Venture Capital Association of Alberta (VCAA)

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who joined us at Lake Louise last week for our 13th annual Ski Conference. Additionally, we are immensely grateful to our sponsors, without whom this event would not have been possible! The conference day topics and speakers included: 🧠 AI Investing: Insights into what works and what hasn’t Noah Nagle of Inovia Capital, Heather Redman of Flying Fish Partners, and moderated by Kristina Williams of Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC) 💰 Alberta government’s thoughts on venture capital David James, Deputy Minister, Technology and Innovation, the Government of Alberta 📈 Economic trends and their ripple effect on venture capital Pierre Cleroux, Chief Economist at BDC 🌱 Building a realistic ecosystem Aubrie Pagano of Alpaca VC, Chris Neumann of Panache Ventures, moderated by Wade Preston of National Bank of Canada 💸 VCCI Update and shifting dynamics in VC secondaries Senia Rapisarda, LL.M, CIM, of HarbourVest Partners, Lauren Harris of Northleaf Capital Partners, Calvin Marks of Felicitas Global Partners 🔭 Founder's perspective on working with VCs through the rollercoaster of building a company Fangjin Y. of Imply, interviewed by Terry Doyle of TELUS Ventures Being able to spend some quality time, either on the chairlift or at the hotel, with some incredible people helping grow our economy, support founders, and inspire future leaders was truly remarkable. Also, thank you to the snow gods for coming through for us this past week. It was much needed and came right on time! ❄🙏 Thanks Ian Macdonald for writing such a great post ;)

Alberta Innovates has received $10 million in funding from PrairiesCan, allowing us to establish a specialized production and testing facility to commercialize technologies that convert Alberta-sourced bitumen into carbon fibre. Carbon fibre made from oil sands bitumen has 69% percent lower emissions than conventional carbon fibre and could triple the value of Alberta’s bitumen resources. The potential of our Bitumen Beyond Combustion (BBC) program is in the tens of billions of dollars a year in gross revenue from advanced products. PrairiesCan funding, coupled with investments from Alberta’s Technology and Innovation ministry, unlocks the potential of Alberta’s bitumen resources and advanced carbon fibre production for private sector commercial investment. Read more: https://bit.ly/3W7cFEH Prairies Economic Development Canada I Développement économique Canada pour les Prairies | Alberta Technology and Innovation | Nate Glubish | Randy Boissonnault | Jyoti Gondek | Michael Mahon | George Chahal | Jason Chernow | Sean DeVries

🌟Attention Founders🌟 Our next VCAA Deal Flow Call is scheduled for Thursday, July 4th, 2024. This is an opportunity for a group of investors and ecosystem supporters to come together and exchange VC investment opportunities, ranging from pre-seed to Series A, across Canada. If you’re ready to showcase your company to potential investors, now’s the time to submit your information. Please fill out the form at the link below: https://lnkd.in/g8sCAG5R Wondering who our members are and what their investment thesis is? Find out here: https://lnkd.in/gy-EkHUf Please note that the VCAA Deal Flow Calls are a private space for VCAA members only. If you know a founder who would benefit from this, please share this post. Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC), BDC, Verdex Capital, Accelerate Fund, McRock Capital, Graphite Ventures, EnerTech Capital, InterGen, Weave VC, Panache Ventures, Yaletown Partners, The51, Evok Innovations, ScaleGood Fund LP, Innovate Calgary, Avatar Innovations Inc., IA Capital Group, Alpaca VC, Intrinsic Venture Capital, Tall Grass Ventures, Flying Fish Partners, Relay Ventures, Thin Air Labs, Azure Capital Partners, Builders VC, Koan Capital Corp., WATCT, Sprout Fund, Amplitude Ventures, Inovia Capital, AltaML, Sustainable Development Technology Canada - Technologies du Développement Durable Canada, Startup TNT, Plug and Play Canada, 500 Global, Pender Ventures, Valhalla Private Capital, General Bank of Canada, Band Venture Partners, Bennett Jones

