Innovative Canadian businesses benefit from accelerated investments from BDC Capital

Montreal, October 30, 2018 -BDC Capital announced today that it has significantly accelerated the rhythm and size of its investments in innovative, knowledge-based Canadian businesses alongside other funds. The Bank’s co-investments team has stepped up the pace of its investing activity in the past 18 months, completing seven transactions totalling $38.1 million since February 2017.

“With our accelerated investing activity and participation in larger rounds in the past two years, our Co-Investments team is contributing to BDC Capital’s ongoing efforts to build a strong foundation for the VC ecosystem in Canada. We now want to solidify this foundation and bring it to the next level,” says Dominique Bélanger, Managing Partner, Co-Investments at BDC Capital. A sample of recent transactions includes:

• ecobee -Toronto, ON. ecobee Inc. introduced the world’s first smart Wi-Fi thermostat to help millions of consumers live better and save more. The company’s mission is to create smart home devices that are beautifully designed, easy to use and provide savings for families, while being good for our planet.
• Miovision -Kitchener, ON. Miovision Technologies develops a suite of hardware and cloud-based solutions that provide cities with the data and tools they need to reduce congestion, make better urban planning decisions, and improve safety on their roads.
• Wave -Toronto, ON. Wave is a Toronto-based Fintech that provides award-winningfinancial services and software for micro-businesses. The Co-Investments team invested alongside BDC Capital’s IT Venture Fund in the latest growth financing round.
• Power Survey -Saint-Laurent, QC. Power Survey is a leading provider of high-quality power factor correction and harmonic filtering products and services, specializing in customized, low to medium voltage solutions.
• Element AI -Montreal, QC. Element AI is pioneering an AI-First world by turning AI research into transformative business applications. With a renowned faculty fellow network, the largest private Canadian artificial intelligence R&D lab and a growing network of specialized business partners, Element AI is already a leader in this space.
• Hortau -Saint-Nicolas, QC. Hortau is a leader in wireless, web-based irrigation management systems that help growers detect plant stress using soil tension, ensuring optimal crop growth while reducing water use, energy consumption and environmental impact.

“BDC Capital is a partner of choice for later-stage firms seeking to achieve scale and our goal is to help innovative firms become Canadian champions successfully competing on the global stage,” concluded Bélanger.

The investments are being made as part of BDC Capital’s mandate to remain a first-mover in the tech space and play an active role in addressing market gaps. BDC Capital’s dedicated Co-Investments team works closely with over 70 fund managers to support co-investment in late-stage, high-growth firms. The highly experienced team’s goal is to offer Canadian businesses an alternative to an early exit to assure that they continue to grow in Canada.

About BDC Capital

BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC, the bank for Canadian entrepreneurs. With over $3 billion under management, BDC Capital serves as a strategic partner to the country’s most innovative firms. It offers businesses a full spectrum of capital, from seed investments to growth equity, supporting Canadian entrepreneurs who have the ambition to stand out on the world stage. Visit bdc.ca/capital.

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