Montreal-based iNovia Capital has invested in a number of reputable startup over the years, namely LightSpeed, Allocadia, Vidyard and Basis. According to managing partner Chris Arsenault the company will be setting up shop in Waterloo.
“Adding feet on the ground in Waterloo is just a natural, normal evolution of building our relationships and our presence where it’s the most important,” said Arsenault in an interview with Bloomberg. “We know the talent is here… If we give an incentive for people to stay and actually build companies that matter, why can’t we just go out and do it?”
Communitech Hub is the best known startup incubator in the region and has seen Thalmic Labs, Kik Interactive, and Desire2Learn all reach global recognition. iNovia Capital has 42 companies in its portfolio and operates a $300 million fund. The company is familiar with the Waterloo area as they were one of the companies to invest in BufferBox, which was eventually sold to Google.