University of Toronto
27 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A1, Canada
Overview
Established in 1827, the University of Toronto has one of the strongest research and teaching faculties in North America, presenting top students at all levels with an intellectual environment unmatched in depth and breadth on any other Canadian campus. The University of Toronto is committed to being an internationally significant research university, with undergraduate, graduate and professional programs of excellent quality. The University of Toronto is dedicated to fostering an academic community in which the learning and scholarship of every member may flourish, with vigilant protection for individual human rights, and a resolute commitment to the principles of equal opportunity, equity and justice. Within the unique university context, the most crucial of all human rights are the rights of freedom of speech, academic freedom, and freedom of research. And we affirm that these rights are meaningless unless they entail the right to raise deeply disturbing questions and provocative challenges to the cherished beliefs of society at large and of the university itself. It is this human right to radical, critical teaching and research with which the University has a duty above all to be concerned; for there is no one else, no other institution and no other office, in our modern liberal democracy, which is the custodian of this most precious and vulnerable right of the liberated human spirit.
- Total investments
- 2
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 8
Sector focus
- Education
- Higher Education
- Primary Education
- Secondary Education
Investment portfolio
- ChipCare
Participated · Equity · Sep 2013
ChipCare produces a handheld, mobile blood-testing platform designed for use in remote health settings to diagnose infectious and non-communicable diseases. The company is a University of Toronto startup led by CEO James Fraser. Its first HIV-related test is targeted to help link people with HIV to appropriate treatments and was scheduled to go to market in late 2016. ChipCare closed a $5.045M Series A to commercialize its product and continue development of next-generation devices. The company intends to use the proceeds to bring its current product to market while further developing subsequent products. Investors in the round include both existing backers and new strategic and angel investors. ChipCare, based in Toronto, develops a mobile handheld cell analyzer to test multiple diseases from a single drop of blood. The system has two components: a handheld reader and disposable test slides. Its assays include cell counting, protein/enzyme and pathogen detection. Revenue is expected to be generated mainly from sales of disposable test slides (consumables). The company is led by CEO James Fraser and CTO James Dou. It intends to use recently raised funds to continue development and commercialization of the handheld tool.
- Crowdmark
Participated · Equity · Mar 2013
Crowdmark digitizes handwritten assessments by scanning blank exams and rosters, printing unique QR-coded exam sheets, then rescanning student responses so graders can leave scores and comments online. The system supports solo or team grading, increases transparency for students, and eliminated much of the paper handling and physical grading burden. At the 2012 Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge, graders using Crowdmark finished in half the time compared with the prior process. Founder James Colliander began developing the solution in 2011 after managing 70,000 pages of handwritten responses and joined UTEST (University of Toronto Early Stage Technology) in April 2011 to work on Crowdmark. A beta was planned for the 2013–14 academic year, and the team aims to scale the product beyond math tests and beyond Canada. Financially, Crowdmark has raised a little over $500K to date and is targeting roughly $900K–$1M to support platform scaling.