Top 50 Life Science Startup Investors in Canada in November 2024

We transform the most promising oncology innovations into highly competitive opportunities that benefit patients, researchers, investors, and Ontario's economy.

Real Ventures is an early-stage venture firm focused on serving daring entrepreneurs with the ambition to create successful, global companies. Since 2007, Real Ventures has dedicated itself to building the Canadian startup ecosystem on the belief that people, not money, build game-changing companies. Real Ventures provides stage-specific guidance,mentorship, and access to networks and resources to fast-track founders’ personal and company growth. Real Ventures manages $325 million across five funds and its active portfolio of 100+ companies is currently valued at $10 billion. www.realventures.com

We stand proudly on a foundation of deep experience and a demonstrable body of success creating, building, and growing break-out companies.

The E-Fund (VANTEC Entrepreneurs Fund VCC Inc.) was established in 2011 to invest in promising new ventures in British Columbia in a wide range of industry sectors. They are focused on co-investing with other angel investors and early-stage venture capital firms in seed-stage companies with high growth opportunities.The E-Fund involvesspecific investors in the investment due diligence process depending on their industry experience and knowledge and their particular technical expertise. It is their goal to become the ‘Go-to Braintrust’ for active and in-depth angel investing.

Apjohn Ventures Fund is a new venture capital firm based in Kalamazoo, Michigan established to invest primarily in early stage life sciences companies across the Midwest. The goal of the Fund is to provide investors with superior financial returns by making equity investments in innovative life sciences companies with sustainable and outstandinggrowth potential.

Value-added investors for innovative entrepreneurs.

A voice in setting the standards, best practices and processes in health technologies ; a privileged access to 190+ members

Canada's leading nationwide pre-seed venture fund.

Radical Ventures invests in the future of how we live, work and play, partnering with founders who understand the transformational power of AI.

MaRS Innovation (MI) is a commercialization engine that integrates, centralizes and accelerates time to market of the discovery and intellectual property assets from its 15 world-class research institutions. MI’s discovery and innovation pipeline is derived from $1 billion in annual R&D funding. Created as a not-for-profit organizationthrough the Government of Canada’s Center of Excellence for Commercialization and Research program (CECR), MI has raised $50 million from federal and provincial governments, member institutions and industry partners. MI’s vision is to transform the Toronto-based research enterprise into one of world’s most successful commercialization clusters.Through detailed, market facing due diligence, MI identifies opportunities from Canada’s largest academic cluster for further development and commercialization through project management, intellectual property management, investment and technology development. By crossing the innovation gap, MI transforms these opportunities into successful high-value licensing transactions and financeable start-up companies.

iGan Partners is one of Canada's largest healthcare-focused venture capital firms, investing across North America. We provide capital and expertise to scale innovative healthcare solutions.

Enabling passionate, committed SaaS entrepreneurs to accelerate growth.

WUTIF Capital (VCC) Inc. is a novel angel fund that co-invests with angel investors in promising new technology ventures in British Columbia. WUTIF was formed in mid-2003 and made its first investments in late 2004.

Yaletown Partners specializes in investing in software, data, and device technologies. It invests in technology companies that improve industry and enterprise productivity and sustainability, to help accelerate their growth, shorten exit timeframes, and accomplish strong exit premiums.With offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Montréal, and a growingpresence in Toronto, Yaletown is led by a national team that contributes almost 100 years of technology-industry experience and a network of extensive industry relationships.

Afore Capital backs product-centric founders at the pre-seed stage exclusively. The investment team brings 16 years of founding product experience (Android and Twitter) and 7 years of institutional investing experience (Founder Collective and Foundation Capital). Their sweet spot is the ~$1M pre-seed round, where they can lead the round as aninstitutional investor alongside high value angels.

Ontario Centre of Innovation provides a preeminent research-to-commercialization vehicle in Ontario

Versant partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to build and fund breakthrough biotechnology companies around the globe.

Innovacorp is an early-stage venture capital firm that helps knowledge-based startups commercialize their technologies in the global marketplace. It invests in early stage Nova Scotia entrepreneurs, combining venture capital with business mentoring and incubation facilities. Innovacorp was established in 1995 and based in Halifax, Canada.

The Ontario Centres of Excellence invests in projects and people to accelerate industry R&D to impact the Ontario economy through the commercialization of leading edge research.OCE invests in- Industry-Academic collaborative research- Commercialization of academic research through licensing and spin off companies- Early stage seedfinancing of start-ups- Skills development for high quality personnelThe Ontario Centres of Excellence is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1987. Core funding is provided by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation

Desjardins Capital makes it easy to grow your business with financial and strategic support. Investment capital and venture capital can help you meet your business goals.

Founded 16 years ago in 1997, it is the only Angel Capital Forum ™ in Canada that introduces emerging companies to private equity Angel Investors. Presenting companies have raised over $35 million directly through the Forum. Read this third party blog comment and video overview. Since 1998, it has offered Investor Ready ™ workshops for companies& investors.As the oldest & largest angel network in Western Canada with 50+ investors (from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Victoria, Bellingham and Seattle), they are supported by leading organizations in BC and belong to Canada's National Angel Capital Organization and US's Angel Capital Association. Their private meetings are exclusive to only pre-registered Investors, selected Companies and Sponsors. Regretfully no observers except volunteers.

