This week, government funding came through for many Canadian startups. Here’s the latest on who raised how much, and from whom.
Sequence Bio snags $300k from Venture Newfoundland and Labrador
Venture Newfoundland and Labrador, a fund launched last year by the provincial government, recently completed its debut deal with a $300,00o investment in Sequence Bio.
Sequence Bio, a St.John’s-based health information and technology data and analytics startup, will use the funding to continue its mission to use data-driven innovation to improve patient care.
“Sequence Bio is a Newfoundland and Labrador company that is aiming to be a global leader in the emerging paradigm of precision medicine,” said Tyler Wish, founder and CEO of Sequence Bio. “The recent financing led by Venture Newfoundland and Labrador accelerates our company’s vision to improve patient care by enabling data-driven innovation in the field of precision medicine.”
icejam games secures $707k from ACOA, PEI government
icejam games inc., a mobile gaming company launched last year that focuses on using playable data, has received $707,000 in funding from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Prince Edward Island Island Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
The funding will assist icejam, which is based in Charlottetown, with marketing, equipment, and development of its playable data platform, which is focused on enabling free-to-play mobile gaming. Stuart Duncan, the CEO of icejam, founded the company after his company, Bight Games, was acquired by EA Mobile in 2011.
“Based on the capabilities of our new platform and the nearly limitless potential of playable data, our vision for free-to-play (F2P) mobile games is suddenly much larger and far-reaching,” said Stuart Duncan, CEO and Founder of icejam. “With playable data, we can now create games that constantly evolve based on real world events: from the personal and hyperlocal, to the global and trending. We now have the opportunity to impact the F2P market in a transformative way, and we are really excited at that potential.”
York Angel Investors invests $4 million in Dapasoft
Healthcare information technology will get a strong boost in the industry as Dapasoft, a Toronto-based IT consulting group with a focus in this sector, receives $4 million from York Angel Investors.
This funding will not only support Dapasoft’s growth and expansion plans, but it also represents York Angel Investors’ largest deal ever.
“Dapasoft has a healthcare integration product that is currently being used by over 200 hospitals and major healthcare organizations, and we’re currently developing a Cloud based version that will be released by the end of this year,” said Stephen Chan, Dapasoft’s CEO. Chan also said that Dapasoft will expand into the United States and global markets in 2016.
Buyatab completes funding round for expansion
The Vancouver-based Buyatab, a provider of digital gift card infrastructure solutions for medium and large-sized businesses, raised an undisclosed amount from unidentified investors in an expansion funding round.
The company will use the proceeds of this unknown funding to accelerate the sales and marketing of its e-gift card platform in the United States and to advance its operations in international markets.
Kensington Venture Fund raises $237 million in third close
Kensington Venture Fund, a venture fund-of-funds managed by Canadian alternative assets investor Kensington Venture Partners, has increased its total capital to $237 million in a third close. The Fund’s third closing includes new commitments from institutional, family office and individual investors.
Launched last November, with the backing of Ottawa’s Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP), the Fund has so far completed commitments to seven Canadian venture capital funds and direct investments in four Canadian startups.
The Kensington Venture Fund invests in promising VC funds and technology companies in the IT, telecommunications, energy, cleantech, and digital media sectors. The fund remains open to new accredited and institutional investors until it reaches its maximum size of $300 million.
Vistara Capital Partners closes technology growth fund at $100 million
Vistara Capital Partners, a newly-formed Canadian growth investor in technology companies, has closed its inaugural fund and raised its target of $100 million in its final close.
A total of 45 limited partners, reflecting high net-worth investors, family offices and private charitable foundations, committed capital to the fund, which is based in Vancouver and founded by managing partners Fabio Banducci and Randy Garg. The firm plans to offer debt, equity and quasi-equity financing to established companies in North American technology and technology-enabled services sectors. The funding was raised in just four months.
“We fill the financing gap between where banks leave off for higher-growth technology companies, and where traditional venture capital, private equity or the public equity markets typically look to play,” said Banducci. “With creative and flexible debt-oriented solutions, we can support the growth-capital needs of companies with far less dilution than equity-only financings, or in some cases, help companies avoid selling too early when growth capital simply isn’t available to them.”