Latest news with #Maple8
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. investors own Canada's future and that needs to change
Canada's next chapter depends on bold, immediate action. At the heart of this moment is our country's scale-up challenge. Our country has no shortage of promising startups, entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized enterprises with world-class talent and ideas. What we lack, however, is the consistent Canadian capital to build these companies into globally competitive businesses. Currently, about two-thirds of all Canadian startup financing comes from U.S. investors. Why is Canada's future owned by Americans? Private capital plays a vital role in this equation. Investors do more than provide risk capital — they bring strategic guidance, global networks and the support Canadian companies need to compete and win in a global knowledge economy. That's why our venture capital market matters: It holds the key to unlocking our next phase of growth. Prime Minister Mark Carney acutely understands this intersection, given his previous leadership at the helm of two G7 central banks. Over the past six years, I've watched firsthand how venture capital and private equity have helped build stronger, more resilient and innovative companies. Even through the volatility of a global pandemic, capital deployment rose from $6.5 billion in venture capital and $21 billion in private equity in 2019, to $8 billion and $28 billion respectively by the end of 2024. Yes, the first quarter of 2025 has been soft, largely due to global economic uncertainty. Canada's challenge lies in the limited sources of capital that are allocated to venture capital and private equity. Such funding is required for Canada's startup and scale-up base to grow and create wealth that will remain in Canada. We need to tap into a broader base of capital. That means creating the right incentives for all types of investors — from individuals to corporations to institutional investors, such as Canada's Maple 8 pension plans — to allocate more capital into higher-risk, higher-reward asset classes like venture capital and private equity. The goal is simple: Steer more capital toward building the future economy, not just preserving the old one. This is where government must play a critical enabling role. Government alone cannot reorient the flow of capital, it cannot dictate where our pension plans invest, but it can create the signals that make risk-taking more attractive. That's what markets respond to. And markets are ready. We have a strong base to build from. Canada is home to over 70 highly innovative companies generating more than US$100 million in annual revenue, which is a sign of real market maturity. We've also seen the emergence of more than 40 venture capital-backed unicorns in just the past five years. The momentum is here. What's needed is national alignment and bold policy. The Liberal Party's platform unveiled on April 19 included a commitment to recapitalize the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) by $1 billion — a very welcome signal. The VCCI is a public-private program first established as the Venture Capital Action Plan that directs financing to innovative Canadian firms and attracts significant investments from a diverse set of private sector investors. But even that is not enough on its own. What's needed now is a broader, more ambitious approach: one that better aligns government incentives with private markets and institutional capital, including our country's pension funds. All players, both public and private, must come to the table with a shared focus on capital deployment into the most productive parts of our economy. Canada holds all the elements necessary for innovative companies to soar. We have strong talent, sophisticated research, an abundance of energy and critical minerals. Canadian startups can help in building Canada's defence capabilities, they can help address food insecurity around the world, they have proven time and time again that they can produce life-changing therapeutics and can solve many of our environmental challenges. We simply to have to empower them to do this at scale. We need to inject clear policy objectives, procurement policies that grow home champions and attract the capital to these opportunities. This calls for national fiscal incentives that not only reward risk-taking but also enable the smooth flow of capital. We need more than a single measure — Canada requires a suite of robust, well-designed incentives that ensure growth opportunities are fully capitalized, and policies that support the movement of capital across provincial borders. What investors are looking for is a bold, broad-based strategy — clear signals that Canada is serious about driving innovation, scaling businesses, and unlocking nationwide economic potential. The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association's recent white paper, Tax & Innovation Policies to Incentivize Investment in Canada, released during the federal election campaign, outlines concrete, actionable policy recommendations to unlock investment. These recommendations were designed with a clear objective to make riskier — but more productive — asset classes more appealing by rewarding investors willing to take that risk. Chief among them is a bold recommendation to provide a preferential capital gains inclusion rate for productive investments, implement a federal tax incentive to break down barriers to inter-provincial capital flow, and a renewed commitment to public-private partnerships like VCCI that crowd in private capital at scale. Small deals dominate Canadian private equity this year OECD predicts Canadian economy will avoid recession, but will see flat growth in 2025 The stakes are high. We are living in a time of global uncertainty but also immense possibility. Canada cannot afford to sit back. The conditions for growth are here. The capital is here. The ambition is here. What we need now is bold, deliberate leadership to unlock it. We've laid a solid foundation, so why stop now? This isn't the time to ease up — it's the time to scale up. Kim Furlong is the CEO of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. She will be stepping down from the organization on July 2. Sign in to access your portfolio
