Venture capital for Canadian companies up 16% from last year: report
The spike was largely driven by a $250-million investment in Vancouver-based legal software company Clio and $228 million in Montreal agri-food cooperative La Coop federee
TORONTO — A new study says Canadian venture capital-backed companies raised $5.4 billion over 469 deals last year, marking the third consecutive year of increased VC funding in the country.
The MoneyTree Canada report from PwC Canada and CB Insights says funding was up 16%from the year before, when it amounted to about $4.6 billion.
The spike seen across the country was largely driven by a $250-million investment in Vancouver-based legal software company Clio and $228 million in Montreal agri-food cooperative La Coop federee.
The report found that the median deal size rose to $4.5 million in 2019, a 13% increase from $3.9 million in 2018.
The study says seed and early-stage deals made up the majority of investments in 2019, but that deal activity was down 11%.
Funding for Vancouver ventures hit a six-year high of $1.2 billion, more than doubling the 2018 investment level in the city, while Toronto ventures raked in $1.7 billion for the second straight year.
