Business Development Bank of Canada

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is a government-owned financial institution established in 1944, headquartered in Montreal. It aims to foster economic growth and job creation by providing financial products and services primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Canada. BDC offers a range of services, including business loans, subordinate financing, venture capital, and consulting support in areas such as strategic planning and human resource management. The bank serves various industries, including aerospace, automotive, construction, food and beverage, manufacturing, mining, oil and gas, technology, and tourism. With a network of over 100 offices, BDC operates in both official languages, ensuring access to its services for a diverse clientele nationwide.

Steven Abrams

Partner

Nazmin Alani

Partner, Co-Investments

Phil Anzarut

Partner, Growth Venture Co-investment Fund

Dominique Belanger

Managing Partner

Hugo Belisle

Associate, Fund Investments

Tony Bommel

Senior Managing Partner

Kristina D’Amico

Associate, Fund Investments

Nicolas Gravel

Director, Fund Investments

Erika Kurczyn

Manager, Strategic Partnerships

Patrick Latour

SVP Growth & Transition Capital, Wholesale Financing

Joel McInnis

Associate, Fund Investments

Loren Rafeson

Partner, Growth Equity Partners

Michelle Scarborough

Managing Partner, BDC Capital

Robert Simon

Senior Managing Partner

Maxime Tourangeau

Partner

Past deals in Quebec

Entosystem

Venture Round in 2022
Entosystem is a Canadian company based in Sherbrooke that specializes in producing entomological proteins and flour derived from insects. Founded in 2016, the company uses innovative insect farming technologies to convert food waste, particularly grocery waste, into high-value insect protein products. These products, which include dried and live larvae, are aimed primarily at the animal nutrition market. Entosystem's ecologically responsible approach positions it as a key player in the circular agriculture economy, emphasizing sustainability and the recuperation of nutritional value from waste. The company currently employs a small team of six people.

Axya

Seed Round in 2022
Axya, formerly known as GRAD4 Inc., is a Montreal-based company that has developed an artificial intelligence platform aimed at automating industrial operations. The platform offers a software as a service (SaaS) solution that connects small and medium-sized manufacturing shop owners with suppliers, streamlining the subcontracting process for computer numerical control (CNC) machining, sheet metal, and parts manufacturing. Additionally, Axya provides contract management, quotation receipt, tender approval, and data analysis services, all designed to enhance efficiency in the manufacturing sector. Established in 2019, the company's marketplace standardizes and centralizes the subcontracting process, making it easier for users to access necessary services and materials.

Booxi

Seed Round in 2021
Booxi is a developer of business management software focused on simplifying appointment-based operations for retailers. The company's platform provides a range of features, including Customer Relationship Management (CRM), appointment management, online payment processing, and staff calendar management. By integrating these functionalities, Booxi aims to enhance the customer experience while streamlining event and appointment scheduling for businesses. The software also incorporates marketing automation tools and a virtual assistant, further supporting retailers in managing their appointments efficiently.

FLO

Series C in 2020
AddÉnergie Technologies Inc. is a leading Canadian company specializing in smart charging solutions for electric vehicles. Established in 2009 and based in Québec, the company develops, manufactures, and operates a range of charging stations tailored for various market segments, including the public sector, employers, multi-residential buildings, and fleets. Its product offerings include the SmartTWO and SmartDC charging stations for commercial and industrial use, as well as specialized solutions like the CoRe+ charger for private areas and the Curbside Charger. AddÉnergie is also the provider of the Electric Circuit and VERnetworkTM, two of Canada’s largest charging station networks, which collectively feature over 2,000 charging stations. The company supplies both the hardware and software necessary for managing these networks, and it is poised to expand its operations through new partnerships and networks internationally.

GHGSat

Series B in 2020
GHGSat Incorporated provides greenhouse gas emissions monitoring data and services. The company offers data products, including surface reflectance images, abundance datasets, concentration maps, and monitoring and emission rates. Its analysis services include monitoring of targeted sites, such as natural gas leaks from pipelines; emission rate estimations, including inventory analysis emission rate of species; augmented analysis of emissions; mosaics of commercial satellite imagery products; and trending analysis of emissions from individual sites, or grouped sites. The company offers its products through a network of resellers to oil and gas, power generation, mining, waste management, and agriculture markets in Canada and internationally. GHGSat Incorporated was founded in 2011 and is based in Montreal, Canada.

Flyscan

Venture Round in 2020
Flyscan Systems Inc. develops airborne platform that automates the detection of small oil leaks and offers a series of visual inspection functions. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Québec, Canada.

