Q1 2021 CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW
VC Investment in Q1 2021 closes at $2.7B – The Highest Q1 on Record ABOUT CVCA
OUR VISION A thriving Canadian economy driven by private capital
OUR MISSION CVCA’s mission is to help our members fuel the economy of the future by growing the businesses of today. We do this by supporting and connecting a vibrant private capital industry with advocacy, research, and education.
CVCA is also the nation’s ultimate resource for data on Canadian private capital investments. Contents
ABOUT CVCA...... 1 MESSAGE FROM THE CEO...... 4 Q1 2021 HIGHLIGHTS...... 5 VENTURE CAPITAL HEAT MAP...... 6 VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT ACTIVITY...... 8-9 ACTIVITY QUARTER OVER QUARTER...... 8 ACTIVITY BY DEAL SIZE...... 9
TOP 10 DISCLOSED CANADIAN VC DEALS...... 10 TOP 10 CANADIAN CITIES/ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRES...... 11 VC SECTOR BREAKDOWN...... 12 VC STAGE BREAKDOWN...... 14 VENTURE DEBT HEAT MAP...... 15 VC EXITS...... 16 TOP DISCLOSED VC EXITS...... 17 MOST ACTIVE VC FIRMS & FUNDS...... 18
FOREIGN VCS IN CANADA...... 20 THE NARWHAL LIST: TOP 25 COMPANIES ...... 22 PARTICIPATING DATA CONTRIBUTORS...... 24 CVCA METHODOLOGY...... 26 MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
Dollars flowing to Canadian start-ups, large rounds being deployed to grow our companies, unicorns emerging on a regular basis, IPO and M&A exits at solid valuation and the announcement of a third federal VC program to sustain the growth of Canadian venture capital are the elements required to propel our innovative ecosystem. The first two federal programs, the Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP) and Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI), were instrumental in the results we are seeing in Q1 today. While Canada’s fundraising environment is still emerging, the third program positions us to capitalize on the solid foundation that VCAP and VCCI have established for our innovation economy.
It is a great privilege to be the source of the most accurate private capital data for the Canadian market. As the voice of Canadian private capital, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) began collecting Canadian venture capital and private equity industry data in 2013. Our quarterly reporting summarizes the results of quarterly surveys and presents the data in a historical context.
Q1 2021 was the strongest quarter on record with CAD $2.7B invested which was propelled by late-stage deals with an increase in investments in Canada’s best-performing companies. VCs are willing to stay the course across all stages of the startup life cycle. This rise of growth is contributing to the current IPO rage which is expected to continue throughout 2021. It’s an exciting time for Canada’s innovation sector and a testament to the role VCs play in our economy.
For a deeper look into the performance of Q1 as well as the trends uncovered in 2020, the Canadian private capital industry will be gathering for CVCA’s Invest Canada ’21 on June 8 and 9. This year, there are several expert-led panels dedicated to exploring current themes including behind the IPO boom, the increase in SPACs, and industry and investment perspectives featuring Kewsong Lee, CEO, The Carlyle Group. For more information, visit the Invest Canada website.
Access to high-quality data, analysis, and tools are central to our members’ and the industry’s ability to operate in the dynamic private capital environment. We invite interested private capital organizations to join us in our efforts. If you would like to have your firm included in future reports, please click here.
