longmia@halifax.ca

Canada’s venture capital market sustained robust levels of activity in Q2, despite somewhat fewer dollars going into the largest financings. The top 10 second-quarter rounds secured C$522 million ($395 million) from VC funds. That’s down 4 percent from the C$542 million raised by the top 10 deals a year earlier, and down 16 percent from […]

Friendly Stranger Holdings Corp, a Toronto-based supplier of cannabis products and accessories, has raised $5 million in follow-on financing. The deal was backed by Canadian cannabis producers 48North Cannabis Corp and VIVO Cannabis Inc. Canadian cannabis investment firm Green Acre Capital, which in 2018 agreed to invest $10 million in the company, provided an additional $2.5 million. The proceeds will be used to support Friendly Stranger's growth, including opening more cannabis culture accessory stores and launching adult-use retail locations across Canada. Established in 1994 by Robin Ellins and Joy Jacobsen, Friendly Stranger currently operates 10 retail locations in Ontario.

Vistara Capital Partners held the second close of its third technology debt fund, bringing the total raised to more than $75 million. Vistara Technology Growth Fund III, launched last October with a target of $100 million, is expected to reach its goal later this year, Managing Partner Randy Garg and Partner Noah Shipman told Venture […]

Unity Technologies, a San Francisco-based real-time 3D development platform, has signed investment agreements with several investors, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Terms weren’t disclosed for the agreements, which were also made with existing investors Sequoia Capital and Silver Lake Partners, among others. Unity also opened a tender offer of up to $525 million for common shareholders, which could bring recent investment to $675 million. It said the latest deal values the business at $6 billion. Launched in 2003, Unity provides content creators with tools to create interactive 2D, 3D, virtual reality and augmented reality experiences.

Unity Technologies, a San Francisco-based real-time 3D development platform, has signed investment agreements with several investors, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). Terms weren't disclosed for the agreements, which were also made with existing investors Sequoia Capital and Silver Lake Partners, among others. Unity also opened a tender offer of up to US$525 million for common shareholders, which could bring recent investment to US$675 million. It said the latest deal values the business at US$6 billion. Launched in 2003, Unity provides content creators with tools to create interactive 2D, 3D, virtual reality and augmented reality experiences.

BDC provided financing and advisory services to a record 60,000 Canadian business owners in fiscal 2019, up 7 percent from a year ago, according to its annual report. Committed capital of BDC Capital, the growth equity, mezzanine and venture capital investment arm of BDC, now totals more than $3 billion. BDC Capital's Growth & Transition Capital team committed $900 million to business transitions in fiscal 2019, with nearly $200 million deployed. Its $200 million Women in Technology Venture Fund also invested in 19 women-led companies, bringing the total to 25. The Venture Capital team increased its focus on late-stage companies, co-creating an information technology fund and launching its $250 million Industrial Innovation Venture Fund.

Two Canadian investment pros are enrolled in the world’s foremost school for venture capitalists. Last month, Real Ventures’ Janet Bannister and Build Ventures’ Rob Barbara joined VCs from around the world in the 24th class of Silicon Valley educator Kauffman Fellows, a program dedicated to boosting VC skills. Running over a two-year period, Class 24 […]

Radical Ventures is adding to its bench strength with a fresh crop of hires, including a former operating executive in the value-creation platform of buyout giant KKR. The Toronto-based artificial-intelligence VC firm recently brought on Parasvil Patel as a principal. Patel joined from KKR-Capstone, where for four years he was part of a New York-based group that supports KKR’s global investment activity and portfolio companies. At Radical, Patel will help to source AI opportunities and support the growth of portfolio companies, something he is "uniquely skilled for,” Managing Partner Jordan Jacobs told PE Hub Canada.

Sensibill, a Toronto-based digital receipt management platform, has raised about $41.2 million (US$31.5 million) in its latest financing, according to a report by the Globe and Mail. The round was led by Canadian artificial-intelligence venture capital firm Radical Ventures, the report said. It was joined by Information Venture Partners and First Ascent Ventures (formerly Open Text Enterprise Apps Fund), which led 2017's $17.3 million Series A financing, as well as National Bank of Canada. Founded in 2013 by CEO Corey Gross and CTO Jamie Alexander, Sensibill provides receipt management software that can be built into mobile banking apps.

Bicameral Ventures has made an undisclosed investment in Balance, a Toronto-based financial technology startup focused on custody solutions for digital assets. The deal, the proceeds of which will be used to accelerate Balance's growth, entitles Bicameral to a board seat. Founded two years ago by CEO George Bordianu and COO Baha Nurlybayev, Balance develops solutions for securely buying, holding and trading a basket of cryptoassets. The company was part of the 2019 class of Techstars Toronto Accelerator. Based in Toronto, Bicameral invests in early-stage projects leveraging blockchain and virtualized technologies.