We are excited to publish the AEC 2023 Alberta Technology Deal Flow Study. The Study provides the leading benchmark for measuring the health, growth and composition of the Alberta technology and innovation sector. Findings depict a growing ecosystem comprised of companies responsive to the changing times. 2,378 companies were identified as of the end of 2023, a 157% increase since 2012. 69% of surveyed companies developing a software solution, more than any year prior. And as Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) applications become household names, Alberta companies are developing these solutions into their product offerings at a rapid pace, shown by a significant increase in the number of companies integrating these technologies from 36% in 2021, to 46% in 2023. For this year's study, we amended the inclusion criteria and sector classifications to more closely align with venture capital peers. The sectors now align with the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA)'s, allowing easier comparison to the investment figures published in their quarterly Market Reports. Inclusion criteria are focused chiefly on companies whose primary income stream came from the sale of a novel product or service, and that required significant innovation though research and/or development efforts. The inclusion criteria aligns with Start Alberta, who's platform will be adding those identified in The Study, and will continue to track these companies along with newly created ones as time progresses. The Study would not be possible without the support and contributions of hundreds of companies, founders, and organizations that make up the Alberta ecosystem. A special thanks to #KPMGCalgary and Ian Macdonald, who worked tirelessly with AEC to produce this Study. Find the Study here: https://lnkd.in/g-D-j_V Thank you to our funds who contributed: Accelerate Fund, Alpaca VC, Amplitude Ventures, Azure Capital Partners, Builders VC, Evok Innovations, Flying Fish Partners, Inovia Capital, McRock Capital, Panache Ventures, Relay Ventures, Sprout Fund, The51 Food and AgTech Fund, Yaletown Partners, PillarFour Capital Partners Inc. And to the ecosystem organizations who helped: Alberta IoT, Biohubx, Canadian Accelerator & Incubator Network - CAIN, Creative Destruction Lab, Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA), Venture Capital Association of Alberta (VCAA), Edmonton Unlimited, Platform Calgary, HaloHealth, Startup TNT, Technology Alberta, Thin Air Labs, + many more! And to the hundreds of founders and companies who spent their precious time to respond to the Survey. Your input truly makes a difference in how AEC and others support #AlbertaTech.

🚀 Very proud to share the Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC) 2023 #Alberta Technology Deal Flow Study, measuring the health, growth, and composition of our #tech and #innovation sector. 📊💡 📈 2,378 identified #technology companies, a 157% increase from 2012 🏔 63% in #Calgary, 29% in #Edmonton, and 9% in Other Alberta 👩 37% of survey respondents report having at least one female founder, a 10% increase from 2021 👨🏾 39% of survey respondents report having a visible minority founder, a 3% increase from 2021 👩💻 69% of surveyed companies say software is their primary digital innovation 🧠 46% of surveyed companies are utilizing #ai and #ml, the highest ever reported Please click the link in the comments to download the full report. 👇🔗 I'm incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to work on this report with AEC, Alan Campbell, Christiana Manzocco, Kristina Williams, Prairies Economic Development Canada I Développement économique Canada pour les Prairies #PrairiesCan, and my many KPMG Canada #KPMGCalgary colleagues. 🎉 Thank you to the hundreds and hundreds of #abtech #startups and #founders who contributed through the survey. 🙏 You are all so busy and we appreciate you taking the time to contribute to this valuable report. ⌚ Thank you to all of the funds who contributed: Accelerate Fund, Alpaca VC, Amplitude Ventures, Azure Capital Partners, Builders VC, Evok Innovations, Flying Fish Partners, Inovia Capital, McRock Capital, Panache Ventures, Relay Ventures, Sprout Fund, The51 Food and AgTech Fund, Yaletown Partners, PillarFour Capital Partners Inc. 🙌 And thank you to the ecosystem organizations who provided data and support: Alberta IoT, Biohubx, Canadian Accelerator & Incubator Network - CAIN, Creative Destruction Lab-Rockies, Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA), Venture Capital Association of Alberta (VCAA), Edmonton Unlimited, Platform Calgary, HaloHealth, Startup TNT, Technology Alberta, Thin Air Labs, and many more! 👏 Here's to the continued growth and success of our #technology sector in our great province! 🌱✨ #yyctech #yycbusiness #yycbiz #yycstartups #yycinnovation #calgarytech #calgarybusiness #calgaryinnovation #albertatech #yegtech #yegbusiness #yegstartups #yeginnovation #edmontontech #edmontonbusiness #edmontonstartups #edmontoninnovation #albertatech #albertabusiness #albertastartups #albertainnovation #business #startup #startups #scaleups #founders #femalefounders #blackfounders #indigenousfounders #prairiestartups #PrairiePower #KPMGHGVCanada #KPMGHighGrowthVentures

