It’s no secret that VCs are investing in AI-powered tools that automate work flows.
Thomas Terrats thinks they should use them, too.
“The future of Canada relies on the strength of our ecosystem,” he said. “We need very strong VC funds and PE funds that can also raise capital globally. And if you want to raise capital globally, you need to be 2x better than the US firms.”
To help make GPs better, he founded Montréal-based Vessel, an AI-powered fund- and investor-management platform that automates fundraising workflows, centralizes data, and delivers a customizable institutional-grade investor experience.
“If you want to raise capital globally, you need to be 2x better than the US firms.”
As fundraising tightens and expectations rise across the venture and private equity industry—leaving many fund managers having to do more with smaller teams and fewer resources—Terrats want to strengthen the systems that keep Canada’s tech economy moving and equip Canadian GPs to raise capital globally with institutions, family offices and High-Net-Worth Individuals.
“We’re in the business of helping build global investment firms,” Terrats said. “And it starts with belief and conviction in venture and private equity firms in our own backyard.”
The bank that bet early
The names who have declared their early belief in Vessel’s offering demonstrate a conviction that he’s on to something necessary.
In June, the company raised a $10.3-million CAD seed round co-led by Inovia Capital (where Terrats once worked as a limited partner) and San Francisco-based Afore Capital.
Tellingly, the investors are also among Vessel’s clients, which extend across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Afore Capital co-founder Gaurav Jain has said Vessel “10x’d our productivity.”
The company has also found believers among institutional investors.
In October, CIBC Innovation Banking provided Vessel with $1.5 million in growth capital to support the company’s expansion in North America and Europe.
CIBC Innovation Banking’s decision signalled confidence not only in Vessel as a company, but in the idea that Canada’s venture ecosystem could mature through better systems and standards.
CIBC Innovation Banking doesn’t just provide growth capital to emerging tech companies, it also finances venture capital and growth equity firms through capital call lines of credit and GP lines of credit.
Eric Laflamme, Managing Director at CIBC Innovation Banking, views Vessel as a company that is aligned closely with CIBC’s own fund-finance work.
He was first introduced to Terrats through Inovia, more than a year before the startup’s financing round, and said he immediately understood the founder’s vision.
“The project was really early,” Laflamme said. “But it was obvious that the conversation was worthwhile. There’s no grid or analysis for that—it’s a bit of a gut feeling that comes from experience in the tech space.”
Raising Canada’s game
CIBC’s combination of institutional reach and entrepreneurial culture, Terrats said, made it a natural partner to help Canadian funds shine on a global stage.
Unlike most financial institutions, CIBC’s innovation banking practice operates as a single platform across Canada, the US, and Europe, which gives the bank a rare vantage point.
For companies operating globally like Vessel, that approach is invaluable.
Terrats said CIBC has treated Vessel less as a transaction and more as a shared mission to raise the standard of professionalism in private markets. The two teams work hand in hand with Canadian GPs to structure their fundraising and investor relations practices with the same discipline that the best tech companies bring to their go-to-market.
“The future of private markets lies in marrying automation with relationships,” Terrats said. “Vessel is the AI platform that helps firms manage their capital, investors, and communications in one integrated environment—so they can focus on building relationships.”
The numbers back it up. One firm used Vessel to market to 173 potential limited partners and converted 35 percent; another saw conversion rates approach 50 percent.
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All images courtesy CIBC