Canada’s Largest Tech Funding Rounds of 2018

This last year was another impressive one for Canadian technology companies. After getting off to a record-setting start in Q1, overall activity stayed strong throughout the year. Check out Canada’s largest funding rounds over the last 12 months—some names may surprise you, while others have become household brands in the industry. All figures are CAD.

1.) Enerkem – $280 million

Starting off the year strong was Enerkam, a Montreal-based cleantech firm that specializes in producing renewable chemicals from waste materials. Enerkem raised $280 million in early February from investors such as Rho Ventures and Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Cycle Capital, and the National Bank of Canada.

2.) PointClickCare – $186 million

This Toronto-based provider of cloud software for the senior care market picked up $186 million from their institutional investor, Dragoneer. This latest investment valued the company at over $1 billion, making it the latest entrant to Canada’s list of narwhals.

3.) Hopper – $128 million

Travel and experiences are one of the fastest-growing markets, and Hoper took advantage of that rapid growth by raising $128 million this past October in a round led by OMERS Ventures. The Montreal-based firm offers users an easy and intuitive way to book travel on their phone, powered by machine learning insights.

4.) Sonder – $115 million

Travel continued to shine in August when Sonder raised $115 million from Greenoaks Capital, among others. The Montreal platform acts as a sort of Airbnb but for spaces that are owned or leased by Sonder themselves.

5.) Coveo – $100 million

Quebec City’s Coveo raised $100 million from Evergreen Coast Capital and other large investors. Coveo uses AI insights to personalize digital experiences for their clients, working with huge names such as Adobe, Microsoft and Salesforce.

Honourable Mentions:

Clearbanc raised two separate financing rounds less than 35 days apart. The first, a $94 million round, came in November from the likes of Emergence Capital and Social Capital. The second, just over a month later, came in at $67 million from Upper90 and took only 17 days from start to finish to complete. The Toronto-based Clearbanc offers businesses an alternate route to funding by giving them money to buy ads, then taking a percentage of sales from leads generated by those ads until the debt is repaid.

Ritual, based in Toronto, raised $90 million for their Series C in June from the likes of Georgian Partners and others. The platform allows users to order food and beverages ahead of time and then go in-store to pick them up. It has launched in several major North American markets.

Ecobee raised $80 million in March from Energy Impact Ventures (and others), and then added onto their Series C with $47 million in May from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec among others. Also based in Toronto, ecobee is a leader in smart home technology with their Alexa-powered smart thermostat technology.