D-BOX Technologies

Post in 2020
D-BOX Technologies designs and manufactures motion systems for the entertainment and industrial markets worldwide. The company’s D-BOX Motion Code technology uses motion effects programmed for visual content that are sent to a motion system integrated into a platform, a seat, or other product and results in motion synchronization with on-screen action. It offers D-BOX MFX motion systems, D-BOX servers, and D-BOX transmitters for commercial theatres; motion platforms, systems, and controllers for home theatre submarket; and D-BOX actuators and motion interface to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). D-BOX Technologies was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Longueuil, Canada.

PAPER

Venture Round in 2020
Improve student achievement and teacher effectiveness with the leading Educational Support System. Leading school districts make Paper part of their strategic plan. Whether you need to support a high ELL population, improve math/English proficiency, reduce teacher turnover, or address opportunity gaps in a diverse socio-economic community, Paper helps you reach your district goals. Educational Equity Like Never Before Paper is the first comprehensive Educational Support System (ESS) featuring live help and writing feedback for students paired with real-time feedback and intervention tools for teachers.

Zetane Systems

Debt Financing in 2020
Zetane Systems is a Montreal-region software technology company specializing in commercial applications of artificial intelligence (AI). Zetane AI development engine is proprietary software that provides a visual, intuitive, and collaborative environment for businesses to build AI solutions and products based on machine learning models. The company aims to make the development of AI solutions more accessible to AI teams in businesses and promote abilities to explain the inner workings of complex neural networks to address “black box” concerns, increase stakeholder buy-in, reduce time to market, and mitigate risks prior to deployment. In addition to selling powerful software, the company also provides a full suite of consulting services to facilitate the adoption of AI solutions in diverse industries.

WeCook Meals

Venture Round in 2020
WeCook Meals produces and delivers home cooked fast food. Its online sales platform allows users to select from a range of meals, meats, and snacks; choose delivery location; and receive order. WeCook Meals was formerly known as Nutrition Fit Plus and changed its name to WeCook Meals. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Dorval, Canada.

Element AI

Series B in 2019
Element AI Inc. provides artificial intelligence solutions (AI) for organizations to identify opportunities to use artificial intelligence and machine learning and build AI solutions. It operates an AI as a Service (AIaaS) platform that enables businesses to launch and incubate AI solutions in partnership with large corporations. The company also operates a research and development laboratory that conducts research to deploy AI in computing infrastructure. It provides its products to insurance, banking and capital markets, manufacturing, logistics, retail, and consumer packaged goods industries. Element AI Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada with an additional office in Toronto, Canada.

Element AI

Series B in 2019
Element AI Inc. provides artificial intelligence solutions (AI) for organizations to identify opportunities to use artificial intelligence and machine learning and build AI solutions. It operates an AI as a Service (AIaaS) platform that enables businesses to launch and incubate AI solutions in partnership with large corporations. The company also operates a research and development laboratory that conducts research to deploy AI in computing infrastructure. It provides its products to insurance, banking and capital markets, manufacturing, logistics, retail, and consumer packaged goods industries. Element AI Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada with an additional office in Toronto, Canada.

GHGSat

Series A in 2018
GHGSat Incorporated provides greenhouse gas emissions monitoring data and services. The company offers data products, including surface reflectance images, abundance datasets, concentration maps, and monitoring and emission rates. Its analysis services include monitoring of targeted sites, such as natural gas leaks from pipelines; emission rate estimations, including inventory analysis emission rate of species; augmented analysis of emissions; mosaics of commercial satellite imagery products; and trending analysis of emissions from individual sites, or grouped sites. The company offers its products through a network of resellers to oil and gas, power generation, mining, waste management, and agriculture markets in Canada and internationally. GHGSat Incorporated was founded in 2011 and is based in Montreal, Canada.

Keatext

Seed Round in 2018
Keatext Inc. is a Montreal-based company founded in 2010 that offers a cloud-based solution designed to enhance business performance by analyzing customer feedback. Its primary product, Keatext, synthesizes unstructured data from various sources, including surveys, online reviews, chat logs, and social media, to provide actionable insights. This enables businesses to understand customer preferences and respond promptly to their needs. By delivering these insights on a comprehensive custom dashboard, Keatext helps organizations cultivate meaningful relationships with their customers and improve overall customer experience management.

VMIK Glasses

Debt Financing in 2018
VMIK Glass is a company specializing in the manufacture of tempered and laminated glass for the residential, commercial, industrial and institutional market. Glaziers, staircase manufacturers, door and window manufacturers and all construction professionals benefit from VMIK's expertise every day .

Glutenberg Group

Debt Financing in 2017
Producer of craft beers and spirits intended to deliver a unique drinking experience. The company offers gluten-free craft beer with a variety of flavors to the domestic and international markets.