Pfizer Venture Investments is a corporate venture capital firm that invests in areas of current or future strategic interest to Pfizer. It aims to remain at the forefront of life science advances. It identifies and invests in emerging companies that are developing transformative medicines and technologies that have the potential to enhance Pfizer’spipeline and shape the future of its industry.

Hazelview Ventures provide entrepreneurs with a unique opportunity to refine, scale, and showcase product and service capabilities.

Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in investments in start-ups, early venture, mergers, business acquisitions, management buyouts, market development project or a buyout, financing for new programs, organic growth and cash flow, growth and expansion financings, development capital, business succession,financial restructuring, business transition financing, family and non-family buyout, consolidations, turnaround, and leveraged management buyouts. It also invests in new markets, product and business line developments, market diversification, interim financings, new product marketing, additional working capital, purchase of tangible and intangible assets, equipment modernization, equipment purchases or upgrades, and integrator projects. The firm has regional funds that do not invest in retail, real estate, farming, biotechnology, and financial services. Fonds de solidarité FTQ invests in small and medium-sized businesses. It typically invests in export projects, forest products, productivity improvement, natural resources, aerospace, agri-food, wood, pulp and paper, chemicals, construction and construction materials, printing, transportation equipment and automobiles, transportation services, furniture and fixtures, combinatorial chemistry and other lead generating technologies, mining and exploration, social economy, textiles, plastics, life sciences, business services, telecommunications, distribution and consumer goods, environment, equipment and machinery, financial services, information and communication technology, metal products, recreational tourism, and culture sectors. Within the culture sector, Fonds de solidarité FTQ seeks to invest in pre-production and creative projects, production projects, infrastructures and services, post-production projects, distribution, and broadcasting and multiplatform broadcasting. Within the environment sector, it invests in waste management and energy conversion for residual waste; air treatment and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; processes to reduce industrial energy and water consumption; water treatment; and soil rehabilitation and decontamination (metals and organic compounds). Within the life sciences sector, Fonds de solidarité FTQ focuses on services for the biopharmaceutical industry; nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals; diagnostics and medical supplies and equipment; biopharmaceuticals and generic drugs; biotechnology, and animal health. Within the tourism sector, it focuses on urban tourism, nature tourism, resort type tourism, and local tourism for Quebecers, and in the textiles sector it invests in companies engaged in development and production of specialty textiles as well as development of industrial applications for the construction, transportation, health and safety, and work apparel industries. Fonds de solidarité FTQ prefers to invest in Quebec and in companies impacting the Québec economy. It focuses on investing in the following regions- Abitibi –Témiscamingue, Bas Saint Laurent, Chaudière-Appalaches, Côte-Nord, Estrie, Gaspésie Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Lanaudière, Laurentides, Laval, Mauricie - Centre-du-Québec, Montérégie, Nord-du-Québec, Outaouais, and Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean. Fonds de solidarité FTQ seeks to invest in projects of $3 million or more and also provides loans of up to $ 2 million. It invests in companies in business succession sector having minimum capitalization of $500,000 and EBITDA of over $35.5 million in case of majority interest; equipment and machinery sector with average investment in excess of $3 million; environment sector with funding needs of more than $500000; financial services sector having net assets between $20 million and $50 million in equity; metal products sector having annual sales of over $5 million and financing needs of at least $2 million; and printing sector having investment needs of over $1 million. In the information technology sector, Fonds de solidarité FTQ seeks to invest $2 million as initial investments while total investments can be more than $10 million. It invests in the form of equity financing (common or preferred shares) and unsecured debt requiring no collateral (debenture). Fonds de solidarité FTQ can take both a minority interest including an equity stake of up to 49 percent as well a majority interest in its portfolio companies in case of business succession financing. It seeks a minority stake for the portfolio companies in the equipment and machinery sector. It typically holds its investments for a period of five to ten years in case of equity financing and for more than ten years in case of business succession financing. Fonds de solidarité FTQ began operation on June 23, 1983. It has its headquarters in Montreal in Canada with additional offices in the same city and Quebec in the same country.

Innovate Calgary is a central innovation hub at the University of Calgary. See our programs and fundings and learn more about our innovation hubs here.

LVL1 Group is a private investment management firm, operating across different asset classes and geographies. We were founded with entrepreneurial spirit at our core, with a natural passion for venture investing, working closely with founders to forge meaningful strategic relationships and helping them to succeed. We are not bound by mandates andinvestment periods, which allows us to be flexible and opportunistic. We look for companies that aim to make a strong global impact, particularly in Online Travel, Gaming, eSports, Content and Community Platforms.

