Participated · Series B · Sep 2024

Spare is a Vancouver-based SaaS platform that integrates wheelchair-accessible paratransit, on-demand microtransit, and ride-hail services to match riders with appropriate vehicles and operators. Its AI combines historical trip data, driver performance, and real-time traffic insights from Google to create more efficient routes and enable more on-demand paratransit options. The platform aims to lower transit agencies' operating costs by substituting lower-cost options (for example, using Uber for temporary disabilities) while keeping rider costs the same. Spare focuses on paratransit and is deployed in over 200 cities across North America, Europe and Japan, including Austin, Dallas, the Bay Area, Stockholm and Osaka. It competes with Via but has carved a niche by concentrating on paratransit integration. The company is exploring expansion into non-emergency medical and school transportation services. It recently raised a $30 million Series B (C$42M) led by Inovia Capital, with participation from Kensington Capital and Nicola Wealth. Spare provides on-demand transit software that lets public transit agencies launch flexible, responsive services and modernize specialized paratransit systems. Its Spare Platform uses AI to dynamically schedule and dispatch vehicles in real time, adapting to individual rider needs and improving accessibility for people with disabilities and those underserved by conventional transit. Spare has facilitated over 10 million rides globally and works with agencies including Dallas Area Rapid Transit, CapMetro (Austin), Winnipeg Transit, AC Transit, and Bay Area Rapid Transit. With $10 million in growth capital from CIBC Innovation Banking, Spare plans to accelerate development of human-centric AI to make the platform more intuitive for staff and riders. Management frames the funding as timely given demographic shifts toward an aging population and as a means to help transit become convenient enough to reduce personal car ownership. CEO Kristoffer Vik Hansen said the financing will enhance support for agencies serving historically underserved communities.

Led · Equity · Jan 2024

Kore.ai develops a no-code and pro-code platform that lets enterprises build, orchestrate and manage AI agents capable of automating complex workflows across customer, employee and back-office functions. The company positions itself as model-, data- and cloud-agnostic, allowing clients to choose their preferred infrastructure while maintaining security and scalability. Kore.ai’s technology has been recognized as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Conversational AI Platforms and tops additional analyst evaluations from Forrester and Everest Group. Strategic partnerships with Microsoft (launch partner for Microsoft Agent 365) and AWS (agentic competency partner) help the firm support large-scale deployments. The firm serves 480 Global 2000 companies and is supported by more than 500 partners worldwide, underscoring meaningful commercial adoption. Headquartered in Orlando with offices across India, the UK, the Middle East, Japan, South Korea and Europe, Kore.ai aims to accelerate international expansion and deepen customer engagement. The new funding will be used to scale go-to-market initiatives, grow its agentic solutions marketplace, and continue product innovation. No revenue figures were disclosed in the article.

Participated · Series C · Sep 2022

Avidbots is a Canadian robotics manufacturer that develops autonomous cleaning robots, notably the Neo 2 floor-cleaning robot for commercial environments like airports, warehouses and shopping malls. Founded in Kitchener, Ontario in 2014, the company says it has more than 1,000 robots deployed across North America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Australia, including deployments in U.S. airports and with Singapore’s SMRT Trains. Neo 2 offers fleet management and performance measurability through a web-based command center that tracks robot locations and surface area disinfected. The company had previously raised $37 million across its eight-year history and has now added $70 million in new funding. With the latest capital it plans to expand its fleet, continue improving the software that powers the machines, and increase headcount by about 100 over the next year. Avidbots positions its robots as a way for commercial operators to mitigate staffing challenges while delivering data-driven cleaning performance. Avidbots designs and builds autonomous connected robots, with its first product Neo, a robotic floor scrubber deployed in commercial locations worldwide. Neo is manufactured in Avidbots’ 40,000-square-foot facility in Kitchener, Ontario, and is in use in over a dozen countries, including Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Toronto’s Eaton Centre, and Rochester Institute of Technology. The company is led by CEO Faizan Sheikh and CTO Pablo Molina. With the new funding, Avidbots plans to accelerate investment in talent acquisition, engineering, marketing, and sales to bring its robots to more customers worldwide. Financially, the company has raised a total of $36M to date after the latest round. The article positions Avidbots as focused on expanding human potential by bringing robots to everyday life.