Longpré BP

Venture Round in 2017
Les Entreprises Longpré manufactures and sells precast concrete toppings on wooden structures for the housing and multi-unit condo construction industry. Longpré BP was founded in Sherbrooke in 2017.

Transit

Series A in 2017
Transit is a mobile app intended to help its users navigate their cities. Transit simplifies local travel in 125 cities worldwide. Upon launch, the bright, intuitive interface shows all nearby transportation options and departures. Users can plan trips, set reminders, and get notifications about disruptions. Plus, Transit also integrates other sustainable transport modes -- bike sharing, car sharing and Uber -- so users can determine the best way to get from A to B. With millions of active users in the US and Canada, Transit has emerged as the leading urban transit app in North America. The company is based in Montreal, Quebec.

Element AI

Series A in 2017
Element AI Inc. provides artificial intelligence solutions (AI) for organizations to identify opportunities to use artificial intelligence and machine learning and build AI solutions. It operates an AI as a Service (AIaaS) platform that enables businesses to launch and incubate AI solutions in partnership with large corporations. The company also operates a research and development laboratory that conducts research to deploy AI in computing infrastructure. It provides its products to insurance, banking and capital markets, manufacturing, logistics, retail, and consumer packaged goods industries. Element AI Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada with an additional office in Toronto, Canada.

bottlebeez

Convertible Note in 2017
bottlebeez is a multipurpose suite of mobile and web applications aimed for consumers and businesses within the hospitality and nightlife space.

Kinesiq inc

Debt Financing in 2017
Kinesiq create and commercialize equipment that integrates motion technologies and multimedia content allowing improvement of physical and mental health, that are interesting and simple to use, efficient and adapted to people of all age for them to stay active, productive and autonomous

nutritionr

Seed Round in 2016
Nutritionr is an online platform that offers personalized and professional nutritional coaching. It aims to have a positive impact on the quality of life of our customers by giving them easy access to the necessary resources.

Diablo Technologies

Series C in 2016
Diablo Technologies is a private fabless semiconductor company established in 2002, specializing in the design of large mixed signal ASIC products that prioritize high data rates, low power consumption, and low latency. The company focuses on developing memory system interface products aimed at next-generation enterprise computing, particularly for data-intensive applications. By leveraging deep sub-micron CMOS technology, Diablo's products enhance the performance of memory systems, accelerating virtualization, database management, financial services, and big data analytics. This advancement enables organizations to achieve greater business value through improved efficiency and resource consolidation in their computing environments.

Omnimed.Com

Debt Financing in 2015
OmnimedCom is a computer software company.

Budge Studios

Private Equity Round in 2015
Budge Studios Inc. is a company based in Montreal, Canada, that specializes in developing and publishing children's applications for smartphones and tablets. Founded in 2010, Budge Studios offers a diverse portfolio of apps that includes original and branded properties aimed at entertaining and educating children. Its notable offerings feature popular characters from franchises such as Barbie, Thomas & Friends, Strawberry Shortcake, Caillou, The Smurfs, Hello Kitty, and Crayola. The company's applications are designed to be safe and age-appropriate, ensuring that children can engage with them in a creative and enjoyable manner. Additionally, Budge Studios has introduced the Budge Playgroup program, which invites parents or legal guardians to participate in the app development process, promoting a collaborative approach to content creation.

Provender

Seed Round in 2014
Provender is an online platform that enables farmers to create direct-trade associations with buyers. The platform allows farmers to quantify and organize their yields, and make that data accessible to buyers everywhere. Provender was founded in April 2013 and is based in Montréal, Quebec.

Diablo Technologies

Venture Round in 2013
Diablo Technologies is a private fabless semiconductor company established in 2002, specializing in the design of large mixed signal ASIC products that prioritize high data rates, low power consumption, and low latency. The company focuses on developing memory system interface products aimed at next-generation enterprise computing, particularly for data-intensive applications. By leveraging deep sub-micron CMOS technology, Diablo's products enhance the performance of memory systems, accelerating virtualization, database management, financial services, and big data analytics. This advancement enables organizations to achieve greater business value through improved efficiency and resource consolidation in their computing environments.

FounderFuel

Convertible Note in 2012
FounderFuel is a mentor-driven venture accelerator based in Montreal, Canada, established in 2011 by Real Ventures. The accelerator offers a three-month intensive program designed to assist new startups in progressing along their venture path. By providing access to a network of experienced entrepreneurs, operators, and executives, FounderFuel helps companies refine their visions, expand their networks, and accelerate their growth. The firm focuses on seed funding and emphasizes technology, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Milestone Pharmaceuticals

Series A in 2011
Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes etripamil for the treatment of cardiovascular indications. It is developing etripamil, a novel channel blocker, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in the United States and Canada, as well as for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, angina, and other cardiovascular indications. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Montréal, Canada.

