Amplify Capital adds Craig Hunter as partner while raising its third impact-focused fund

Serial tech executive Craig Hunter has joined Toronto-based Amplify Capital as a partner in a venture capital firm “on track” to closing its third impact-focused fund.

Hunter will add the new role to his long résumé in tech. He had a role at Uber in its early days, served as the CEO of Toronto-based coding bootcamp Bitmaker (later acquired by General Assembly), worked as the general manager of food service app Ritual, and has been a prolific angel investor.

“Craig is a proven operator, former founder and can add value to Amplify day 1.”
Kathryn Wortsman
Amplify Capital

Hunter joins the team following the departure of partner Daniel Armali. Armali resigned earlier this year for personal reasons and transitioned out of his role in March, Managing partner Kathryn Wortsman told BetaKit in an email statement.

After “a lot of honest reflection” on what he wanted to do next, Hunter explained in a LinkedIn post this week that he realized “the world doesn’t need more AI SaaS widgets, blockchain beanie babies, or another ‘Uber for X.’”

“What it is missing is founders solving tangible problems that impact us all [like] energy storage, material innovation, patient care, and quality education,” Hunter wrote. “Those are the kinds of problems that make me proud of past angel bets [and] that’s exactly where Amplify focuses.”

Founded in 2016 as the MaRS Catalyst Fund, Amplify rebranded and spun out of innovation hub MaRS Discovery District in 2019 to back early-stage Canadian healthtech, edtech, and cleantech startups at the seed and Series A stages.

Amplify closed $30.7 million CAD for its second impact investment fund in 2022 backed by limited partners including the Royal Bank of Canada and Fondaction. Wortsman noted that Amplify secured additional undisclosed funding at a later date, which brought Fund II up to a final close of $36 million. Through Fund II, Amplify looked to lead, co-lead, and participate in funding rounds for startups with initial cheques of between $500,000 and $1 million at the seed and Series A stages.

Fund III is now set to “multiply” Amplify’s impact, Hunter said in the post, now looking to lead, co-lead, or follow into pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds across North America with cheques ranging from $1 million to $3 million.

“I’m excited to lend my hard-earned operator scars, my network, and my empathy for founders in order to help our companies convert hard science into massive successes,” Hunter said.

Wortsman told BetaKit in an email statement that the addition of Hunter “perfectly” complements the Amplify team by adding “direct and successful” experience in startups, scaling, go-to-market strategy, and hiring.

“As the Venture business evolves, and reviewing the value chain in the Amplify Capital venture model, we were looking to add high quality operational and founder experience,” Wortsman said. “Craig is a proven operator, former founder and can add value to Amplify day 1.”

She added that Amplify Fund III is “on track,” with RBC and Fondaction returning to co-anchor the fund. Wortsman declined to disclose the fund’s exact target, but said it’s about 70 percent of the way there, having already closed on funds “substantially larger” than Fund II. Worrtsman expects 50 percent of the fund to be allocated to be climate tech startups, with the majority of investments occurring in Canada.

Amplify Fund III received capital from the federal government’s Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) inclusive growth stream in July 2024, and was also backed by Toronto-based fund-of-funds Realize Capital Partners as part of the federal government’s Social Finance Fund (SFF). Wortsman said the fund has already deployed capital to five startups, including Reusables, Lyteflo, CerulaCare, Kento Health, and Planetary.

Feature image provided by Amplify Capital.