TD backs largest-ever venture capital fund in Canada
Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies in Canada will soon get the homegrown boost they need to support their late-stage growth.
TD will back Canada's newest and largest to-date venture capital fund, announced this week by Radical Ventures at the inaugural Canada Investment Summit in Toronto.
The multi-billion-dollar Radical Breakouts Fund, a new venture capital strategy launched by Toronto-based Radical Ventures, will invest in high-growth companies that need late-stage capital to grow and are eager to compete on the global stage.
The Bank's investment reflects its confidence in the entrepreneurs, technologies, and ideas shaping the future of AI, said TD Bank Group President and CEO Raymond Chun.
“Canada has the talent and ambition to lead in AI; what we need is capital to scale Canadian companies into global champions,” Chun said.
“Led by AI experts, skilled investors, and visionary entrepreneurs, the Radical Breakouts Fund will back leading AI companies at home and abroad, creating value for Canadians.”
TD is among a group of Canadian institutional investors and banks supporting the third-party fund.
Helping Canadian AI companies scale
Radical Ventures says the fund addresses a longstanding gap in Canada’s technology sector. While the country has developed influential AI research and companies, Canadian businesses have often looked outside the country’s venture capital ecosystem to access late-stage financing.
Private companies are also staying private longer and raising larger rounds before going public — at which point they're worth $100 billion or more, according to Radical Ventures. This shift means successful AI companies may need much more private capital than they did in the past.
Access to a domestic pool of capital at this scale could help more of that growth and talent, and the value it creates, remain connected to Canada, said Radical Ventures Co-Founder and Managing Partner Jordan Jacobs.
“Canada has never had a shortage of world-class AI companies. What we have lacked is capital at the scale required to keep them here as they grow,” he said.
“The Radical Breakouts Fund closes that gap.”
The fund will invest in Canada and globally. Radical Ventures’ existing portfolio includes Canadian companies such as Cohere, Waabi, Xanadu, Veeda, and Aspect Biosystems, as well as international AI businesses.
Building up a homegrown AI ecosystem
The Bank's backing of the fund reflects its work over the past decade supporting Canada's AI ecosystem, Chun said.
TD has assembled a network of startups, research institutions, universities, and venture capital firms to gain insight into emerging technologies, identify promising talent, and develop new solutions for the Bank.
That network includes Radical Ventures.
“We’ve partnered with Radical Ventures from the very beginning and are excited by its ability to help power Canada’s AI sector,” Chun said.
