Valence Discovery Announces $8.5 Million in Seed Funding to Scale AI-Based Generative Chemistry Engine and Collaborations with Leading Discovery Organizations
Valence Discovery (“Valence”) , a leader in AI-first design of novel chemistry against previously intractable biology, announced today that it has closed an oversubscribed US$7 million seed financing. The financing, which was co-led by Fifty Years and Air Street Capital, with participation from Amplitude Ventures, Phoenix Venture Partners, and Abcam founder and former CEO, Jonathan Milner, adds to US$1.5 million raised previously, bringing Valence’s total seed funding to US$8.5 million.
Hydrostor Secures US$250 Million Investment from Goldman Sachs Asset Management to Accelerate Growth
Hydrostor Inc. (“Hydrostor”), a leading long-duration energy storage solution provider, today announced a preferred equity financing commitment of US$250 million from the Private Equity and Sustainable Investing businesses within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“Goldman Sachs”).
EarlyBird Education Raises Funding from Lobby Capital for Game-Based Pre-Literacy Assessment
EarlyBird Education, developer of the EarlyBird game-based early literacy assessment, has raised $3.5 million in funding, led by venture capital firm Lobby Capital. In addition, David Hornik, founding partner at Lobby Capital and founder of the Lobby Conferences, will join the EarlyBird Education Board of Directors.
Amplify Capital Closes $30.7 Million for Second Fund, Eyes Québec Startups with Montréal Office
Toronto-based Amplify Capital has secured the final close for its second impact investment fund, raising a total $30.7 million CAD—exceeding its initial $30 million goal.
Founded in 2016 as the MaRS Catalyst Fund with a $5.8 million Fund I, Amplify rebranded and spun out of the MaRS Discovery District in 2019. Led by private equity veteran and Managing Partner Kathryn Wortsman, Amplify backs early-stage Canadian healthtech, edtech, and cleantech startups at the seed and Series A stages.
“We want to support traditional investors thinking about [that] double bottom line.”
-Kathryn Wortsman, Amplify
EarlyBird Education Raises Funding for Game-Based Pre-Literacy Assessment
From Fund I to Fund II: our learnings
It has been almost five years since our first investment from our Fund I. Since then, we have doubled the team size, achieved great social and environmental impact, invested in 16 companies, of which one exited, and reviewed over 1,200 investment opportunities. Building on the success from our Fund I, we have even bigger ambitions for our Fund II. It’s an exciting time for Amplify Capital.
As countries reaffirm their climate goals, Hydrostor gains global traction
This week, the European Commission released an anticipated first look into a long set of proposals, which will bring the continent closer to its European Green Deal objective of climate neutrality by 2050. This new set of proposals, titled Fit for 55, is nothing short of ambitious. It aims to reduce emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
Celebrating Canada’s venture sector
A week ago, Canadians, border to border, celebrated or reflected on Canada Day. We hope your day was filled with maple syrup, Tim Hortons, and passionate discussions about the National Hockey League series. We wanted to highlight why Canada is not only a wonderful place to live, but also a wonderful place to invest.
Smoking Cessation Startup Ditch Labs Completes $1.3 Million Seed Round to Solve Nicotine Addiction and Tobacco Use
Kathryn Wortsman with Collision on Proving That Impact Investing is Truly a Financial Advantage
“IMPACT-FOCUSED VENTURE CAPITAL IS PLAYING A GROWING ROLE IN DEVELOPING A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE WORLD AND YIELDING TOP DECILE FINANCIAL RETURNS. AS WE COUNT DOWN TO COLLISION 2021, WE CAUGHT UP WITH AMPLIFY CAPITAL MANAGING PARTNER KATHRYN WORTSMAN TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE INDUSTRY HAS GROWN.”