Participated · Series A · Dec 2021

Sonic Incytes Medical develops Velacur™, a handheld, point-of-care 3D liver health assessment solution that quantifies liver disease with technology similar to MRI elastography combined with 3D tissue sampling. Velacur is FDA-cleared, non-invasive, delivers results in about five minutes, and was launched in the U.S. market in early 2021. The device is intended to provide consistently accurate, real-time liver diagnostics in a physician’s office as an alternative to biopsy and MRI. Sonic Incytes positions the product as accessible and affordable to enable routine assessment and improved management of chronic liver disease. The company emphasizes reducing fatty liver disease and improving patient care through point-of-care ultrasound diagnostics. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sonic Incytes spun out of the University of British Columbia. Sonic Incytes Medical develops a portable, handheld point-of-care ultrasound solution for assessing and managing chronic liver disease, with a focus on fatty liver disease. The device uses technology similar to MRI elastography and quantifies liver disease using 3D tissue sampling to provide consistently accurate, real-time results. The company says the entire procedure takes about five minutes and offers a quick, safe, and comfortable alternative to biopsy and MRI. Sonic Incytes plans to enter the market at the end of 2020. Financially, it completed a seed financing round of over CDN$3.5 million, including a $1 million investment from Genome BC and over $2.5 million from institutional and angel investors. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sonic Incytes aims to commercialize its solution to improve diagnosis, treatment and management of liver disease.

Participated · Equity · May 2021

Vendasta operates an end-to-end ecommerce platform that supplies channel partners—marketing agencies, media companies, MSPs, ISVs, and VARs—with tools to market, sell, bill, fulfill, and deliver digital solutions to SMBs. Its platform includes marketing automation, CRM, order and billing management, payments and collections, fulfillment management, and a wholesale solutions marketplace covering advertising, content & experience, insurance, listings, reputation, SEO, social, and websites. The company serves 50,000+ registered channel partners who work with more than five million SMBs worldwide and reported annual recurring revenue of more than $50 million. Vendasta is based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, was founded in 2008, employs more than 500 people, and plans to hire up to 150 additional employees. COVID-19 accelerated SMB adoption of digital technology, driving strong growth through 2020 and 2021, and Vendasta intends to use new financing to further accelerate its sales growth and overall pace of growth. The company positions its platform as a de facto operating system for small businesses and the technology providers serving them. Vendasta is a Saskatoon-based B2B cloud commerce platform founded in 2008 that helps local businesses with their digital needs via a white‑label offering sold through channel partners such as agencies, broadcasters, publishers, banks, and telecoms. The platform lets partners brand Vendasta’s software as their own and provide local businesses with re‑sellable products and services, including a product suite and a Marketplace. Vendasta currently has a team of 285 and plans to grow to more than 650 employees in Saskatoon over the next three years. The company raised CAD 40 million in private equity growth funding to enhance the Vendasta Platform, its product suite and Marketplace solutions and to support channel expansion. Vendasta has raised more than CAD 57 million to date and previously received CAD 3.3 million from the federal WINN Initiative to support international market expansion. The company plans to expand into new channels including banks, telcos, and insurance as it scales. Vendasta Technologies offers a white‑label platform (Partner Center) that enables marketing agencies and media companies to sell digital‑marketing and reputation‑management solutions to local SMBs. The company is building an integrated cloud marketplace to aggregate third‑party applications and expand partner offerings. Planned additions include custom websites, Facebook advertising, e‑commerce and billing infrastructure so partners can assemble full operational‑solution bundles for their SMB clients. Vendasta has delivered software to more than 550 partners and employs more than 200 people. Founded in Saskatoon in 2008, the company expects the project to create 25 high‑quality jobs and 26 additional specialized positions, mostly in Saskatoon. Vendasta was ranked 49th on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 in 2016 and 42nd on the PROFIT 500, and the recent funding is intended to accelerate commercialization and market penetration. VendAsta Technologies is a Saskatoon, Canada-based provider of white-label digital brand management solutions. Led by CEO Brendan King, the company sells white-label platforms to media companies that work with local businesses, including online directional media companies, newspapers, broadcasters, SEO services, certified marketing representatives, web hosting providers, and interactive agencies. Its reputation and presence management platform includes Reputation Monitoring, Brand Analytics, Presence Builder, Social Marketing lead-generation tools and Concierge CRM platforms to help manage and sell digital products. VendAsta raised $8.25M in funding, with backers that included Vanedge Capital and BDC Venture Capital. The company said it will use the funding to accelerate platform development and provide additional support.