GTMfund has closed $54 million USD for its second operator-led venture capital (VC) fund, surpassing its initial $50-million target.
Headquartered in Vancouver with an office in Scottsdale, Ariz.âwhere founder and general partner Max Altschuler is basedâGTMfund invests in early-stage business-to-business (B2B) software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies on both sides of the border. GTMfund invests globally, with a focus on startups in the United States (US) and Canada.
GTMfund has already deployed more than twice as much capital in Canada through Fund II as it did via Fund I.
With Fund II, GTMfund founding partner Scott Barker told BetaKit that the VC firm plans to deploy more capital into Canadian companies and grow its office in Canada. Barker noted that GTMfund has deployed half of Fund II to date and already invested over twice the dollars in Canada as it did through its first fund.
GTMfundâs limited partners (LPs) include folks who either have worked at, or currently work at, successfully scaled software companies. This group consists largely of go-to-market (GTM) experts in marketing and sales (hence the VC firmâs name), which GTMfund leans on to help its portfolio startups navigate GTM challenges and source potential deals.
âFounders need value-add beyond capital because technology moats have become obsolete; the best product doesnât win,â Barker said. âAbove everything, founders need help with go-to-market. Itâs the make-or-break and difference between winners and those who tried.â
A technology or technical moat refers to the level of complexity required to develop a productâthe greater the moat, the more distinct and difficult to copy the product. Barker argued that artificial intelligence has eroded technical moats, leaving GTM âas one of the last true moats.â
At a smaller scale, Toronto-based Gambit Partners is taking a similar operator-led approach to investing in early-stage tech startups.
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GTMfund launched its first fund in 2021, for which it closed $22 million from approximately 250 operator LPs. For Fund II, which it began raising in January 2023 and closed in October 2024, GTMfund attracted more than 300 operator LPs and its first institutional investors. This group included MontrĂ©alâs Inovia Capital and foreign firms HarbourVest Partnersâwhich deploys funding via the Government of Canadaâs Venture Capital Catalyst InitiativeâBain Capital Ventures, Foundation Capital, Franklin Park, and Nexus Bay Capital.
The VC firm plans to back about 40 startups through Fund II, with a focus on B2B SaaS companies at the pre-seed and seed stages and the occasional Series A investment, cutting cheques of between $500,000 and $1.5 million.
GTMfund has invested in six Canadian companies to date, including Québec City-based Oxio spinout Gaiia, which sells operating software to challenger internet service providers, Toronto cannabis enterprise resource planning platform GrowerIQ, and Ottawa-based e-commerce performance and error monitoring platform Noibu.
Some of GTMfundâs biggest winners so far include San Francisco-based enterprise generative artificial intelligence startup Writer and security compliance business Vanta, which have both achieved unicorn valuations.
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Three of GTMfundâs four executive team members were born and raised in Vancouver, including Barker, partner and platform director Paul Irving, and vice-president of marketing Sophie Buonassisi. GTMfund has also expanded its Canadian team for Fund II by recruiting LOI Venture senior analyst Casey Van Maanen as an associate.
Barker said GTMfund views Canada as an attractive market to invest in given its growing ecosystem of successful tech companies, the countryâs âdeep technical talent, supported by top-tier universities,â and the cost advantages it offers.
As to how current macroeconomic and geopolitical conditionsâincluding the weak Canadian dollar and the looming threat of US tariffsâmight impact the VC firmâs plans to invest in Canada, Barker noted that ânear-term volatility may influence [GTMfundâs] immediate decisions, but our focus is on long-term potential and outsized outcomes.â
Feature image courtesy GTMfund.