Today in Funding: TouchBistro, Ayogo, McRock INFund + HarbourVest VCAP

TouchBistro

Funds are raising funds and April is the month of Series A rounds. Here’s the latest on who raised how much, from whom.
 
 

TouchBistro raises $6 million Series A

TouchBistro announced this week the close of a $6 million Series A round of funding led by Kensington Capital Partners, Relay Ventures, and Difference Capital. Following last year’s extended seed round, the new investment brings TouchBistro’s total funding to $12 million.

The round is also notable because it features a strategic investment in the Toronto-based company by UK-based JUST EAT. The investment will allow the respective companies to better their integrate online orders and restaurant PoS systems.

“We will take TouchBistro’s global expansion to an entirely new level with this latest round of funding,” said Alex Barrotti, CEO of TouchBistro. “We are delighted to have the continued support of our previous investors for our latest round, and are particularly excited to have JUST EAT involved as a new strategic investor. We believe that TouchBistro and JUST EAT individually provide restaurants with great services, but that an integrated solution makes for a much better customer experience.”

In addition to the funding news, TouchBistro also announced that it is now transacting over $1 billion annually through its mobile PoS solution.

Ayogo Health raises $2.5 million Series A

Vancouver-based Ayogo Health has announced a $2.5 million Series A round from a syndicate of investors that includes Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (GHI), Excel Venture Management, and 7Wire Ventures. In addition to the investment, David Stevenson of GHI, Caleb Winder of Excel, and Lee Shapiro of 7Wire will join Ayogo’s board of directors.

“The traditional Healthcare Industry is being fundamentally transformed before our eyes, by new technology, new marketplaces, and new ideas about what health means in people’s lives – and that process is accelerating,” said Lee Shapiro, Managing Partner of 7Wire Ventures. “We’re very excited to partner with the team at Ayogo as they continue to empower consumers to change the way they think about and manage their health.”

Ayogo’s Empower platform uses game mechanics and social patterning effects to help healthcare consumers integrate care plans into their daily life. The company indicated it will use the new funding to expand its research and development.

Alberta Enterprise and Kensington Invest in McRock INFund LP

Toronto-based McRock Capital has announced an additional close for its industrial Internet of Things (IoT) focused iNFund LP. McRock had previously announced an investment in the fund by Cisco Investments, Teralys Capital Innovation LP, and BDC Capital. Previously capped at $65 million, this new investment by Alberta Enterprise Corporation and Kensington Venture Fund has exceeded INFund’s fundraising target. Alberta Enterprise has announced a $10 million investment in the fund, while Kensington’s investment remains undisclosed.

“McRock is exactly the kind of venture fund investment we are looking for in the Kensington Venture Fund,” said Rick Nathan, Kensington Managing Director, “with a very experienced investment team specialized in an important and fast growing segment of the market. We see tremendous opportunities in grid automation, digital oilfield and other energy and industrial technologies where we can now look forward to investing with the McRock team.”

The McRock iNFund is dedicated to IoT solutions in large industrial markets, what it terms the Industrial Internet of Things. McRock iNFund has committed to investment across Canada and the U.S., and expects a final fund close later this year.

Knight Therapeutics invests $10M in HarbourVest VCAP Fund

Montreal-based, Knight Therapeutics, a Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that it has committed $10 million to the HarbourVest Canada Growth Fund, a part of the Government of Canada’s Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP).

“We harbour the belief that our ongoing fund investment strategy will continue to pay dividends in the form of both an LP return and, more importantly, relationships with key life science companies in order to secure Canadian product rights for Knight,” said Jonathan Ross Goodman, President and CEO of Knight. “In essence, we are being paid as an LP while we build our pipeline of innovative pharmaceuticals. We have now committed approximately $120 million of the $130 million we intend to invest into this strategy.”

HarbourVest Fund is managed by an affiliate of HarbourVest Partners, an independent private markets specialist.

Douglas Soltys

Douglas Soltys

Douglas Soltys is the Editor-in-Chief of BetaKit and founder of BetaKit Incorporated. He has worked for a few failed companies and written about many more. He spends too much time on the Internet.

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