NBIF 6-month Investment Recap

INVESTMENT 01

In February, we made a follow-on investment into SomaDetect. As a refresher, SomaDetect is an AgTech company that has created a solution for dairy herd management and milk quality optimization. On this round, we invested $200K into the company on a total round size of $8M USD, led by Ag Capital Canada. The round also includes existing investors as well as Merck. This investment provides the company with the working capital to expand the business development and sales activities and continue its technology development. To date, we have invested a total of $950K in SomaDetect.

INVESTMENT 02

In March, we made a follow-on investment into Smartpods. Smartpods is creating ergonomic technologies for office applications. We invested $250K alongside Technology Venture Corporation (TVC) in the company on a total round size of $1M. This investment provides the company with additional resources to capitalize on business development efforts. To date, we have invested a total of $1M in Smartpods.

INVESTMENT 03

Also, in March, we made a follow-on investment into Eigen Innovations Inc.. Eigen is creating IIoT solutions for manufacturing. We invested $300K alongside angel investors ($488K), BDC-WIT Fund ($150K), and BDC Capital – BFP ($935K) in the company on a total round size of $1.87M. This investment provides the company with additional resources to capitalize on business development efforts. To date, we have invested a total of $2.05M in Eigen.

INVESTMENT 04

Our 3rd follow-on investment in March was in anessa. Anessa has created optimization software for biogas projects. We invested $200K alongside angel investors, Concrete Ventures, and Greensky Capital, for a total round size of $1.8M. This investment provides the company with additional resources to capitalize on business development efforts. To date, we have invested a total of $500K in anessa.

INVESTMENT 05

Our 4th investment in March was our first investment in Renderator through our accelerator initiative. Renerator is a Nova Scotia-based company that offers an interactive building rendering and visualization platform. As a result, building owners can create renderings of their buildings before they’re even built so they can sell units quicker and easier. NBIF and Innovacorp both invested $25k in this round.

INVESTMENT 06

Our final investment in March was our first investment in Brunvalley. Brunvalley is an InsurTech company providing a digital hub to simplify applications for home and auto insurance. To date, the company has raised $1M friends & family round, developed its flagship product, initiated limited user trials, and established a pipeline of partnerships with insurance brokerages. They were founded by Karl Greenlaw, the former CEO of Brovada Technologies, another InsurTech company sold to Towers Watson in September 2015. The product they are developing is called snapably, and it allows consumers to effortlessly receive quotes and offers for insurance, financing, and shopping. For insurance companies and vendors, snapably is the ultimate loyalty and lead generation platform that instantly provides retail discounts and quotes to consumers in a non-intrusive way without data entry. On this round, we invested $100K into the company on a total round size of $375K, which includes matching investment from existing shareholders and strategic investors with industry expertise in insurance brokering. This investment provides the company with the working capital to expand its business development and sales activities and fund continuing technology development.

INVESTMENT 07

In May, we made a follow-on investment into Smart Skin. Smart Skin has created an in-line monitoring system for pharma and beverage manufacturing. We invested $100K alongside angel investors ($600K), the BDC-Industrial Innovation Venture Fund ($8M), and Schott ($2M), for a total round size of $10.7M. This investment provides the company with additional resources to capitalize on business development efforts. To date, we have invested a total of $1.6M in Smart Skin.