KIM FURLONG CEO CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL & PRIVATE EQUITY ASSOCIATION Q1 2021 HIGHLIGHTS
Q1 2021 was the strongest quarter Early stage (Series A and B) saw a on record for VC investment 115% YoY increase in investment With $2.7B invested over 178 deals in the first value with the same number of three months, Canadian VC activity is off to a deals strong start in 2021. Toronto-based biotech company Notch Therapeutics was the largest early stage deal, raising $108M led by Lumira Ventures. 16 Mega-deals (+50M) this quarter comprised more than two-thirds of all investments at $1.8B total The largest exit in Q1 was St. Year-over-year comparison demonstrates John’s-based fintech company recovery in investment activity after a pandemic Verafin, acquired by Nasdaq for year; there were no mega deals in Q1 last year. $3.5B This marks Verafin as the 2nd largest exit on record after Abcellera, and the largest exit Later stage investments received led by Canadian VCs including IVP, Northleaf half of all VC funding in this Capital, BDC Capital & Teralys Capital. quarter with the largest average deal size on record, as more companies prepare to go public Montreal-based Dialogue Health With YoY increase of 277% in dollars invested Technologies listed on the TSX for and 71% in deal count, the rise in late stage $779M investment signals the evolving maturation of The e-health company followed 2020’s trend of the ecosystem. Canadian life sciences companies going public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Q1 2021 HIGHLIGHTS | 5 Q1 2021 VENTURE CAPITAL HEAT MAP
Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec had the highest investment activities, accounting for nearly 90% of the investment in this quarter, with Ontario leading with $1.2B or 44% of total dollars invested in 2020. Toronto accounted for $920M and 41 of those deals. BC saw 23% of all dollars, and Quebec received 20% of total dollars invested. 29 The Information, Communications & Technology 19 2 $2M (ICT) sector received more than 54% of the Newfoundland investment in the first quarter of this year, with $1.4B 4 39 and Labrador invested across 103 deals. Life Sciences received 3 12% of the investment with $324M across 24 deals, and Cleantech received about 10%, with $261M 8 across 9 deals. 67 7 $709M British $218M $11M $19M Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan $44M $14M Nova Scotia Manitoba New Brunswick $1185M $ 468M Ontario Québec
TOP SECTORS PER PROVINCE BRITISH COLUMBIA ALBERTA SASKATCHEWAN MANITOBA
BY NUMBER OF DEALS ICT ICT ICT ICT 16 8 3 3 LIFE SCIENCES OTHERS OTHERS 5 5 1
6 OTHERS LIFE SCIENCES 4 4 CVCA | CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW | Q1 2021
$2.7 BILLION total invested into 178 DEALS
29 19 2 $2M Newfoundland 4 39 and Labrador 3
67 8 7 $709M British $218M $11M $19M Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan $44M $14M Nova Scotia Manitoba New Brunswick $1185M $ 468M Ontario Québec
NEWFOUNDLAND MANITOBA ONTARIO QUÉBEC NEW BRUNSWICK NOVA SCOTIA AND LABRADOR
ICT ICT ICT OTHERS LIFE SCIENCES ICT 3 41 23 4 3 2 OTHERS LIFE SCIENCES ICT ICT 13 5 3 2 LIFE SCIENCES OTHERS AGRIBUSINESS OTHERS 8 4 1 1 VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT ACTIVITY
ACTIVITY QUARTER-OVER-QUARTER
Canadian VC investment activity is off to a strong start in 2021, with $2.7B invested over 178 deals in the first quarter of this year, making it the strongest quarter on record, more than 2x the amount QoQ (up 161%) and nearly 3x the amount invested during Q1 last year.
$ Millions Invested # Deals
$2,750 220
$2,500 200
$2,250 178 180 163 $2,000 151 160 143 139 $1,750 128 129 140 120 118 $1,500 111 130 128 127 120 116 119 108 100 $1,250 104 $1,000 80
$750 60
$500 40
$250 20 1,268 897 1,350 2,414 1,506 916 592 864 1,055 629 1,070 710 847 985 1,695 2669 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $1,114 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $0 0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 TOTAL: TOTAL: TOTAL: TOTAL: TOTAL: 453 DEALS 508 DEALS 560 DEALS 513 DEALS 178 DEALS $3.6B $3.7B $6.2B $4.5B $2.7B
8 | VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT ACTIVITY QUARTER-OVER-QUARTER CVCA | CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW | Q1 2021 VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT ACTIVITY
ACTIVITY BY DEAL SIZE
There were 16 megadeals ($50M+) in Q1 2021, accounting for 67% of total dollars invested in the quarter. The average deal size was $15M. Over 57% of the 178 deals were less than $5M, with most of these deals ranging between $1M-5M.
