When the potential acquisition of a start-up is heavily tied to the financial wellbeing of its founder, it can make the business vulnerable to deals that devalue the company. According to a new paper out of Yeshiva University, founders naturally own a large portion of the equity in their companies in the early stages, making […]
Deeper relationships in the venture capital space actually lead to fewer future co-investments, according to a new working paper out of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Oxford. “A lot of people talk about the importance of investors having strong networks, and we thought that this notion of networks is a little […]
The number of Canadian venture capital deals declined in the first half of 2019, according to research from PwC Canada. The total amount raised by Canadian companies was down 13 per cent for the first six months of the year compared to the same time period in 2018, with the number of deals down by […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, alongside the Bank of Montreal, is committing $33 million in funding to District Ventures Capital. Founded by financier Arlene Dickinson, the fund focuses on consumer goods-related venture capital. With the new investment, the fund now totals $70 million. Read: PSP Investments takes on Hawaiian farmland “We are pleased to have these institutional investors […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is investing in Space Exploration Technologies Corp., more commonly known as SpaceX. The company, which was founded by Elon Musk, designs, manufactures and operates advanced rockets and spacecraft. It’s the inaugural investment of the Ontario Teachers’ late-stage venture capital and equity growth platform, the Teachers’ Innovation Platform, which was launched […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board are part of a group investing in a new US$350-million fund focused on artificial intelligence. Radical Ventures, the company launching the fund, is a venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs involved in technology aimed at developing AI products, or applying AI, to […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is launching a venture capital investment platform to support companies using technology to create new sectors or disrupt existing ones. Called the Teachers’ Innovation Platform, it will make late-stage venture capital and growth equity investments. Olivia Steedman, a founding member of the Ontario Teachers’ infrastructure and natural resources group, will head up […]
Venture capital funds had an expensive first quarter of the year, investing US$32.6 billion, the second highest quarter in the last decade, according to data from Pitch Book and the National Venture Capital Association. But that capital is going towards a smaller number of deals, with the quarter’s spending going towards just 1,853 deals, a […]
Venture capitalists provide value for investors seeking to make allocations to early-stage or emerging firms, according to research from Rustam Abuzov, a PhD candidate at the Swiss Finance Institute and University of Lausanne. “There is a recent movement of pension funds to do direct investments into venture capital, getting rid of the middle man like […]
OMERS Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, is expanding into Europe with the launch of a 300 million euro fund. Focusing on innovative technology startups, the fund’s aim is to support a multi-year global strategy for OMERS, following a major uptick in startup activity in Europe, according to a release. […]