Golden Ventures’ $100M Boost for Canada’s Tech

Funding | Feb 23, 2024

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Golden Ventures Closes $100M for Seed-stage Tech Innovators in Canada

Golden Ventures, a prominent venture capital firm based in Canada, has successfully closed over $100 million in capital commitments for its fifth fund supported by existing and new institutional partners, including BDC Capital, ECMC Group, and Deloitte Ventures. This fund is dedicated to supporting seed-stage founders who are at the forefront of technological innovation, spanning areas such as AI, climate tech, blockchain, and quantum computing. Founded in 2011 by Matt Golden, the Toronto-based firm has evolved from a mobile-focused initial fund to a sector-agnostic approach, with a particular emphasis on bolstering the Canadian tech ecosystem.

• The fifth fund aims to invest in high-potential, seed-stage technology founders across various sectors.
• Founded by Matt Golden, with Ameet Shah as general partner and Nick Chen as the new principal.
• Golden Ventures plans to make around 30 core deals, maintaining a balance between core investments and angel-side investments.
• The firm has backed over 100 companies, including notable exits like Wattpad (acquired by Naver) and SkipTheDishes (acquired by Just Eat).
• Beyond financial investment, Golden Ventures emphasizes talent investment, mentorship, and building relationships with later-stage funds for portfolio companies.

Canada’s Early Stage Investing in Focus as Late Stage VC Prioritizes Profit Over Growth

In 2023, Canadian late-stage venture capital (VC) funding experienced a significant decline for the second consecutive year, with a total investment of $6.9 billion across 660 deals, marking a 34% decrease from 2022. This downturn reflects a cautious investment climate, with a notable shift towards prioritizing profitability over growth.

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Despite this, early-stage investing emerged as a resilient and vibrant sector, maintaining robust investment levels with $969 million raised across 372 deals. The report highlights a cautious sentiment within the Canadian VC community, emphasizing a strategic approach to investment and a return to pre-pandemic norms. Additionally, the year witnessed a rebound in exit activity, including a notable IPO and several mergers and acquisitions, underscoring a cautious yet strategic focus on early-stage funding and the potential for strategic exits in the future.

Why It Matters

The commitment of Golden Ventures to inject another $100 million into Canada’s tech ecosystem is a significant vote of confidence in the region’s potential for technological innovation and entrepreneurship and highlights the growing importance of Canada as a hub for tech innovation globally.

The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada’s Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org

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• Source: https://ncfacanada.org/golden-ventures-100m-boost-for-canadas-tech/