Balaji S. Srinivasan is the Co-Founder and Board Member of Coin Center. He was the CTO of Coinbase and cofounder of Counsyl, Earn, Teleport, and Coin Center. He was previously CEO at Earn.com, which was recently sold to Coinbase. Prior to taking the CEO role at Earn.com, Dr. Srinivasan was a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Prior to joininga16z, he was the co-founder and CTO of Founders Fund-backed Counsyl, where he won the Wall Street Journal Innovation Award for Medicine and was named to the MIT TR35. Dr. Srinivasan holds a BS, MS, and PhD in Electrical Engineering and an MS in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University. He also teaches the occasional class at Stanford, including an online MOOC in 2013 which reached 250,000+ students worldwide.

We angel invest in founders who will improve the lives of millions. Based in Toronto, Canada.

Golden Ventures is a leading seed-stage venture capital fund, based in Toronto and investing across North America. We back bold teams and their transformative ideas.

StandUp Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in female-founded companies in the B2B software and digital health sector.The firm is led by a team of experienced investors who have assembled a diverse advisory committee. The advisory committee is comprised of successful founders, venture investors, and other strategic mentors who willprovide high-touch support to the entrepreneurs. StandUp Ventures catalyzes strong deal flow across Canada from its network and syndicate seed rounds with Angels and US VCs.

At Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), they fund Canadian cleantech projects and coach the companies that lead them as they move their ground-breaking technologies to market.SDTC’s support of cleantech translates into jobs, growth, and export opportunities for Canadian companies, as well as economic, environmental and healthbenefits for all Canadians. They are independent but don’t work alone. A big part of their role is building and sustaining networks of partners and stakeholders from private industry, academia and governments, at home and abroad. They operate at arm’s length and receive funding from the Government of Canada.

BDC Venture Capital is a major venture capital investor in Canada, active at every stage of the company's development cycle, from seed through expansion, with a focus on technology-based businesses that have high growth potential and that are positioned to become dominant players in their markets. The company helps create and develop strongCanadian businesses through financing, consulting services and securitization, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.BDC Venture Capital has been involved in venture capital since 1975 and has to date invested in more than 400 companies involved in the areas of Life Sciences, Telecommunications, Information Technology and Advanced Technologies.

NSERC is a Canadian government agency that provides grants for research in the natural sciences and in engineering.

Mitacs drives research through academic-industry collaborations, scholarships, and talent development. Explore transformative impact.

OCV Partners is a Los Angeles based venture capital firm that invests in companies with differentiated technologies in compelling target markets.

Accelerate Fund supports the growth of early-stage Alberta technology companies with a multi million dollar fund that combines co-investment from angel investors.

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We support entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey and build technology companies that generate a positive impact on society.

Rho Canada Ventures is a division of Rho Capital Partners focusing on early-stage investing in Canada’s most innovative technology companies.The Rho Canada Ventures team comprises a unique combination of entrepreneurial, operational, and venture investment experience in the United States and Canada. With a combined 80 years of experience, RhoCanada Ventures offers entrepreneurs the expertise to turn Canadian innovators into global leaders. Rho Canada Ventures' portfolio companies are a diverse group of investments that span new media, mobile applications, wireless infrastructure, semiconductors and materials, and software.

Pharmascience is a leading manufacturer of generic drugs in Canada.

Investing in powerful, positive change that endures

Gradient is a seed fund that focuses on supporting founders in the artificial intelligence sector. The firm collaborates closely with innovators to integrate AI into various business processes and drive technological advancements. Gradient aims to foster disruptive ideas that can redefine industries and enhance operational capabilities.

Carnegie Asset Management is a focused and independent asset manager. Their objective is to deliver consistent, long term asset growth for their clients. The combination of a unique investment philosophy based on careful stock-picking and long-term global trends coupled with a stable team of experienced portfolio managers, has over the past 20years resulted in world-class investment results.

Since 1980, WTI has helped more than 1,300 companies across every innovation sector finance their growth while minimizing dilution.

Ferguson Enterprises is committed to driving and enabling innovation in the commercial and residential construction, remodel and services industries. As part of this commitment Ferguson Ventures has been established as the Corporate Venture capital and strategic partnering arm for Ferguson.Ferguson Ventures invests in and partners with earlythrough late stage companies that are solving industry challenges, able to add value to our partners, scale across our customer base and dominate in their space. Ferguson’s industry leading position, deep expertise, national branch network, and deep customer and vendor relationships will accelerate our partners’ ability to scale.Ferguson Ventures is focused on finding partners who can help meet the needs of our customers, enabling them to succeed in today’s ever evolving marketplace and be better prepared for tomorrow’s. We support endeavors that include:Connected Ecosystems – We seek opportunities to replace, enable, or create processes that will streamline and strengthen value chains across the industryDigital Experiences – Creating a best-in-class customer experience with industry leading contentEmerging Technology – Exploring and leveraging emerging technologies to enhance customer and associate experiences through Augmented / Virtual Reality, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Palo Alto based Eclipse Ventures partners with entrepreneurs boldly transforming the essential industries that define and propel economies. Learn more.

We are dedicated to incubating, launching, and building early-stage companies emerging from leading academic labs and research institutions in regenerative medicine.

Pallasite Ventures is an agile venture capital firm providing early-stage financing for high-growth companies across a variety of industries.

1517 Fund is an early stage venture capital fund that supports teams led by dropouts, deep-tech scientists & founders working outside of tracked institutions.