The OPSEU Pension Trust is among investors helping Yaletown Partners move towards its goal of $200 million for its innovation growth fund.
Having reached more than $100 million, the emerging growth investment fund focuses on operations that are beyond the startup phase and scaling up to expand to multiple countries. The fund intends to invest in businesses making use of new technology, such as artificial intelligence, as well as companies where computing platforms and applications increase worker productivity.
“Emerging growth companies tend to be focused on innovation and are quicker at adopting new technologies,” said Hugh O’Reilly, president and chief executive officer of OPTrust, in a press release.
“Our work with them will help us learn new ways to better serve our members and provide valuable insights into global innovation trends. Canada, and Ontario especially, is a world leader when it comes to investing in startups. We need to get better at scaling up our businesses. OPTrust is excited to be working with [the innovation growth fund] to help drive Canada’s economic growth.”
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The firm characterizes emerging growth companies as having an attractive risk profile since they’ve developed beyond some of the higher-risk issues that come with startup businesses.
“We are pleased to have partnered with leading domestic and international investors in [the innovation growth fund],” said Salil Munjal, managing partner of Yaletown Partners, in a press release.
“With our expanded presence across Canada covering the country’s largest innovation ecosystems, our active approach and our access to high-quality investments, we are well positioned to help entrepreneurs scale and become market leaders while generating attractive returns for our stakeholders.”
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