Torontoâs Wittington Ventures has closed its third venture capital (VC) fund, securing $180 million CAD to invest in more climate, commerce, consumer, healthcare, and food technology startups at the Series A and B stages.
The news: Wittington Ventures managing partner Jim Orlando announced the news on LinkedIn on Thursday. The fundâs limited partners include Wittington Investments (the billionaire Canadian Weston familyâs holding company, which controls Canadian grocery and pharmacy chains Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart), and other undisclosed institutions. Wittington Venturesâ third VC fund is 50 percent larger than its $120-million, 2022 predecessor, and brings the seven-year-old firmâs total assets under management to $820 million. Wittington Ventures has not yet made any investments via the fund, but it aims to back 15 companies and deploy an average of $10 million apiece.
From the source: Orlando told BetaKit in an interview that Wittingtonâs investing in areas where they have âdifferentiatedâ points of view. He said Wittington Venturesâ third VC fund will bring more of the same. âI think weâll just continue doing what weâre doing.â
The context: Launched in 2019 under Orlando, who previously led OMERS Ventures, Wittington Ventures got its start as a single, $100-million VC fund focused on commerce and healthcare, run by a small team with the capacity to lean on the broader Weston portfolio. The firm has since grown into a broader, 15-person platform that also covers pre-seed, seed, growth equity, climate, consumer, and food techâareas Wittington Ventures believes it possesses an advantage in thanks to its close relationships with the various Weston-family firms. This spans a $100-million early-stage strategy geared toward Canadian deep tech and bridging the gap between research and commercialization, $400 million across three core VC funds, and $320 million for profitable and near-profitable growth companies (including a $100-million carveout for Canadian food growers and producers.
Wittington Ventures has backed more than 25 companies to date, from Toronto-based Grey Matter Neurosciences, Odaia, and Shakudo to Vancouverâs ViewsML and US-based Gatik, some of which have also begun working with other Weston businesses.
Final thought: Orlando is proud of what Wittington Ventures has built, and expects its next seven years to look similar to its first. He wrote that the firm plans to keep focusing on providing patient capital and support to talented people tackling tough problems, with the help of its colleagues at Loblaw, Shoppers Drug Mart, Choice Properties, Holt Renfrew, Wittington Investments, and the Weston Family Foundation.
Feature image courtesy Wittington Ventures.