Hamilton Spectator
26-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Pensions ‘investing almost nothing' in Canadian tech
The big Canadian pension plans have not bought into 'Elbows Up' and 'Buy Canadian' sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, says a veteran tech investor. 'It is more important than ever that Canada own its innovation, I think it is a relatively simple change, the Minister of Finance could do it tomorrow,' said Chris Albinson, a venture capitalist and former CEO at Communitech. Known collectively as The Maple 8, the big Canadian pension plans are a huge source of investment funds for American and Asian companies, said Albinson. 'The $2.7 trillion in pension assets collectively in the large Maple 8 pensions, 45 per cent of those dollars are invested in the U.S.,' he said in a recent interview. The pensions in the U.S. invest about five per cent of their assets in American innovation, and two years ago the British government said the pension plans there need to invest five per cent in British innovation. The Maple 8's investments in Canadian technology amount to about 0.5 per cent of their total investments, said Albinson. 'They are investing almost nothing in domestic innovation,' he said. The Maple 8 group of pension plans includes the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), the Canadian Public Pension Investment Board (CPPIB), the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) and Public Sector Pension Investment (PSP). One of these funds, the CPP investment board, did not respond to a request for an interview. During his long career in venture capital, Albinson raised billions for startups and scaleups. For 20 years he was based in Silicon Valley, and returned to Canada in 2021 when he became the CEO of Communitech. Shortly after arriving at Communitech, he launched the True North Fund that raised $2.8 billion in its first year — more venture capital than the previous 10 years combined for Communitech. President Trump's threats against Canada's economy and territory need to be taken seriously, and the big pension funds should be part of Canada's push back, he said. During 2024, the biggest venture capital deal was the $1.24 billion raised by B.C.-based Clio, a software maker for the legal sector. It was one of the biggest software fundraising rounds in Canadian history. 'There wasn't a single Canadian investor,' said Albinson. Last year was a continuation of a decade-long trend. 'Over the last 10 years, 66 per cent of $40 billion that has been invested in our best companies has been U.S. investors,' said Albinson, citing numbers collected by the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. 'Said differently, over the last decade we have sold 66 per cent of the ownership of our best companies to the U.S.' Canada's tech sector has 86 companies generating at least $100 million annually. It has four, private, venture-backed companies generating $1 billion annually, and two of those are in Waterloo Region. 'It's awesome that we have all these high performing companies, and they are at scale, they are on the cusp of being these global champions to really drive the flywheel over, we just sold off control of those companies to the U.S. in the last decade,' said Albinson. The one exception among the Maple 8 is la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which has a policy of investing in Quebec and Canadian tech. In 2022, the Caisse led one of the biggest funding rounds in the history of Waterloo Region tech, a $250 million investment in the cybersecurity Unicorn eSentire. The Caisse investment was the biggest part of a $325-million raise. The U.S., U.K., Scandinavian countries and others require their pension plans to invest in their innovation economies. Canada has no such requirement. 'Every other G7 country invests five to six per cent of their pension assets in their future, in their innovation engines, to keep them rooted in the country,' said Albinson. 'We are the only one that doesn't, and it drives me mad.' Canada Pension Plan Investment Board posted online its annual report for the last fiscal year that ended March 3. Investments generated a return of 9.3 per cent for fiscal year 2025. That $59.8-billion return is from investments in the U.S. (47 per cent), Europe (19 per cent), China and Asia (17 per cent), and Canada (12 per cent). It paid out more than $4 billion in fees and bonuses to external managers. In 2005, Ottawa removed any requirements on pension plans to invest in Canadian tech or any other sector of the economy, said Matt Roberts, a Toronto-based investor. At the time, the pension lobby implied that Canadian companies would get about 45 per cent of all the investments from Canadian pension funds, but that did not happen, he said. 'I would like them to put more money into Canada and figure it out,' said Roberts, co-founder and general partner at CMD Capital. 'Find the best investments in Canada, and if it's venture capital, wonderful, if it's not, fine.' The lack of investment in Canada by Canadian pension funds is hurting all sectors of the economy, he said, not just tech. 'When you send a dollar outside Canada you are losing the multiplier effect of that economic activity,' said Roberts. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government should require minimum levels of investment in Canada by the Maple 8, he added. A preliminary report on the subject went to the federal cabinet last fall, but was never made public. 'We have more money in China through CPP than we have in Canada,' said Roberts. 'Most Canadians I don't think would be happy with that. I think Canadians now want to invest in Canada, the problem we have now is it requires significant change.'
