# Richard Black

> Richard Black is a Series B investor at First Ascent Ventures (Toronto) backing Software and SaaS. See 7 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [First Ascent Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/the-opentext-enterprise-apps-fund)
- Location: Toronto, Canada
- Total investments: 7
- Last investment: Jan 2024
- Lead investor: 86%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-black-a43a1313

Richard Black is a Series B investor at First Ascent Ventures in Toronto focused on Software and SaaS. General Partner at The OpenText Enterprise Apps Fund .

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 5 | 71% |
| SaaS | 3 | 43% |
| Enterprise Software | 2 | 29% |
| CRM | 1 | 14% |
| Computer | 1 | 14% |

14 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series B | 2 | 29% |
| Funding Round | 2 | 29% |
| Series A | 1 | 14% |
| Series D | 1 | 14% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Darwin CX | Darwin CX is a software-as-a-service platform that is designed to supercharge acquisition and retention through both customer intelligence management and the strategic use of artificial intelligence. | $12M |  | Jan 28, 2025 |  |
| Thentia Cloud | Thentia Corporation is an industry leader in using proprietary technology to help regulatory bodies efficiently fulfill their regulatory obligations. Thentia services a wide variety of clients throughout Canada and the United States using cutting-edge software and industry-leading expertise in regulatory standards. | $38M | Series B | Jan 25, 2024 |  |
| Shinydocs | Shinydocs automates the process of finding, identifying, and actioning the exponentially growing amount of unstructured data, content, and files stored across your business. Our solutions and experienced team work together to give organizations an enhanced understanding of their content to drive key business decisions, reduce the risk of unmanagedsensitive information, and improve the efficiency of business processes. Our solution works in the background, ensuring no change management or end user disruption. | $11.8M | Venture - Series Unknown | Mar 15, 2023 |  |
| Darwin CX | Darwin CX is a software-as-a-service platform that is designed to supercharge acquisition and retention through both customer intelligence management and the strategic use of artificial intelligence. | $38.4M | Seed | Dec 08, 2022 |  |
| Upchain | Upchain is a provider of instant-on, cloud-based product lifecycle management (PLM) and product data management (PDM) solutions. Upchain started in 2015 with the goal of changing what Product Lifecycle Management means for users across the supply chain. Existing solutions were built for multi-national companies, and suppliers down the chain wereleft out in the cold. They knew there was a better way. Their vision is a completely interconnected supply chain from the first nut to the final bolt, where collaboration is the default setting, and where mission-critical data is simultaneously accessible and secure. They think the process doesn’t have to be as hard as it is, and they intend to make it a whole lot easier for everyone. | $7.4M | Series A | Feb 23, 2018 |  |
| Q4 | Q4 is a SaaS platform that provides advanced communication and intelligence solutions to investor relations officers and the C-suite of public companies. With the goal of improving the effectiveness of investor relations through innovative, forward-thinking website solutions, the Q4 team designed an alternative approach to IR websites that putstorytelling first and emphasized intuitive corporate reporting.Q4 is a trusted partner to over 2,200 of the world’s largest brands. Q4’s comprehensive portfolio of IR communications, intelligence and corporate access solutions, supported by an industry-leading customer experience model, empower customers to build impactful and strategic IR programs | $22M | Series B | May 17, 2016 |  |
| ScribbleLive | ScribbleLive is a content cloud provider that helps companies manage the lifecycle of their content. It provides global brands with the services and solutions they need to create premium content at scale. The company's managed services provide clients with program and campaign coverage including dashboards and program reporting. Its servicesoffered includes content strategy, creative services, implementation, integration, and IT support. ScribbleLive was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. | $25.6M | Series D | Sep 23, 2015 |  |

7 of 7 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [BDC Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bdc-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Emerillon Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/emerillon-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Espresso Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/espresso-capital-partners) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Export Development Canada](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/export-development-canada) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Accomplice](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/accomplice-atlas-venture) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Amadeus Capital Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/amadeus-capital-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About First Ascent Ventures

VC Fund · Toronto, Canada

First Ascent Ventures was founded in 2015 and invests in emerging Canadian technology companies that are building the next generation of disruptive, enterprise B2B software that leverages the cloud, big data, analytics, mobility, AI and machine learning.First Ascent Ventures is looking for outstanding, committed entrepreneurs and management teamswho seek not just financial backing, but the experience and expertise of successful financial and operating executives who can create a catalyst for growth and ultimately a successful exit for all stake holders.

3 contacts available at First Ascent Ventures.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Richard Black | General Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/richard-black |
| Tony van Marken | Managing Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/tony-van-marken |
| Katharine Tomko | Venture Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/katharine-tomko |

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [General Catalyst](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/general-catalyst-partners) — VC Fund
- [FJ Labs](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fj-labs) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Richard Black invest in?

Richard Black invests primarily in Software, SaaS and Enterprise Software startups, most often at Series B and Funding Round stage. Most of the 7 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Canada. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Richard Black last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Richard Black closed in Jan 2024. Shizune tracks 7 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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