Total Deals $ Millions < $100K 4 $1
$100K - $500K 15 $4
$500K - $1M 15 $10
$1M - $5M 57 $137
$5M - $20M 52 $509
$20M - $50M 9 $226
$50M + 16 $1,782
43% OF deal flow was above $5m
VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT ACTIVITY BY DEAL SIZE | 9 TOP 10 DISCLOSED CANADIAN VC DEALS
COMPANY PROVINCE DISCLOSED VC FIRM(S) SECTOR STAGE $ MIL NAME
FRACTION BRITISH IMPRESSION VENTURES, PANACHE VENTURES, LATER FINANCIAL $289 TECHNOLOGIES COLUMBIA PRIMETIME PARTNERS, GLOBAL FOUNDERS CAPITAL STAGE
LATER HOPPER QUÉBEC INOVIA CAPITAL ICT $215 STAGE
TOP HAT ONTARIO GEORGIAN ICT GROWTH $163
LATER ILOBBY ONTARIO INSIGHT PARTNERS ICT $127 STAGE
LATER CLEARBANC ONTARIO HARBOURVEST PARTNERS, OAK CAPITAL ICT $126 STAGE
EXPORT DEVELOPMENT CANADA, FORT CAPITAL PARTNERS, OGCI CLIMATE INVESTMENTS, BDC BRITISH LATER SVANTE CLEANTECH PRACTICE, CHEVRON TECHNOLOGY CLEANTECH $125 COLUMBIA STAGE VENTURES, THE RODA GROUP, CHRYSALIX VENTURE CAPITAL, TEMASEK, STRATEGIC CORPORATE INVESTORS
INOVIA CAPITAL, LION CAPITAL, ACREW DCF, THAYER SNAP LATER ONTARIO VENTURES, FULL IN PARTNERS, TELSTRA VENTURES, BEE ICT $108 COMMERCE STAGE PARTNERS
LUMIRA VENTURES, ALLOGENE THERAPEUTICS, CCRM NOTCH LIFE EARLY ONTARIO ENTERPRISES HOLDINGS, ECOR1 CAPITAL, CASDIN $108 THERAPEUTICS SCIENCES STAGE CAPITAL, SAMSARA BIOCAPITAL, AMPLITUDE VENTURES
KOHO LATER ONTARIO PORTAG3 VENTURES, DRIVE CAPITAL, TTV CAPITAL FINANCIAL $70 FINANCIAL STAGE
CORVISTA AMBIX LIFE SCIENCE FUND I L.P. MEDVENTURE LIFE LATER ONTARIO $65 HEALTH PARTNERS INC. SCIENCES STAGE
10 | TOP 10 DISCLOSED CANADIAN VC DEALS CVCA | CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW | Q1 2021 TOP 10 CANADIAN CITIES/ ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRES Total Deals $ Millions
1. Toronto 41 $920
2. Montréal 26 $322
3. Vancouver 17 $203
4. Calgary 15 $206
5. Halifax 7 $19
6. Ottawa 4 $9
7. Edmonton 3 $12
8. Fredericton 3 $10
9. Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge 2 $4
10. St. John’s, NL 2 $2
#1 TORONTO
$920M 7 10 3 41 DEALS 4 2 8 5 6 9 1
TOP 10 CANADIAN CITIES/ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRES | 11 VC SECTOR BREAKDOWN
Cleantech investment value experienced the strongest year-over-year growth across all sectors, already surpassing the previous year by 158% in the first three months of 2021 with $261M invested across 9 deals.
Investment in the ICT sector is also off to a strong start in Q1, with $1.4B invested across 103 deals, it is on pace to surpass last year’s total of $2.5B on an annualized basis by 117% should this trend continue for the rest of the year.
Life Sciences continues to see high levels of investment following 2020’s trend - a record-setting year given the COVID-19 pandemic. With $324M across 24 deals in Q1, investment in this sector is on track to match last year’s record-levels in both deal count and dollars invested.
During the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the Life Sciences sector received record-high levels of VC investment, while ICT also saw the 2nd highest level of investment on record as VC dollars flowed towards companies that focused on e-health, biotechnology, and tech companies that enabled working safely from home during the global pandemic. 2021 is expected to see a continuation of these trends. As the Canadian economy recovers from the global health crisis, the Cleantech sector is expected to reemerge as another area of focus for VC investments to support the global transition to a greener economy.
