Canadian companies are reporting are announcing major rounds today. Here’s the latest on who raised how much, and from whom.
Big Viking Games raises $21.75 million
Toronto-based Big Viking Games raised $21.75 million. According to a report from VentureBeat, RBC led the round with $18 million in financing, with participation from Export Development Canada and $3.75 million from BDC Capital’s Growth and Transition division.
Big Viking plans to use the funding to continue building HTML5 games for the web that load instantaneously for its global players. The company is known for producing games like YoWorld and Fish World.
“Starting in 2012, we made the decision to make significant investments in HTML5 instant games,” said Big Viking co-founder Albert Lai. “We saw the potential of the technology and how it will define the future of mobile gaming and entertainment. Others have moved away from HTML5 due to the technical investment required, but we believe that open standards and more powerful devices will pave the way for a massive shift on mobile phones and tablets.”
Turnstone Biologics raises $41.4 million Series B
Turnstone Biologics, which develops viral immunotherapies to target and kill cancer cells, announced a $41.4 million Series B. The Ottawa-based company’s round was led by new investor OrbiMed with participation from new investor F-Prime Capital Partners and existing investors FACIT and Versant Ventures, which led Turnstone’s series A financing.
Turnstone’s platform targets tumours using a two-pronged mechanism of action, by functioning both as a tumor-destroying oncolytic agent and as an immune-stimulating vaccine directed at specific cancer antigens.
“We are taking a rapid and expansive approach to clinical development with the goals of exploiting the full potential of our platform and positioning it to most benefit patients,” said Turnstone CEO Sammy Farah. “There is reason to be excited about the heavily differentiated nature of our technology and the promising clinical results that have been generated to date.”
This financing takes place less than a year after the series A that allowed the company to progress its lead asset through the initial Phase I/II trial. The trial was meant to establish safety, maximum tolerated dose, and initial evidence of immunological activity in patients with advanced solid and metastatic tumors.
The company is using the series B will support completion of the ongoing Phase I/II trial, as well as fund three additional clinical programs that will start this year and next.
Decisive Farming raises $6 million Series A
Decisive Farming, a data management platform targeting farmers, announced a $6 million Series A in a round led by McRock Capital. Export Development Canada (EDC) participated in the round. EDC and Accelerate Fund also converted existing notes as part of the Series A financing.
Decisive Farming’s flagship product, Optimize RX, uses soil analysis and GIS mapping to help farmers efficiently seed and fertilize their crops in an effort to maximize profits.
“Our family has been in the farming industry for four generations,” said Remi Schmaltz, CEO of Decisive Farming. “When we founded the company in 2011, we understood the profound impact that agronomy, data analytics, and software has on improving profitability in the crop farming industry. The opportunity to partner with McRock, a dedicated IIoT VC fund with experience in scaling IIoT solutions, was an incredible opportunity for our shareholders.”
As part of the financing, Whitney Rockley, Co-founder of McRock Capital, will join the Decisive Farming board of directors.