There’s a new hands-off opportunity for Québec angel investors to get in on early-stage deals.
“The vision is to grow gradually over each iteration, taking inspiration from US angel groups that have scaled similar sidecars.”
Pedro Herrera
Anges Québec
Angel network Anges Québec has launched Elevia Fund, a new co-investment fund meant to allow members and external investors to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage Québec companies while leaving the due diligence to other angels.
Founded in 2007, Anges Québec consists of more than 200 Québec-based angel investors, many of them former entrepreneurs. The network is partnered with venture fund AQC Capital, which often invests alongside Anges Québec members.
Anges Québec director of investment Pedro Herrera told BetaKit that the network noticed many of its members want to deploy capital but don’t have the time to perform in-depth assessments on ventures.
“Elevia lowers the barrier to entry, allowing them to invest without any time commitment,” Herrera, who is leading the initiative alongside Geneviève Wiedmann-Harland, wrote in an email.
The fund, which will renew annually, is looking to raise $1 million to $3 million from a maximum of 60 investors, though it is expecting the first iteration to reach between $1.5 million to $2 million. This would mean a minimum investment of $25,000 per investor.
Anges Québec plans to invest in eight to 10 companies per cycle through the fund, with an average of $150,000 per project. Target startups should be tech companies based in Québec or Canada at the pre-seed or seed stage, addressing a stage-specific funding decline some experts have called “concerning.”
Seed-stage venture deals in Québec declined by more than 50 percent year-over-year in 2024, with dollars invested dropping by a sharp two-thirds, according to a report from the Canadian Venture Capital Association and Réseau Capital.
“The vision is to grow gradually over each iteration, taking inspiration from [United States] angel groups that have scaled similar sidecars to up to $5 million to $7 million annually,” Herrera said.
The fund will allow angel investors to diversify their portfolios and expand access to the “generally inaccessible” asset class of venture capital (VC), according to Anges Québec. Herrera said Elevia offers a lower financial bar for participation than traditional VC funds, and could potentially reduce the time required to make an offer.
Participating investors not already part of Anges Québec must be accredited under the Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec’s financial markets authority) by meeting certain financial criteria, such as owning assets exceeding $1,000,000 or net income of over $200,000 for the past two years.
Elevia also represents another pathway for private capital to flow into the ecosystem, which has long been reliant on public money. Private funding provided just 52 percent of the venture fundraising in Québec in 2023, according to a Réseau Capital report.
“It’s small, but it will be beneficial for the ecosystem if it helps bring more angel capital to startups,” said David Dufresne, former partner at CMD Capital.
In addition to the new angel fund, early-stage Québec startups now have another opportunity to secure VC funding. The government-assisted program Impulsion PME, an investment-matching initiative for companies raising their first round of capital, officially relaunched this week. The Investissement Québec program was quietly shuttered in the fall, but the 2025-2026 provincial budget allocated $200 million toward its relaunch.
As Canada faces challenges to venture fundraising, angel investing is on the rise nationally. A National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) report found that angel investment increased by 20 percent year-over-year to hit $137.3 million in 2024.
However, an Anges Québec progress report in November acknowledged a slowing market and noted that investors have been increasingly seeking opportunities to invest in non-Québec companies.
Anges Québec expects to close the fund this summer and begin deploying capital in September.
Feature image courtesy of Anges Québec.