Toronto-based Radical Ventures has closed a $650 million USD ($907 million CAD) fund to invest in early-stage artificial intelligence (AI) companies.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has now invested $280 million USD across various Radical funds since 2019.
First reported by The Globe and Mail and confirmed by BetaKit, the fund is backed by a $75-million USD contribution from The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which has now invested $280 million USD across various Radical funds since 2019.
Radical partner Aaron Brindle told BetaKit that the firm is not permitted to share details of its other limited partners (LPs). “Suffice to say they are large institutional investors, pension funds, and endowments,” Brindle said.
Radical launched its third early-stage AI fund in 2023 with a $550 million USD target close. At the time, Brindle told BetaKit that a “significant majority” of the fund was already closed, but he did not share a specific dollar amount. The Financial Times reported that the family office of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt backed the fund.
Brindle said this new, $650 million fund, its fourth in the early-stage category, is replacing the 2023 fund and that the new fund will begin investment “Imminently.” This fund represents Radical’s sixth fund overall and follows last year’s growth fund.
RELATED: Radical Ventures launches $800-million USD AI growth fund
Founded in 2017, Radical invests primarily in companies that leverage AI, backing Canadian startups as well as businesses based abroad. The firm is led by co-founder and managing partner Jordan Jacobs, the co-founder of AI research hub Vector Institute and AI startup Layer 6, which was acquired by TD in 2018. Radical has offices in London and San Francisco, where Richa Mehta became its newest partner in November.
Radical’s portfolio includes many of Canada’s buzziest AI startups, including Toronto-based large-language model developer Cohere, autonomous driving company Waabi, and quantum computing firm Xanadu.
The firm launched its fifth and largest fund to date in August 2024: an $800-million USD growth fund focusing exclusively on growth-stage AI startups. Some of Radical’s limited partners include TD, Wittington Investments, and AI leaders like Geoffrey Hinton and Fei-Fei Li.
Feature image courtesy Radical Ventures.