U.S. investors pumped $673.7 million into Canadian venture capital (VC) financing during the first quarter of 2019, a new report says.
According to the Canadian Venture Capital Report Q1 2019, released on Wednesday by CPE Media Analytics, 117 Canadian venture capital financings took place in the quarter, raising a total of $1.28 billion.
Investors in the U.S. contributed 53% of the capital, while Canadian investors contributed $499.5 million, representing 39% of total disbursements.
More than half of all investments came from large deals: 13 deals each worth $20 million or more accounted for $773.3 million (61%) of total disbursements.
Ontario companies received $803.2 million (63%) in VC investment, followed by Quebec ($171.1 million, or 13%) and British Columbia ($169 million, or 13%). Toronto led all cities with $446 million (35%), followed by Montreal ($143.1 million, or 11%) and Hamilton, Ont. ($140.8 million, or 11%).
Early-stage deals, which include pre-seed and seed financing, received $749.8 million in investments (representing 59% of the total). Series A + B deals received $591 million (46%), but this figure was distorted by unclassified Series deals, which raised $459.7 million (36%).
The information and communications technology sector led the way with $697.6 million in investment (55%), followed by biotech with $333.7 million (26%), CPE Media Analytics said.