The first quarter of 2018 has been a strong period for venture capital investments in Canada, and tech companies are receiving the benefit of these investments. According to a recent Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association ("CVCA") report, Toronto is ranked as the top city in Canada for both the total number of deals completed and the total dollar value of deals completed.
Canadian companies received $690 million in investments from venture capital ("VC") deals within the first three months of 2018 – a 6% increase from Q1 of 2017, which saw $649 million invested. The average deal size was $5 million, which was a five percent increase compared to the Q1 of 2017. The top ten deals amounted to $370 million, or a 54% share of total dollars. Deals between $1 – $5 million captured 16% of total dollars invested, representing a 7% increase from its share last year.
According to the report, Ontario-based companies received 55% of investments ($379 million), up from 38% last year. Toronto-based companies received almost half of the total dollars disbursed ($337 million over 45 deals). Information and Communications Technology ("ICT") companies received the majority (61%) of total dollars invested in Q1 of 2018 ($423 million over 87 deals), with cleantech companies receiving a 19% share ($132 million over 16 deals).
Finally, the CVCA expressed its optimism for the continued growth of VC investments in Canada following the last two consecutive billion-dollar quarters of 2017 (Q3 and Q4), and the strong opening in 2018.
As we have reported in previous articles here and here, Ontario, and Toronto in particular, continues to impress as a leader in the fast-growing tech sector. The CVCA report provides further evidence of Toronto's status as a tech hub of the world, and with VCs increasing their investments in the city, tech startups in Toronto are well positioned to benefit significantly.
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