Toronto startups attracted the most venture capital financing in Canada for the first half of 2015, receiving $157M of the total $360M. Toronto and Waterloo/Kitchener combined captured 60% of all VC financing. Seed and Series A rounds saw strong activity with average deals of $1.1M and $5.7M respectively. Analytics was the top technology trend receiving investment, as storing, organizing and analyzing massive datasets has become important. While consumer startups receive media attention, 71% of VC dollars were actually invested in B2B startups, with many of the largest rounds going to unknown B2B companies.

1. H1 2015 Venture Capital
Financing in Canada
Amir Bashir

2. Toronto startups continue to lead the country,
attracting $157M (43%) out of $360M in H1 2015
Venture Capital Financing by City
(CAD $ Millions Invested)
Venture Capital Financing by City
(# of Companies Financed)
1
1
3
1
2
1
13
4
1
1
35
16
1
13
Burnaby
Calgary
Edmonton
Halifax
Mississauga
Moncton
Montreal
Ottawa
Quebec City
St. John
Toronto
Vancouver
Victoria
Waterloo/Kitchener
Toronto and Waterloo/Kitchener combined capture 60% ($220M) of all VC financing in H1 2015. This super-cluster
of talent and capital has the ability to compete on the world-stage alongside other major innovation hubs
Source: Crunchbase, Media Press Releases See slides 9 & 10 to understand the methodology
$17.0
$1.2
$9.4
$0.2
$4.0
$3.0
$36.7
$10.3
$2.5
$3.3
$157.2
$48.0
$4.5
$62.6
Burnaby
Calgary
Edmonton
Halifax
Mississauga
Moncton
Montreal
Ottawa
Quebec City
St. John
Toronto
Vancouver
Victoria
Waterloo/Kitchener

3. Seed and Series A rounds saw strong activity, with
the average round at $1.1M and $5.7M respectively
Despite rising valuations, Canadian financing opportunities still remain attractive. The average global seed
financing deal as of H1 2015 is estimated at $1.4M, 27% higher than the average seed round in Canada
Venture Capital Financing by Stage (CAD $ Millions Invested) Average Financing Per Round
Seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D
$1.1M
$5.7M
$18M
$15M
$30M
Stage
Average
Financing
$45.0
$131.8
$90.0
$60.0
$30.0
Seed Series A Series B Series C Series D
Venture Capital Financing by Stage (# of Companies)
42
23
5 4 1
Seed Series A Series B Series C Series D
Source: Crunchbase, Media Press Releases, Prequin See slides 9 & 10 to understand the methodology

4. Analytics is hot – Storing, organizing, and driving
insights from massive datasets is big business
Trends driving this activity: 1) “Dumb” devices across all industries are coming online, 2) Online platforms can now
connect buyers with sellers at scale, and 3) Corporations do not want to change, creating disruptive opportunities
Source: Crunchbase, Media Press Releases
$63.4
$57.7
$48.9
$39.7 $37.1
$21.7 $20.5
$19.2
$14.1
$7.7 $7.0 $6.9
$5.1 $3.8 $2.7 $2.1 $1.2 $0.5 $0.5 $0.0
Venture Capital Financing by Technology Trend (CAD $ Millions Invested)
See slides 9 & 10 to understand the methodology

5. Venture Capital Financing by Technology Trend (Seed Stage Only, CAD $ Millions Invested)$7.8
$5.7
$5.0
$4.4
$3.4
$3.2 $3.1
$2.7 $2.7
$2.1
$1.7
$1.2 $1.2
$0.5 $0.4 $0.1
However, buzz words like mobile, cloud, and
analytics will fade as they become commoditized
Startups today have two options: To take an existing business model and copy it into a new vertical or geography
(fast growing stuff), or innovate and develop a product (or service) unlike anything that exists (the hard stuff)
Source: Crunchbase, Media Press Releases
This stuff is growing fast. We have figured out business
models that work and are leveraging them to build value
This stuff is becoming a commodity. All startups have cloud, analytics,
mobility, etc. Defining your startup this way does not derive value
This stuff is hard. We are just figuring it
out now. Only brightest survive here
See slides 9 & 10 to understand the methodology

