interaction Ventures
Tandem Expansion Fund
Novacap
Real Ventures
Anges Québec
White Star Capital
Rho Ventures
OpenText Enterprise Apps Fund
Bank and Clients
Georgian Partners
Claridge
Photo credit Ville de Montreal