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Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc has acquired Corstem Inc, a Montréal-based machine learning and artificial intelligence software developer focused on cardiac imaging analysis. No financial terms were disclosed. Circle, a Calgary-based developer of advanced, post-processing solutions for the cardiac imaging industry, said the deal will expand its technology and offerings. Corstem's platform will be integrated into Circle's core product, cvi42, a cardiovascular imaging reading and reporting solution. Last year, Circle raised $16 million in a round led by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and Yaletown Partners.

Japan’s Dynamic Map Platform agreed to acquire Ushr, a Canadian-born maker of high-definition map technology for autonomous driving. Terms weren’t disclosed. Reuters reported the purchase price to be nearly US$200 million ($264 million). Upon closing, DMP and Ushr will form a single platform to develop HD mapping solutions for autonomous vehicles and driver-assistance systems. Detroit-based Ushr is a spinout of the automotive mapping unit of GeoDigital, a Canadian provider of geospatial mapping software and services. It was launched two years ago with a US$10 million Series A financing backed by EnerTech Capital, Emerald Technology Ventures, Forté Ventures and GM Ventures.

Anges Québec Capital has appointed Geneviève Morin as CEO. Morin joins Anges Québec Capital from Fondaction, a Canadian labour-sponsored private equity and venture capital firm, where she served for the past eight years as CIO. Morin joined Fondaction at its inception in 1996. Anges Québec Capital, an $86 million fund, was launched in 2012 to invest alongside members of Anges Québec, a Montréal-based angel organization. The fund's backers include Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Investissement Québec.

GradeSlam, a Montréal-based personalized learning platform, has secured an undisclosed follow-on financing. The round was backed by Google Assistant Investment Program, Birchmere Ventures, BDC Capital, Reach Capital and Anges Québec. The company's other backers include Real Ventures. Founded in 2014 by CEO Philip Cutler and CTO Roberto Cipriani, GradeSlam provides an on-demand, chat-based tutoring service to students. It currently works with more than 150 North American schools, districts and organizations. The funds raised will be used by GradeSlam to advance voice technology and expand its product reach, a goal that will supported by Google Assistant.

Sitka Biopharma, a Vancouver-based biotechnology company, has raised $1.2 million in follow-on financing. The investor was the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), a Canadian life sciences commercialization firm. Sitka was originally spun out of CDRD and the University of British Columbia. Sitka is developing a nanoparticle platform to increase the absorption of drugs in difficult-to-penetrate tissues. The funds raised will be used to accelerate development of STK-01, the company’s lead product for treating bladder cancer, and expedite clinical trials. Last October, Sitka secured a $1.9 million investment from Quark Venture and GF Securities Co Ltd.

Cycle Capital Management, a Montréal-based clean technology venture capital firm, has raised $109 million in the initial close of its fourth fund. Cycle Capital Fund IV secured commitments from a range of investors, including a $50 million contribution from Investissement Québec. Other limited partners included Teralys Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Fondaction, Suez, Hydro-Québec, Innergex Renewable Energy, McConnell Foundation, Rio Tinto, Vancity and Trottier Family Foundation. The fund, which aims to raise up to $250 million, according to the Globe and Mail, will invest in Canadian and U.S. growth-stage clean technology companies.

Canadian enterprise software venture capital firm Leaders Fund has hired Dave MacDonald as a venture partner. MacDonald was formerly CEO of Softchoice, a Toronto-based IT solutions and managed services provider. He led the company for more than 16 years, retiring in 2017. He continues to serve as a director. In 2013, MacDonald led a management buyout of the listed Softchoice, partnering with Birch Hill Equity Partners. At Leaders Fund, he will support the growth strategies of portfolio companies. Based in Toronto and Atlanta, Leaders Fund was launched in 2016 by Managing Partners Steve DeBacco and David Stein and Partner Gideon Hayden.

Espresso Capital, a Canadian venture debt provider to technology companies, has hired Mark Gilbert as director, loan origination. Gilbert joined Espresso in January from BMO Financial Group, where he served for more than six years, most recently as regional market leader of the technology banking practice for Toronto. Before then, Gilbert was a senior underwriter at Chubb Insurance. Espresso CEO Alkarim Jivraj said Gilbert will play a key role in the Toronto-based firm's growth in 2019, which will include expansion into the United States.

AmorChem has made an undisclosed investment in a project focused on regulatory mechanisms involved in the innate immune response in neurological disorders. AmorChem, a Canadian life sciences venture capital firm, will through a partnership with Laval University and Québec City's CERVO Brain Research Centre, fund development of a project on the checkpoint control target SRSF3 in the laboratory of Dr Jasna Kriz. The project aims to identify new treatments for central nervous system diseases. AmorChem invested through its $46-million second seed-stage fund, AmorChem II Fund LP, backed by Fondaction, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Merck and other limited partners.

Kardium Inc, a Burnaby, British Columbia-based medical device company, has raised undisclosed financing led by T. Rowe Price Associates, a U.S. investment management firm. The round was joined by new and existing investors. Kardium, founded in 2007, has developed an advanced system for the diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder. Led by CEO Doug Goertzen, the company will use the funds raised to commercialize the system in Canada and Europe and back clinical testing in the United States.