$ Millions Invested # Deals 4,028 $4,000 $ 480 $3,300 440 $3,000 400 $2,700 360 2,469 2,428 2,259 $ $
$2,400 $ 316 320 288 269 $2,100 300 280 $1,800 240
$1,500 1,340 200 $ 1,158 1,051 $1,200 $ 160 $ 119 646 $900 672 120 $ $ 324
103 414 278 400
185 80 $600 158 80 92 95 $ 89 94 101 $ 49 $ $ 261 $ $ $ $ $ $ $300 28 49 27 $ 22 29 29 40 22 9 19 9 $0 24 0 2017 2018 2019 2020 Q1 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 Q1 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 Q1 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 Q1 2021
ICT LIFE SCIENCES CLEANTECH AGRIBUSINESS
12 | VC SECTOR BREAKDOWN CVCA | CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW | Q1 2021 VC STAGE BREAKDOWN
Later stage investments received half of all the VC funding in this quarter with $1.3B over 24 deals, an increase of 71% in deal count and 277% increase in dollars invested compared to Q1 2020. Average deal size nearly doubled the five-year average. Notable later stage deals include Vancouver-based fintech company Fraction and Montreal-based travel app Hopper. The growth in later stage VC investment is a signal that more Canadian companies may be preparing for IPO. Early stage (series A and B) investment also saw a 115% increase in investment amount compared to the same quarter in 2020 with around the same number of deals (with $899M over 75 deals). Notable deals include Ontario-based Life Sciences company Notch Therapeutics.
$ Millions Invested # Deals $3,000 360 2,742 $2,750 $ 330 $2,500 300 1,953 $1,702
$2,250 $ 270 263 242 2,027 232 $ $2,000 240 1,725 1,564 $ $ $1,750 194 1,545 210 1,422 $
192 1,368 177 $ $ $1,500 1,294 180 156 $ $1,250 154 150 899 $1,000 $ 98 120 85 90 $750 71 75 310
305 79 $500 198 60 251 147 $ 236 $ $ $ 59 $
$ 25 149 4 30 $250 $ 10 24 $0 0 2017 2018 2019 2020 Q1 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 Q1 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 Q1 2021 2019 2020 Q1 2021
SEED EARLY STAGE LATER STAGE GROWTH EQUITY
VC STAGE BREAKDOWN | 13 VENTURE DEBT* HEAT MAP
The first quarter of 2021 saw a total $214M in venture debt invested across 14 deals, which accounts for 57% of all the venture debt investment value in all of last year, and 22% of deal count of 2020. 3 * VC Debt deals are not included in the overall Canadian VC activity 3
7 1 $50M British Columbia $127M Alberta $36m Ontario NA Québec
14 CVCA | CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW | Q1 2021
$214 MILLION total invested into 14 DEALS
3 3
7 1 $50M British Columbia $127M Alberta $36m Ontario NA Québec
VENTURE DEBT HEAT MAP | 15 VC EXITS
The momentum of VC-backed exits in the first quarter of 2020, with a total of 11 exits and $4.8B in total value, to comparable to 30% of number of exits and almost 50% of total exit value in all of 2020.
$ Millions Invested # Deals
$10,000 50 9,234 $ $9,000 45
$8,000 39 40 36
$7,000 33 35 31 $6,000 30
$5,000 25 3,868
$4,000 $ 20
$3,000 15 2,150 $ 1,600 1,429
$2,000 $ 10 $ 1,065 1,033 799 $ $ 702 $
$ 4 $1,000 6 3 3 5 0 1 $0 0 2017 2018 2019 2020 Q1 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 Q1 2021
M&A* IPO/RTO**
* Includes transactions with undisclosed values ** IPO valuation
16 | VC EXITS CVCA | CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW | Q1 2021 TOP DISCLOSED VC EXITS
The largest exit this quarter was St. John’s-based fintech company Verafin, acquired by the NASDAQ Corp for $3.5B, the second largest exit on record, with participation from IVP, Northleaf Capital, & Teralys Capital. Also notable is Dialogue Health Technologies’s IPO, listing on the TSX for $779M, the Montreal-based ehealth company followed 2020’s trend of Canadian life sciences companies going public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CLOSE SELLERS COMPANY BUYER $ MIL DATE