National Post
29-04-2025
- Business
- National Post
Malar Group Invests in 15Rock to Scale Autonomous AI Reasoning Systems Globally
Article content TORONTO — Malar Group, led by CEO Sayan Navaratnam, today announced a strategic investment and partnership with 15Rock, an autonomous AI reasoning platform trusted by leading global investors for investment research, due diligence, and value creation. This alliance will accelerate 15Rock's innovative AI technologies across global markets. Article content Article content 15Rock's proprietary dual-AI architecture seamlessly combines deep contextual analysis with real-time decision-making. The platform has attracted an impressive roster of clients and prospects across diverse sectors, from a Maple 8 pension fund and major global banking institution to luxury automotive brands and a top global oil conglomerate. 15Rock has also provided critical infrastructure assessment for a major government and supported large aviation firms and leading North American management consulting practices with their strategic decision-making processes. Article content '15Rock represents a new frontier in AI,' said Sayan Navaratnam, CEO of Malar Group. 'It doesn't just interpret data — it understands context, evaluates risk, and recommends actions faster than teams of analysts. This partnership continues our successful track record of identifying and supporting emerging tech leaders before they reach their full market potential.' Article content Founded by CEO Gautam Bakshi, a financial services veteran with nearly two decades of senior executive experience at Manulife, Scotiabank, and TD, 15Rock has earned recognition from Google, JLL, and the United Nations for its innovative approach to solving enterprise challenges. In 2023, Bakshi was recognized by The Globe and Mail as one of the '50 Emerging Canadian Business Change Makers' for his transformative work in AI-powered decision systems. Article content 'Malar Group's partnership extends far beyond traditional investment,' said Gautam Bakshi, CEO of 15Rock. 'Their expertise in scaling technology companies provides the perfect foundation to expand our capabilities globally while maintaining our commitment to institutional-grade excellence.' Article content Pure Research: Delivers institutional-grade investment research and analysis, significantly reducing research time and costs for financial institutions. Article content Novilo ( An AI-powered RFP management platform that processes complex RFPs in minutes instead of days with enterprise-grade security and real-time collaboration. Article content TalentCap ( Revolutionizes talent acquisition through AI-powered assessment that identifies optimal candidates within 48 hours, saving organizations significant time and hiring costs. Article content Labs ( 15Rock's innovation hub, developing cutting-edge applications of autonomous reasoning technology for emerging market opportunities. Article content 15Rock's team includes professionals with experience at Google Workspace AI, Amazon, and Tesla, along with infosec professionals, PhD graduates from the University of Toronto, and researchers published at elite conferences like WACV. Article content 'Our team's blend of industry experience, academic excellence, and AI capabilities marks a turning point in innovation,' said CTO Priyansh Anand. 'We're reshaping problems into opportunities through the fusion of human expertise with cutting-edge machine intelligence.' Article content Strategic Partnership Article content Malar Group has a history of successful investments in emerging technology companies, including Westbrook Entertainment, Knowledgehook, and Connex Telecommunications. This partnership will accelerate 15Rock's global expansion while enhancing its core autonomous reasoning capabilities. Article content Financial terms were not disclosed. Article content About Malar Group Article content Malar Group, led by CEO Sayan Navaratnam, is a global investment firm dedicated to identifying and supporting transformative technologies with exceptional growth potential. For more information, visit Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Investor Relations (Malar Group) Sheena Patel Article content Article content
