The Ontario Venture Capital Fund is shelling out $70-million to shore up three of the province's new startup funds.
While some of these capital commitments have previously been reported, such as the investment in Celtic House Venture Partners' fourth fund, the $70-million sum includes an investment in Rho Canada Ventures' second fund, which was revealed on Wednesday.
Much like Celtic House, which raised $105-million, Rho is creating a fund of roughly the same size, backed by Teralys Capital, Northleaf Capital Partners and BDC, as reported by Mark Evans.
This is all part of what is shaping up to be a strong few months for the Canadian venture capital industry. In March, the federal government announced it would offer up $400-million to develop private sector-led venture capital funds, and the Business Development Bank of Canada offered up an additional $100-million to bolster similar projects. Shortly after, BlackBerry Partners Fund also announced it had a fresh $150-million pot available to pour.
But as Celtic House's David Adderley mentioned yesterday, industry watchers should keep in mind that one hot quarter does not an industry revival make.
Set up by the provincial government in 2006, the OVCF is administered by North Leaf Capital Partners.