SPECTRUM EQUITY, INFORMATION VENTURE PARTNERS, NORTHLEAF CAPITAL PARTNERS, VERAFIN INC. NASDAQ 2021-02-08 $3,498 TERALYS CAPITAL
WHITE STAR CAPITAL, PORTAG3 VENTURES, CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC, FIRST ASCENT VENTURES, BDC DIALOGUE HEALTH IPO ON TSX 2021-03-30 $779 CAPITAL, HV HOLTZBRINK VENTURES, TECHNOLOGIES INC. DIAGRAM VENTURES, HACKING HEALTH ACCELERATOR
NAVENTURES, REAL VENTURES ELEMENT AI INC. SERVICENOW 2021-01-08 $294
DESJARDINS CAPITAL, NAVENTURES, FERST MOKA FINANCIAL MOGO 2021-03-24 $64 CAPITAL PARTNERS, ANGES QUEBEC CAPITAL TECHNOLOGIES
TASKTOP TECHNOLOGIES SUMERU EQUITY YALETOWN PARTNERS 2021-03-31 $25 INCORPORATED PARTNERS
* There were 14 undisclosed VC Exits totalling $141M
TOP DISCLOSED VC EXITS | 17 MOST ACTIVE VC FIRMS & FUNDS
# Rounds Size of Total Rounds* ($M)
BDC Capital 32 $435 Inovia Capital 15 $576 Real Ventures 11 $124 Panache Ventures 10 $329 Golden Ventures 8 $132 Investissement Québec 7 $115 New Brunswick Innovation Foundation 6 $12 Desjardins Capital 6 $78 Bluesky Equities 5 $3 Global Founders Capital 4 $358
SIZE OF TOTAL ROUNDS* MOST ACTIVE PRIVATE INDEPENDENT FIRMS # ROUNDS (CDN$ MIL)
INOVIA CAPITAL 15 $576
REAL VENTURES 11 $124
PANACHE VENTURES 10 $329
GOLDEN VENTURES 8 $132
BLUESKY EQUITIES 5 $3
GLOBAL FOUNDERS CAPITAL 4 $358
WHITECAP VENTURE PARTNERS 4 $69
WHITE STAR CAPITAL 4 $57
BRIGHTSPARK VENTURES 4 $14
PORTAG3 VENTURES 3 $114
ROUND13 CAPITAL 3 $43
18 | MOST ACTIVE FIRMS & FUNDS CVCA | CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW | Q1 2021
MOST ACTIVE PENSION, RETAIL, CORPORATE SIZE OF TOTAL ROUNDS* # ROUNDS & OTHER PUBLIC FUNDS (CDN$ MIL) DESJARDINS CAPITAL 6 $78
CONEXUS VENTURE CAPITAL 4 $6
TELUS VENTURES 3 $35
WESTCAP MGT. LTD 3 $9
CHEVRON TECHNOLOGY VENTURES 2 $176
CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC 2 $53
NAVENTURES 2 $44
OMERS VENTURES 2 $41
FONDS INNOVEXPORT 2 $13
SIZE OF TOTAL ROUNDS* MOST ACTIVE GOVERNMENT FUNDS # ROUNDS (CDN$ MIL) BDC CAPITAL 32 $435
INVESTISSEMENT QUÉBEC 7 $115
NEW BRUNSWICK INNOVATION FOUNDATION 6 $12
EXPORT DEVELOPMENT CANADA 4 $154
INNOVACORP 4 $7
BDC CAPITAL INDUSTRIAL, CLEAN AND ENERGY TECH- 3 $12 NOLOGY VENTURE FUND
SIZE OF TOTAL ROUNDS* MOST ACTIVE FIRMS IN VC DEBT DEALS # ROUNDS (CDN$ MIL) VENBRIDGE LTD. 7 $1
CIBC INNOVATION BANKING 4 $65
BREVET CAPITAL 1 $127
SILICON VALLEY BANK 1 $20
MOST ACTIVE FIRMS & FUNDS | 19 Q1 2021 FINAL INVESTORS TABLE
FOREIGN VCs in canada
UNITED STATES WEST Size of Total Number Investor State Rounds of Deals ($M) FJ LABS CA 2 $123 BEE PARTNERS CA 2 $110 AFORE CAPITAL CA 2 $76 CYBER MENTOR FUND CA 2 $30 HIKE VENTURES CA 2 $19 COINBASE VENTURES CA 2 $6 Y COMBINATOR CA 2 $5 EAST Size of Total Number Investor State Rounds of Deals ($M) WHITE STAR CAPITAL INC. NY 4 $57 IMPACT ENGINE IL 2 $44 CENTRAL Size of Total Number Investor State Rounds of Deals ($M) CHEVRON TECHNOLOGY TX 2 $176 VENTURES
20 Q1 2021 FINAL INVESTORS TABLE
CVCA | CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW | Q1 2021
GERMANY Size of Total Number Investor Rounds of Deals ($M) GLOBAL FOUNDERS 4 $358 CAPITAL
SINGAPORE Size of Total Number Investor Rounds of Deals ($M) TEMASEK 2 $176
AUSTRALIA Size of Total Number Investor Rounds of Deals ($M) TELSTRA VENTURES 2 $118
FOREIGN VCs IN CANADA | 21 The narwhal list: top 25 companies These are Canada’s top companies as presented by The Narwhal Project, collectively these companies have raised approximately $4.8B CAD in total funding, and are poised to become Canada’s next Unicorns (valuation of $1B+) following the footsteps of Shopify, Kik, and Lightspeed POS.