We had our first VCAA Pickleball Social yesterday! ☀️ A couple of hours of outdoor with great company and some friendly competition! Thanks everyone for coming out. Sara Mohajerani, Shruti Sharma, Rehan Ahmad, Vincent Chahley, David Pratt, MPAcc, CPA, CBV, Jehangir Appoo, MD, Peter Santosham, Matt Wilson, MBA, Manuel Garcia, Ayo Aiyeleye, MSc, PMP®, Abbey Kaminker, Nathan Karbonik, Malia Chan, Christopher Singh Gandhu, JD, TEP, FEA, Kirstyn Valentine, Eugene Chen, Raissa Espiritu, Gagan Kapoor, Ameen Y., Jasmine Kassam, Hani Tabsh

My biggest takeaway from the past couple of months, and the conversations we’ve been having around the capital gains tax, is this: Canadians are desperate for a serious conversation about the economy. Today, we saw some interesting moves from Pierre Poilievre on this front: First, he released a 15-minute video outlining his economic vision. Watch it. This isn’t political theatre—it’s packed with real substance, data, and ideas. (Link below) Second, the Conservative Party of Canada voted against Parliament's capital gains tax hike this afternoon. While it’s unlikely this policy will be defeated in Parliament, it would’ve been easy for the opposition to let this issue slide. But it seems they’re listening to the concerns of business owners, innovators, and investors. The Council of Canadian Innovators | Conseil canadien des innovateurs has always been non-partisan, advocating for the Canadian tech sector. We’ll work with any government or political party ready to support innovation. What we’re seeing from the Conservatives is an acknowledgment of the deep desire among Canadians to discuss the economy and develop strategies for prosperity. I hope the Liberal Party of Canada • Parti Libéral du Canada & New Democratic Party of Canada will get the message soon. We’re also ready to work with them if they’re prepared to tackle the realities of global competition, investment, innovation, and serious economic growth strategies. Link to video: https://lnkd.in/g944Ameu

“What we’re seeing from the Conservatives is an acknowledgment of the deep desire among Canadians to discuss the economy and develop strategies for prosperity.” In other words, “it’s the economy, stupid.” (Apologies to all in my network born after James Carville turned this phrase in 1992) I’ll echo Benjamin’s other sentiment here; the Council of Canadian Innovators | Conseil canadien des innovateurs is a non-partisan organization, but we consistently acknowledge common sense policy positions where we see them. CC Nate Glubish, Nate Horner, Justin Brattinga, Venture Capital Association of Alberta (VCAA), Irfhan Rawji, Adam Legge, Donna Harpauer, Adrien Sala, MSc BComm PMP, Cory Janssen, Nicole Janssen, Omi Velasco, Alberta Medical Association (AMA)

We are thrilled to announce today our investment into McRock Capital Fund III to support the growth of early stage Alberta companies focused on digital transformation of industrial sectors. “Alberta is home to global talent in machine learning, and is a leader in building technologies for operating efficient and clean industrial businesses,” commented Kristina Williams, CEO, Alberta Enterprise Corporation. “More than 50 percent of Alberta startups develop industrial software for energy, mining and other industries, and McRock investment will help our most promising companies to grow and compete globally.” #ABTech #VC #Startup #AEC

🌟 Exciting Announcement! 🌟 Thrilled to share that we have an incredible lineup for the panel discussion on "Venture Capital and Fintech Startups: Navigating Challenges and Success Stories" at the upcoming Canada FinTech Symposium! 🚀 🎤 Moderator: Sandi Gilbert, Founder DealPoint Capital /CEO InterGen 🌟 Panelists: - Stephen Preston Exempt Edge - Dr. Christy Lane iA Capital Markets - Reinaldo Varela eCloud4 Register today to secure your delegate ticket https://lnkd.in/ghP2gNXJ Join us in welcoming these esteemed industry leaders on board for what promises to be an insightful and engaging discussion! 🌐 Stay tuned for more updates on this must-attend event! Save the date for the Canada Fintech Symposium and get ready to be inspired by these fintech innovators. 📅 #Fintech #VentureCapital #Startups #CanadaFintechSymposium #Innovation #ExpertPanel