6. 66% of startups focus on a specific industry, with
retail receiving the most attention in H1 2015
As the “Internet of Things” brings machines and equipment online, dinosaur industries like financial services,
government, health care, energy, and utilities will create large opportunities for startups to disrupt
Source: Crunchbase, Media Press Releases
% of Startups that received financing
in H1 2015 by focus
66%
34%
Focused on specific vertical
Not Vertical Specific
VC Financing by Vertical
(Canadian startups focused on a specific vertical, CAD $ Millions Invested)
$71.6
$39.7
$34.0
$11.0$8.9 $8.0 $6.0 $6.0 $5.7 $5.1 $3.7 $3.3 $2.5 $1.5 $1.2 $1.2 $0.9 $0.3 $0.2 $0.1 $0.0 $0.0 $0.0
See slides 9 & 10 to understand the methodology

7. 8.1%
0.0%
3.0%
0.0%
4.2%
18.8%
16.1%
2.8% 2.7%
0.6% 0.0%
33.9%
0.1% 0.0%
9.6%
2.1% 1.6%
0.7%
7.0%
5.2%
7.1% 6.7% 6.8%
10.5%
8.1%
12.7%
5.5%
3.2% 2.5%
20.3%
Hospitality &
Food
Agriculture Arts,
Entertainment,
Recreation
Construction Education Financial
Services
Government Health Care Manufacturing Metals, Mining,
Oil & Gas
Real Estate Retail Technology Utilities Others
VC Financing by Sector as a % of total GDP by Sector as a % of total
Capital is over indexing in retail, food and
hospitality while forgetting the “boring” industries
Startups have begun the attacking slow moving industries like Financial Services and Government Services, but
opportunities are still abundant. These “boring” industries make up 90% of Canada’s GDP and cannot be forgotten
Source: Crunchbase, Media Press Releases, Statistics Canada
Venture Capital Financing by Vertical Compared to GDP by Vertical
(Canadian startups focused on a specific vertical, % of total CAD $)
See slides 9 & 10 to understand the methodology

8. Despite consumer startups receiving lots of media
and fanfare, VC dollars are largely invested in B2B
7 out of the 10 largest financing rounds in H1 2015 were B2B including companies like MioVision, SecureKey
Technologies, Vidyard, and Bit Stew Systems. Many of these players are unknown to average Canadian
Source: Crunchbase, Media Press Releases
72%
28%
B2B B2C
% of B2B vs B2C Startups that
received financing in H1 2015
% of Venture Capital dollars in H1 2015 that was invested in
startups with a focus on:
Consumers
29% 15% 30% 26%
Small
Businesses
Large
Businesses
Small & Large
Businesses
71%
See slides 9 & 10 to understand the methodology

9. Methodology & FAQ (1/2)
Q: How was this information collected?
A: All financing rounds were pulled from public sources including Crunchbase, AngelList, company press
releases, and media websites like Betakit and TechVibes. This creates a bottom-up approach to the market
where I have attempted to track down every publicly available financing deal I could find. As a result, this is
not a 100% complete picture of the financing landscape - many financing rounds are completed privately and
can not be included. This includes the majority of angel rounds as they are unlikely to be reported
Q: Does this capture all categories of venture capital?
A: This only includes technology (ICT) specific venture capital. This does not include venture capital related to
biopharmaceuticals, clean energy, agriculture, or other sectors. These sectors often attract larger financing
rounds due to the capital-intensive nature of their business. Also the players in these sectors tend to be
different from the investors seen in the technology sector
Q: What is included in H1 2015?
A: All financing rounds from January 1st 2015 to June 30th 2015
Amir Bashir, @amirbashir42, www.amirbashir.ca

10. Methodology & FAQ (2/2)
Q: How did you assign technology categories to each company?
A: I assigned based on which category each company derived its value from; of course not all companies fit
into just one category. For example company X can be a retail big data company (analytics) that runs on a
cloud platform (SaaS) and collects data on customer interactions through the use of in-store beacons (IOT).
For the sake of simplicity, I chose the category where the most value is being created for the company. In this
example, the analytics segment is what will drive the value proposition as the engine will turn data points into
actionable insights that will help retailers grow
Q: What do you mean by automation?
A: Taking a complex process that often involves manual input from employees and automating the process to
remove friction. One example would be Checkfront, a company based out of Victoria, BC that is automating
booking and payments for tour companies (sightseeing), accommodations and equipment rentals. These
service based companies can use Checkfront to quickly set up an availability calendar on their website,
allowing customers to choose when they want their service, and giving them the ability to pay for their
service online. This reduces a lot of friction for the customer making it a more enjoyable experience right from
the discovery stage
Amir Bashir, @amirbashir42, www.amirbashir.ca