Montréal venture capital (VC) firm Boreal Ventures has officially launched its second seed fund after securing a $43-million CAD first close towards its $60-million target.
Boreal’s second fund will invest in capital-efficient, business-to-business (B2B) Canadian technology startups. The early-stage VC firm announced the news on Monday. It also shared that ex-Lightspeed Commerce president and chief revenue officer (CRO) JD Saint-Martin has officially stepped in as co-managing partner of Boreal, alongside founder David Charbonneau. Saint-Martin announced in December that he was leaving Lightspeed to take the new role at Boreal.
Current investors in Boreal’s second fund include returning limited partners (LPs) such as the Government of Québec through Investissement Québec, BDC Capital, Teralys Capital, and Desjardins Capital. Lightspeed founder and CEO Dax Dasilva is also an LP in Boreal Fund II.
“We’re not chasing the hot sector of the moment.”
David Charbonneau,
Boreal Ventures
Charbonneau expects half of Boreal’s investments through Fund II to be Québec-based, with the remainder deployed across Canada. The fund will target vertical software-as-a-service startups and firms developing AI, industrial tech, FinTech, digital health, and manufacturing solutions with “early product-market fit” looking to build scalable go-to-market (GTM) engines.
“We’re not chasing the hot sector of the moment,” Charbonneau told BetaKit in an email.
With Fund II, Boreal will no longer cover medtech, despite the firm’s continued interest in capital-efficient digital health. Unlike Fund I, Boreal’s second fund will not take scientific or pure research and development risks but will provide more formalized GTM support to help portfolio companies commercialize their products, something Charbonneau expects Saint-Martin to help deliver.
A tough market
Boreal was founded in 2021 in partnership with deep tech-focused incubator Centech. The VC firm’s more than $38-million first fund was initially targeted towards deep tech startups, which require “long development cycles, high burn, and patient capital waiting for a technology breakthrough,” Charbonneau said.
But Charbonneau said Boreal soon realized that its model of providing “hands-on” GTM support to portfolio companies fits better for B2B software startups with a working product and paying customers.
“Fund I helped us sharpen our conviction around what we were actually best positioned to support: B2B software companies in sectors that are essential but systematically overlooked by larger funds—industrial tech, field services, compliance, manufacturing, [and] digital health,” Charbonneau said.
RELATED: Lightspeed president JD Saint-Martin returning to VC roots at Boreal Ventures
Boreal now manages over $80 million across its two funds. This first close of Fund II comes amid especially challenging market conditions: a recent RBCx report found that 2025 was the worst year for Canadian VC fundraising since 2016. Emerging managers like Boreal have been feeling this pain acutely, Charbonneau said. Boreal began fundraising for Fund II in mid-2024 and held its first close late last month.
“What worked in our favour was a combination of things: returning LPs who had seen Fund I up close and chose to come back, a clear and honest thesis that doesn’t oversell, and JD’s arrival, which gave the fund a credibility signal that resonated with institutional investors … I think that honesty served us well and helped build trust,” Charbonneau said.
Keeping startups in Canada
Saint-Martin co-founded Chronogolf before selling it to Lightspeed and joining the company, where he worked his way up to CRO and president. He told BetaKit last year that at Boreal, he hopes to bring his GTM expertise to the VC firm’s portfolio companies and encourage nascent startups to stay in Canada.
Boreal’s portfolio companies currently include Montréal startups like gym management software provider FLiiP, employee background check tech firm Trustii, and nicotine addiction treatment company Ditch Labs, and Québec City’s Femtum, which is building lasers for semiconductor manufacturers, among others.
While it remains early to assess the performance of its first fund, Charbonneau said, “What we can say is that the portfolio is healthy, companies are growing, and we haven’t had any material write-offs.”
Through Fund II, Boreal aims to back 15 companies. The VC firm’s preference is to lead rounds, help set terms, and build the syndicate, occasionally co-leading or participating. Charbonneau expects Boreal to deploy 90 percent of Fund II at the seed stage with initial cheques of $1.5 million to $3 million and the remainder allocated towards select pre-seed startups.
Feature image courtesy Boreal Ventures.