Province of Ontario Commits $25 Million to ScaleUP Ventures

Toronto’s ScaleUP Ventures this week announced a second closing of $32 million, bringing the fund’s total capital commitment to over $70 million. The second closing includes $25 million from the Province of Ontario.

ScaleUP was announced in May with a target to raise $75 million as an early-stage technology fund to work with corporate Canada to help startups achieve global scale.

ScaleUP brings together two components: a venture capital fund and a Leadership Council comprised of some of successful business leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors. It is managed by Kent Thexton and Kevin Kimsa, both formerly of OMERS Ventures.

“Ontario is breaking out as a key global technology start-up market and, with the commitment from our investors, we expect to invest in 25-30 companies. With the help of the ScaleUP team and the Leadership Council, we will help more Ontario companies reach global scale,” said Kent Thexton, General Partner, ScaleUP Ventures.

ScaleUP has made seven investments to date, five of which are based in Ontario.

Investees include Fusebill, an Ottawa‐based company that develops software to manage subscription billings; FundThrough, a Toronto‐based small business lender; Naborly, a Toronto-based company using machine learning for tenant screening; and Neuranet, a Toronto-based business in AdTech with its market-leading Flexitive platform.

ScaleUP seventh investment was $1.7 million in Toronto-based Crowdcare, a provider of cognitive digital care solutions for enterprises.

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