The following is a list of the top 10 VC investors in Canada. These are the most active investors in our country and they have helped to fund some of the country's most successful startups.
This article is part of a series where we present you the best Venture Capital firms across different cities and countries. Here you can view the ranking for Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto
Top Venture Capital Firms in Canada
1. BDC Venture Capital
BDC Venture Capital is a major venture capital investor in Canada, active at every stage of the company's development cycle, from seed through expansion, with a focus on technology-based businesses that have high growth potential and that are positioned to become dominant players in their markets. The company helps create and develop strongCanadian businesses through financing, consulting services and securitization, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.
BDC Venture Capital has been involved in venture capital since 1975 and has to date invested in more than 400 companies involved in the areas of Life Sciences, Telecommunications, Information Technology and Advanced Technologies.
Website: www.bdc.ca
Founded: 1975
Total fund size: $605M
BDC Venture Capital's most notable exits include D-Wave Systems, Wave, and Coveo.
2. Business Development Bank
BDC offers financing, consulting services, subordinate financing and venture capital. They focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). BDC's services are available across Canada in both official languages through a network of more than 100 offices. Its head office is in Montreal.
Website: www.bdc.ca
Founded: 1944
Total fund size: $700M
Business Development Bank of Canada's most notable exits include D-Wave Systems, Sierra Wireless, and Wagepoint.
3. Inovia Capital
Inovia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build impactful and enduring global companies. The team leverages an operator-led mindset to provide founders with multi-stage support, mentorship, and access to a worldwide network. Inovia manages over US$2.21.9B with operations in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, San Francisco, and London. For more information, visit inovia.vc.
Website: www.inovia.vc
Founded: 2007
Total fund size: $2.1B
Inovia Capital's most notable exits include North, TrackTik, and Sonder.
4. Real Ventures
Real Ventures is an early-stage venture firm focused on serving daring entrepreneurs with the ambition to create successful, global companies. Since 2007, Real Ventures has dedicated itself to building the Canadian startup ecosystem on the belief that people, not money, build game-changing companies. Real Ventures provides stage-specific guidance, mentorship, and access to networks and resources to fast-track founders’ personal and company growth. Real Ventures manages $325 million across five funds and its active portfolio of 100+ companies is currently valued at $10 billion. www.realventures.com
Website: www.realventures.com
Founded: 2007
Total fund size: $272.3M
Real Ventures's most notable exits include Clarity, Sonder, and Breathe Life.
5. Fonds de solidarité FTQ
Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in investments in start-ups, early venture, mergers, business acquisitions, management buyouts, market development project or a buyout, financing for new programs, organic growth and cash flow, growth and expansion financings, development capital, business succession, financial restructuring, business transition financing, family and non-family buyout, consolidations, turnaround, and leveraged management buyouts. It also invests in new markets, product and business line developments, market diversification, interim financings, new product marketing, additional working capital, purchase of tangible and intangible assets, equipment modernization, equipment purchases or upgrades, and integrator projects. The firm has regional funds that do not invest in retail, real estate, farming, biotechnology, and financial services.
Website: www.fondsftq.com
Founded: 1983
Total fund size: $100M
Fonds de solidarité FTQ's most notable exits include Coveo, Zymeworks, and CAE.
6. MaRS Investment Accelerator
MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) is an early stage venture capital firm based in Toronto. Since 2008, we have partnered with over 150 companies built by extraordinary founders. For more information, please visit www.marsiaf.com
Website: www.marsiaf.com
Founded: 2008
Total fund size: $60.5M
MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund's most notable exits include Axonify, Nudge, and Fiix Software.
7. Desjardins Venture Capital
Desjardins Venture Capital is the venture capital fund management arm of the Mouvement des caisses Desjardins.
It manages the assets of Desjardins Venture Capital, a limited partnership, six Desjardins investment regional funds, as well as Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins, a public fund whose assets under management are projected toreach $1.425-billion over the next 10 years. Desjardins Venture Capital makes its network and expertise available to businesses.
Website: www.desjardins.com
Founded: 1900
Total fund size: $120M
Desjardins Venture Capital's most notable exits include Heyday AI, Moka, and Breathe Life.
8. Relay Ventures
Relay Ventures is a venture capital firm specializing in start-ups, seed, early-stage, mid venture, late venture, and growth capital investments.
It seeks to invest in the mobile computing industry with a focus on applications and services including mobile commerce such as payments, advertising, retailing, and consumer banking; vertical and horizontal enterprise applications; communications; social networking; location-based and location-aware applications and services such as navigation and mapping; media and entertainment; commercial services and supplies; wireless application service providers; wireless devices software; wireless networking equipment; and lifestyle and personal productivity applications for the BlackBerry and other mobile platforms.
Relay Ventures also focuses on investments in mobile-related software and services and mobile eco-system sectors. It seeks to invest in mobile technology with a focus on software for mobile devices and the connected Internet.
John Albright and Kevin Talbot founded Relay Ventures on January 1, 2010. It has its headquarters in Toronto in Canada, with an additional office in San Francisco and Calgary.
Website: www.relayventures.com
Founded: 2008
Total fund size: $15M
Relay Ventures's most notable exits include Circle Media, Luma, and Bird.
9. Golden Ventures
Golden Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund that supports founders. It specializes in the fields of seed-stage, venture capital, mobile, marketplaces, and early stage. Golden Ventures was founded in 2011 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.
Website: www.golden.ventures
Founded: 2011
Total fund size: $230.9M
Golden Ventures's most notable exits include Joist, SkipTheDishes, and Inkbox.
10. OMERS Ventures
Launched in 2011, OMERS Ventures is the venture capital arm of OMERS, the pension plan for Ontario’s municipal employees. Series A-C transatlantic investor in high-growth, disruptive tech companies & operates across Canada, Europe and the United States.
Website: www.omersventures.com
Founded: 2011
Total fund size: $1.9B
OMERS Ventures's most notable exits include Shopify, Wave, and Embark Trucks.
