McRock Capital has held an initial close of its second venture capital fund, McRock Fund II LP, with $80 million in funding to continue supporting its investments in the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) sector.
“We are at the beginning of the digital transformation in every industrial sector and urban environment around the globe.”
The $80 million brings the fund close to its targetted $100 million. Investors in Fund II include returning investor Cisco Investments, Shell and other corporate and institutional investors that have previously backed McRock including BDC Capital, Export Development Canada, Alberta Enterprise Corporation, and HarbourVest.
McRock, co-founded by Whitney Rockley and Scott MacDonald, invests exclusively in IoT companies in Canada, the US, and Europe. With the new fund, the Toronto-based firm will continue to invest in high-growth companies that “are combining next generation data analytics through artificial intelligence (AI) with the growing data from field devices, machines, and equipment in industrial and urban environments.”
“Our leadership position continues to be advanced by the caliber of the corporations and institutional investors we have attracted to McRock and Canada,” said Rockley, a managing partner at McRock. “We also credit our diversity and inclusion initiatives within our own venture capital firm, and the portfolio of companies we finance, for our strong financial performance.”
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In 2015, McRock closed its first fund, with more than $65 million, after an initial close of $50 million in 2013. “We have entered an era of profound transformation with the Industrial Internet. McRock is well positioned to unlock tremendous value in these billion dollar markets,” Rockley stated at the time.
Since its launch, McRock has invested in eight startups. Earlier this year, it backed Kitchener-based Praemo, which uses industrial IoT data to provide insights to enterprises. The VC firm led the startup’s $3.5 million Series A round. McRock’s portfolio also includes biometric security products manufacturer Invixium, smart city-focused Miovision, and Montreal-based mnubo and RtTech Software, which were both acquired by US-based software company Aspen Technology.
“We are at the beginning of the digital transformation in every industrial sector and urban environment around the globe,” said Scott MacDonald, fellow managing partner of McRock. “McRock Fund II provides us with significant investment capital and strategic corporate relationships to help build the next generation of high-growth tech companies.”