VC Activity Hits All-Time High

Venture capital (VC) activity in Canada hit an all-time record high in the first quarter, with US$3.5 billion in investment across 213 deals, up from US$3 billion (across 276 deals) in the year-earlier quarter, says the ‘KPMG Private Enterprise Venture Pulse Q1 2022’ report. Canadian start-ups in particular raised US$824.4 million in the first three months of the year ??? a period marked by global uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine, rising inflation and interest rates, continued supply chain pressures, and the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic. “While significant uncertainty during the quarter impacted the total number of deals, the amount of money being invested in the market is astronomical,” says Sunil Mistry, partner, private enterprise and technology, media and telecommunications, KPMG in Canada. “Canada’s VC ecosystem remains remarkably robust in the current environment, which is a strong indicator that Canada’s VC market has matured.”