This week National law firm Osler released its inaugural tech financings report, which combs through more than 300 technology-based venture capital equity financings from 2019 through 2021 to deliver a range of information and insight into Canada’s ecosystem.
According to Osler’s Deal Points Report, Canada’s ecosystem “continues to create jobs, innovation and economic growth across the country and attracts significant amounts of domestic and international investment.”
“Ontario and British Columbia have the highest concentration of companies raising a financing round,” it is noted, with BC representing 18% of all Canadian companies included in the Deal Points Report.
Osler’s Vancouver office reported on 60 BC deals from 2019 through 2021, a growth rate of 22% for the region according to the report.
In BC, the most-represented industry was information technology, followed by health and life sciences—and then fintech, an emerging industry for which Vancouver is becoming known.
Local companies highlighted in the report include the well-funded Canada Drives, which has helped one million Canadians purchase vehicles 100% online, legal-tech pioneer Clio, and early-stage investment fund Rhino Ventures. Canalyst, another hometown hero which recently raised a major round, is also featured.
“[Canada Drives] is redefining and simplifying the auto purchasing experience in a transparent and customer-centric way,” Mark Longo of Osler’s Emerging and High Growth Companies practice said.
Meanwhile, Clio “has transformed itself from an early stage startup to a multi-national, anchor tenant of the British Columbia and Canadian technology sector”—a sentiment from Longo few would contest about the unicorn.
As for Rhino’s role in the ecosystem, Osler’s Justin Young notes how “they have provided not only significant funding opportunities but also incredible strategic support to some of our very best early-stage entrepreneurs,” adding that their “track record speaks for itself.”
Financial data and analytics startup Canalyst “scaled rapidly from its early days as a bootstrapped startup to a market leading growth stage company,” according to Young, who describes Canalyst as a “differentiator in the market.”
For full figures on venture capital, and more detail on each company, sift through Osler’s full report online.
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