Audiokinetic

Venture Round in 2007
Audiokinetic Inc. provides cross-platform audio solutions for the interactive media and gaming industries in Canada and internationally. It offers WaveWorks Interactive Sound Engine (Wwise), an audio pipeline solution that features an optimized sound engine for managing audio processing; and an event based audio authoring tool for creating audio asset structures, integrating interactive music elements, defining audio propagation, managing sound integration, and creating SoundBanks. The company also offers Wwise add-ons that include Wwise Convolution, a reverb effect plug-in that creates reverberation based on samples of real spaces; SoundSeed, a family of cross-platform interactive sound generators for game audio; and Wwise Motion, which allows users to author, simulate, profile, and edit in real–time directly in Wwise’s authoring application. In addition, it offers consulting services that comprise custom tool/feature development, project support, training, project evaluation, and sound engine integration; and support services. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Montreal, Canada. As of January 31, 2019, Audiokinetic Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC.

Aegera Therapeutics

Series C in 2006
Aegera Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing targeted therapeutics to address major unmet medical needs. Aegera has three programs in clinical development, two for oncology and one for neuropathic pain. Aegera is also dedicated to identifying novel development candidates based upon its core technologies and internal expertise and experience in rapidly moving lead candidates through preclinical development and into clinical trials.

Resonant Medical

Series B in 2005
Resonant Medical develops, manufactures, and commercializes 3D ultrasound image-guided adaptive radiotherapy products. Its products include Clarity Breast System, an IGRT solution for precise non-ionizing guidance for boost and conformal breast treatments; Clarity Prostate System, an IGRT solution for precise non-invasive guidance for prostate treatments; and Multi-Anatomy System, an IGRT solution for precise non-invasive guidance for soft tissue anatomy IGRT treatments, such as gyne and bladder. Resonant Medical serves physicians, physicists, therapists, and administrators. Fred Francis, Anthony Falco, Luc Sirois, and François Perraton founded it in 2000, with its headquarters in Montreal in Canada, and Elekta acquired it as of May 31, 2010.

Topigen Pharmaceuticals

Series B in 2005
Topigen Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that is focused on the scientific research and development of therapeutic drugs. It develops treatments for respiratory disorders, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Topigen Pharmaceuticals offers TPI ASM8, a drug that is developed for the management of moderate to severe asthma; and TPI 1100, a drug that is developed for the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Topigen Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Pharmaxis in January 2010. Topigen Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2000 and is based in Montreal, Quebec.

Topigen Pharmaceuticals

Venture Round in 2004
Topigen Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that is focused on the scientific research and development of therapeutic drugs. It develops treatments for respiratory disorders, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Topigen Pharmaceuticals offers TPI ASM8, a drug that is developed for the management of moderate to severe asthma; and TPI 1100, a drug that is developed for the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Topigen Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Pharmaxis in January 2010. Topigen Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2000 and is based in Montreal, Quebec.

Chronogen

Series B in 2003
Chronogen Inc. a biotechnology company headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Nanox

Series B in 2003
Nanox, Inc. develops and manufactures nanostructured perovskite-based catalyst formulations for emission control.

Ltrim Technologies

Series B in 2003
LTRIM Technologies is a development-stage fabless semiconductor company, engaged in the design and development of high-performance analog integrated circuit products. It was founded in October 1998 by Physics Engineer Yves Gagnon, Professor Yvon Savaria PhD, and Professor Michel Meunier PhD. The company was conceived to commercialize the results of a three-year R & D project carried out by the founders at the École Polytechnique of Montréal (one of Canada's leading post-secondary engineering institutions) between January 1998 and May 2000.

Aegera Therapeutics

Venture Round in 2002
Aegera Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing targeted therapeutics to address major unmet medical needs. Aegera has three programs in clinical development, two for oncology and one for neuropathic pain. Aegera is also dedicated to identifying novel development candidates based upon its core technologies and internal expertise and experience in rapidly moving lead candidates through preclinical development and into clinical trials.

Maximum Throughput

Series A in 2002
Maximum Throughput Inc. is a networked storage developer whose products deliver SAN performance over TCP/IP. The Company's unique solutions provide many times the storage bandwidth of other NAS and SAN products, using software that runs on commodity hardware. Maximum Throughput's products offer unparalleled performance capacity management, and capacity availability, and have the lowest total cost-of-ownership in their class.