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A crown corporation that invests in venture capital funds in order to help spur the growth of Alberta’s technology sector has made one of its largest-ever investments.
Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC) announced Tuesday that it has invested US$15 million into Inovia Capital, a Canadian venture capital firm that has previously funded several of Calgary’s promising tech start-ups, including Symend and Neo Financial.
The investment is one of the largest the crown corporation has made in its 10-year history, said AEC CEO Kristina Williams. Last summer, the Alberta government earmarked $175 million for AEC to help accelerate its work, and the Inovia investment is drawn from that, Williams said.
“Companies need access to what I call the four M’s — they need access to money, markets, mentors and management talent to be able to stay and grow here,” Williams said in an interview. “And so by investing in VC funds like we do, we facilitate bringing that to the province.”
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Inovia Capital — which is headquartered in Montreal but co-founded in Alberta, with offices in Toronto, Calgary, San Francisco and London — manages over US$1.5B across early and growth-stage funds. Its US$450M Inovia Growth Fund II is focused on growth stage investments in software companies, especially those looking to “transform old industries or push new technology frontiers.”
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The $15 million investment announced Tuesday marks Alberta Enterprise’s third investment in an Inovia fund over the last decade. Inovia partner Shawn Abbott said in an interview he is bullish about the future of the province’s tech sector.
“Calgary has become a real bright light. We saw Benevity grow here, we saw Solium grow here,” Abbott said. “Edmonton has become a real bright light for a number of different reasons, including the strength of its university in AI.”
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Abbott said he firmly believes that fostering the growth of promising tech startups and ensuring they grow here rather than decamping to the United States in pursuit of capital is key to the ultimate diversification of the Alberta economy.
“The aspiration with this fund is to add thousands of new jobs (to Alberta), not just dozens or hundreds. I think as a community, that is the reinvention of our economy,” Abbott said.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta broke its own record for venture capital attraction in 2020, bringing in more than $300 million.