The list uses three metrics to identify leading firms: Financial Velocity, Growth and Firm Size.
To read the full report, click here.
22 CVCA | CANADIAN VENTURE CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW | Q1 2021
Funding Scale-Up Rank Company Founded Location $US Score
1 APPLYBOARD 2015 $178M 87.9 WATERLOO, ONTARIO 2 SYMEND 2016 $53M 82.2 CALGARY, ALBERTA VANCOUVER, BRITISH HOOTSUITE 2008 $300M 71.7 3 COLUMBIA 4 WEALTHSIMPLE 2014 $290M 69.9 TORONTO, ONTARIO 5 CSI SOLAR 2001 $260M 67.1 GUELPH, ONTARIO 6 GEOTAB 2000 NA 60.7 OAKVILLE, ONTARIO 7 POINTCLICKCARE 1995 $230M 60.4 MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO 8 NEUVOO 2011 $51M 54.4 MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC 9 MEDCHART 2015 $5M 53.2 TORONTO, ONTARIO 10 1PASSWORD 2005 $200M 52.3 TORONTO, ONTARIO 11 COVEO 2005 $339M 50.4 QUÉBEC CITY, QUÉBEC 12 DIALOGUE 2016 $89M 48.1 MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC VANCOUVER, BRITISH CLIO 2008 $276M 47 13 COLUMBIA 14 SOTI INC. 1995 NA 46.9 MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO 15 ALAYACARE 2014 $111M 44.2 MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC 16 D2L 1999 $169M 44.1 KITCHENER, ONTARIO STEMCELL VANCOUVER, BRITISH 1993 $15M 42.3 17 TECHNOLOGIES COLUMBIA 18 MAPLE 2015 $74M 42.2 TORONTO, ONTARIO 19 PARTNERSTACK 2015 $7M 40.9 TORONTO, ONTARIO 20 VENA SOLUTIONS 2011 $176M 40.4 TORONTO, ONTARIO 21 ADA 2014 $61M 40 TORONTO, ONTARIO 22 ENERKEM 2000 $655M 39.5 MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC 23 VENTION 2016 $44M 39.3 MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC
24 THINKIFIC 2012 $22M 38.4 VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA 25 Q4 2006 $91M 37.9 TORONTO, ONTARIO
Source: https://narwhalproject.org/
THE NARWHAL LIST: TOP 25 COMPANIES | 23 PARTICIPATING DATA CONTRIBUTORS
CVCA thanks the following firms who participated in its Q1 2021 survey.
VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS
7 Gate Ventures Dash40 Ventures inovia Capital Radical Ventures
Accelerate Fund Emerald Technology Island Capital Partners Real Ventures Ventures AmorChem Klass Capital Relay Ventures EnerTech Capital Amplify Capital Luge Capital Renewal Funds Espresso Capital Ltd. Amplitude Ventures Lumira Ventures Rhino Ventures Evok Innovations Anges Quebec MaRS IAF Ripple Ventures Fastbreak Ventures Anges Quebec Capital McRock Capital Roadmap Capital Ferst Capital AVAC Ltd. MEDTEQ Round 13 Capital FACIT Azure Capital Partners Metiquity ScaleUP Ventures First Ascent Ventures BCF Ventures Mistral VP Sectoral Asset Fonds Innovexport Management Inc. Boreal Ventures MKB Growth Equity Framework Ventures StandUp Ventures Brightspark Capital NAventures Freycinet Ventures Tactico Inc. Build Ventures New Brunswick Innovation Georgian Foundation Tandem Expansion CIBC Innovation Banking Good News Ventures Northumberland CFDC TandemLaunch CIC Capital Ventures Highline Beta Panache Ventures TELUS Ventures Clanton Capital Inc. Hike Ventures Pangaea Ventures Venbridge Ltd. Conexus Venture Capital Information Venture Plank Ventures White Star Capital CTI Life Sciences Partners Quark Venture Yaletown Partners Cycle Capital Management Innovacorp
24 PRIVATE EQUITY & LSVCC FIRMS
AIP Private Capital Capital Financière Agricole Kayne Capital Roynat Capital Inc.
