Led · Equity · Oct 2024

Victory Advanced Technologies develops high-performance modular electric motors and battery packs that can be retrofitted into existing vehicles by third-party shops. Its products target custom sports cars, motorsport applications, heavy equipment and marine uses, with components that can be mixed-and-matched to produce varying power outputs (for example, two 150 hp motors combined into a 300 hp unit). The company builds its motors without rare earth metals. Victory is entering commercialization this year and plans to scale production at its Saint John facility. ACOA funding will be used to hire staff and expand the initial factory footprint rather than preleasing a large facility. Victory was founded in 2021 and aims to serve race teams and bespoke commercial customers requiring durable, high-performance electric powertrains.

Led · Debt Financing · Apr 2019

Appili Therapeutics develops novel antibiotic and anti‑infective therapies targeting serious infections and the increasing resistance to currently available antibiotics. Its pipeline includes ATI‑1701, an in‑licensed tularemia vaccine; ATI‑1503, a negamycin‑analogue antibiotic discovery program; and ATI‑1501, a taste‑masked oral‑suspension formulation of metronidazole. The company is headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with offices in Mississauga, Ontario, and pursues worldwide opportunities with science and industry partners, governments and agencies. Appili says it will use recent assistance to procure materials for continued development of its pipeline and to further explore listing its common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange. The firm recently raised $3.6 million CAD in a private placement and has received additional government support to maintain highly qualified positions and world‑class R&D operations in Halifax. Management framed the work as addressing urgent global public‑health threats from antimicrobial resistance. Appili Therapeutics focuses on developing and commercializing anti-infective drugs, balancing near-to-market candidates with higher-risk early-stage programs. Its pipeline includes ATI-1501, a taste-masked oral suspension formulation of metronidazole for pediatric and elderly patients, and ATI-1503, a drug discovery program for negamycin analogues targeting Gram-negative bacteria. Via in-licensing, Appili acquired ATI-1701, a tularemia vaccine intended to remove risk from a weaponized pathogen. Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with offices in Mississauga, Ontario, the company pursues worldwide opportunities with science and industry partners and government agencies. Financially, Appili raised an additional $4,339,000 in an oversubscribed private placement and is receiving a $500,000 repayable contribution from the Government of Canada, bringing total equity raised since its March 2016 seed round to $11,816,000. Proceeds will fund operations, continued growth, and expansion of the pipeline through further in-licensing. Appili Therapeutics is an anti-infective drug development company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The company has two programs, ATI-1501 and ATI-1503, targeting anaerobic and Gram-negative infections respectively. ATI-1501 is a taste-masked treatment for anaerobic infections that has been granted orphan drug status by the FDA. Appili planned to take ATI-1501 into clinical trials in 2017. ATI-1503 is described as a novel antibiotic with potential to treat deadly Gram-negative, drug-resistant infections. The company raised additional equity to support operations and advance its pipeline. Appili Therapeutics is dedicated to identifying, acquiring and advancing novel therapeutics for infectious disease. The company has two anti-infective programs in its pipeline: ATI-1501, a taste-masked treatment for anaerobic infections including C. difficile, and ATI-1503, a novel antibiotic aimed at drug-resistant Gram-negative infections. ATI-1503 is a synthetic version of the naturally occurring Negamycin antibiotic and is reported to penetrate double bacterial membranes to attack the protein-generating machinery of Gram-negative bacteria. Appili plans to use advanced X-ray crystallography to visualize ATI-1503 binding to its bacterial target and systematically optimize potency. Financially, Appili announced additional support from the Government of Canada’s NRC-IRAP—an extra $400,000 that brings IRAP support for this project to up to $759,000. The company’s CFO said IRAP funding is an important part of Appili’s financial strategy for developing a new antibiotic to treat deadly, drug-resistant infections. Appili Therapeutics is developing reformulated and novel antibiotics to treat serious infectious diseases. Its lead program, ATI-1501, is a taste-masked oral reformulation of metronidazole intended to treat anaerobic infections including Clostridium difficile. The company is manufacturing a clinical batch of ATI-1501 to good manufacturing practices (GMP) and plans to take the drug into human clinical trials this year. ATI-1501 has been optimized to improve palatability and patient compliance, addressing problems with bitter-tasting metronidazole tablets in children and the elderly. Appili’s pipeline also includes ATI-1503, a novel antibiotic targeting deadly Gram-negative infections such as Klebsiella pneumoniae. The company is positioning ATI-1501 for market approval pending successful clinical trials.

