Montreal-based TandemLaunch, a seed investor and incubator focused on fostering early stage startups, announced the first closing of its third fund, TandemLaunch Ventures II with $12 million. The final closing is expected to occur at the end of the summer of 2016.
BDC Capital led the round with $4 million dedicated to the new fund. Over 30 private investors also joined including investment firms like Lune Rouge Innovation, Speed of Trust Ventures, as well as entrepreneurs and angel investors like members of YUL Ventures, Nathalie Marcoux and Jean-François Grenon.
BDC Capital was also the lead investor in TandemLaunch Ventures I, which closed at $9.8 million in July 2013. “We are very pleased by the continued support of BDC Capital and look forward to pursuing our collaboration in this newest fund,” said Helge Seetzen, general partner at TandemLaunch. “By bringing together the capital, network and depth of experience of an exceptional group of private investors with such an important player in the Canadian venture capital ecosystem, we now have all the resources necessary to support the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs and technologists.”
TandemLaunch scouts, accelerates, and commercializes early stage technologies by working closely with universities and consumer electronics companies across the world. It also provides companies space and resources in areas like IT, legal, and engineering services.
TandemLaunch will use the funding to foster the development of at least “a dozen” new ventures by looking at which technologies have the most promising market opportunities, attracting global talent, and contributing seed capital.
“TandemLaunch’s incubation model is unique not only in Canada but internationally,” said Charles Morand, the associate director in charge of the transaction within BDC Capital’s Fund Investments team. “It’s been effective in sourcing promising technologies from some of the world’s top research universities and turning them into actual Canadian companies. We know that getting seed funding can be a challenge. TLVII will provide much needed early-stage support to a whole new crop of Canadian startups.”
Photo courtesy TandemLaunch