ARC Financial CIC Capital Canada Killick Capital Inc. Seafort Capital
Ardenton Capital Clairvest Group Inc. Lex Capital Management Searchlight Capital Corporation Partners Crédit Mutuel Equity m2s Capital ATB Private Equity Signal Hill Equity Partners Clearspring Capital Mink Capital BDC Growth Equity Partners Tricor Pacific Capital Ltd. Mosaic Capital Corporation BDC Growth & Transition First West Capital TriWest Capital Partners Capital Novacap Management Inc. Founders Group of Food VERTU Capital Birch Hill Equity Partners Companies Inc. PenderFund Capital Management Westcap Mgt. Ltd BMO Capital Partners Fulcrum Capital Partners Persistence Capital Western Investment Bond Capital Highland West Capital Partners Company of Canada Limited CAI Capital Partners InstarAGF Asset PFM Capital Inc Management White Wolf Capital Canada Canadian Business Growth PRIVEQ Capital Funds Inc Fund Ironbridge Equity Partners
LIMITED PARTNERS
Alberta Enterprise Corporation Fonds de solidarité FTQ Northleaf Capital Partners
BDC Venture Capital Fonds de solidarité FTQ (Regional) Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP)
Bluesky Equities Ltd. HarbourVest Partners (Canada) Ltd Teralys Capital
Desjardins Capital Investissement Quebec
Fondaction Kensington Capital Partners Ltd.
If you would like to have your firm included in future reports, please click here.
PARTICIPATING DATA CONTRIBUTORS | 25 CVCA METHODOLOGY: VENTURE CAPITAL
VENTURE CAPITAL DATA: Verified completed equity, quasi-equity venture capital and venture debt deals only (non-equity or project-based government funding, pharmaceutical development deals, venture capital-backed acquisitions, and angel financing are not included). All figures are in CAD unless otherwise specified.
VC DEVELOPMENT STAGES
VENTURE DEBT SHORT-TO-MEDIUM TERM, NON-DILUTIVE DEBT INSTRUMENT WITH NO EQUITY RIDER.
COMPANY HAS A CONCEPT OR PRODUCT UNDER DEVELOPMENT, BUT IS PROBABLY NOT SEED STAGE FULLY OPERATIONAL.
COMPANY HAS A PRODUCT OR SERVICE IN TESTING OR PILOT PRODUCTION. IN SOME EARLY STAGE CASES, THE PRODUCT MAY BE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE.
PRODUCT OR SERVICE IN PRODUCTION AND COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE. COMPANY IS LATER STAGE GENERATING ON-GOING REVENUE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY, PROFITABLE.
SIGNIFICANT MINORITY INVESTMENT TO DRIVE GROWTH AND SCALE WHICH CAN BE GROWTH COMBINED WITH A SECONDARY TRANSACTION TO FACILITATE LIQUIDITY FOR EXISTING VC INVESTORS
VC SECTORS
COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE AND SERVICES, INTERNET SOFTWARE OR ICT SERVICES, ECOMMERCE, ELECTRONIC & SEMICONDUCTOR, MOBILE AND TELECOM TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES.
BIOTECH, MEDICAL DEVICES, PHARMACEUTICALS, EHEALTH, HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS AND LIFE SCIENCES SERVICES, AND OTHER MEDICAL RELATED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.
ENERGY AND FUEL TECHNOLOGIES, EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION, RENEWAL ENERGY, CLEANTECH ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES AND OTHER ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.
AGRIBUSINESS TRADITIONAL AND ADVANCED AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES
26 | CVCA METHODOLOGY: VENTURE CAPITAL AUTHORS
Christiane Wherry VICE PRESIDENT, RESEARCH & PRODUCT [email protected]
David kornacki MANAGER, RESEARCH & PRODUCT [email protected]
JON JACKSON HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS [email protected]
IZADELLA STA. ROMANA MARKETING & BRAND COORDINATOR [email protected] cvca.ca