Led · Equity · Jun 2017

Spring Loaded Technology develops advanced spring-assisted orthopedic braces and mobility supports, including its flagship Spring Loaded OA brace designed to offload multiple knee compartments. The company emphasizes clinical evidence and real-world outcomes, citing a body of peer-reviewed research supporting its products. It has built a strong commercial presence in Canada and is pursuing international expansion into the United States and Europe. Spring Loaded plans continued development of its spring-assisted orthotic technology platform and advancement of next-generation products. Financially, the company completed a management-led buyout in April 2026 supported by Wenova Ventures and recently received a strategic investment from Plaza Capital to fund growth and scaling initiatives.

Led · Debt Financing · Jul 2016

QRA Corp develops QVscribe, a natural language processing and AI-powered tool that helps product engineers detect errors, verify clarity and compliance, and reduce costly rework in industries like medical devices, automotive, aerospace and energy. The product combines language models, NLP, machine reasoning and rules-based approaches to automatically check requirement specifications and alert designers to potential issues as they occur. QRA reports its revenue has more than doubled over the last 18 months and cites notable traction including a three-year-old $645,000 contract to provide QVscribe to the Royal Canadian Air Force. The Halifax-based team is currently 15 people and plans to add at least five more hires to support growth. The company plans to use recent financing to expand sales, marketing and support teams in North America and Europe and to deepen its technology stack. QRA positions its software as a way to save millions in rework and reduce product failures and litigation risk by catching requirement defects early. QRA Corp is a Halifax-based developer of enterprise software tools for early-stage validation and verification of engineered systems. Its two main products are QVTrace, which helps designers identify system faults typically encountered in the build stage, and QVScribe, which analyzes requirements documents within Microsoft Word. The company works closely with the world’s largest defense contractor, Lockheed Martin. QRA received $3 million from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; the funding is a conditionally repayable sum provided under the Atlantic Growth Strategy. The company will use the proceeds to develop commercial software and to hire 13 research-and-development employees. Management says the tools are intended to catch design integration errors early for systems such as autonomous cars and commercial spacecraft. The investment is part of a broader Canadian government initiative that is investing $7.1 million across four Atlantic Canada-based innovative projects.

Participated · Seed · Dec 2014

Wagepoint builds simple, intuitive online payroll software for small businesses and the accountants and bookkeepers who serve them. Founded in 2012, the company serves more than 12,000 small businesses across North America and operates as a fully-remote company. Wagepoint automates wage and tax calculations, payroll tax reporting and payments, and gives employees a secure portal to review pay history and direct deposits. The company plans to use new capital to continue product innovation, scale its go-to-market and customer-support organizations, and pursue strategic acquisitions. Wagepoint emphasizes user experience and affordable, easy-to-use software to reduce errors and save time for small businesses. The company has roots in Halifax and participated in Kitchener-Waterloo's Communitech HYPERDRIVE program. Wagepoint offers an online payroll solution that automates and simplifies payroll processing for small-business owners. Its platform supports direct deposit, payroll calculations, federal, state and local tax handling, 1099s, W2s and W3s, wage detail reports, new-hire reporting, additional deductions, contractor payments, additional incomes, and online paystubs. Launched in 2013 by CEO Shrad Rao, the company operates throughout Canada and all fifty US states and territories. It serves nearly 700 customers across industries including technology startups, retailers, consultants and service providers. Wagepoint plans to use new funding to accelerate penetration into the US market and to enhance its product portfolio. The company raised $2M in seed funding to support those initiatives.