Key Takeaways
- • Inovia Capital completed a $200 million USD (C$282 million) first close of its sixth early-stage venture capital fund, Fund VI, according to BetaKit, more than halfway to its $325 million USD target.
- • Fund VI is positioned as Inovia's "first completely AI-native fund," targeting 15 to 20 core seed to Series A investments in North America and Europe across cybersecurity, infrastructure, developer operations, energy, compute, robotics, and quantum.
- • Returning limited partners including BDC, CDPQ, CIBC, Fondaction, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, and Teralys Capital supported the first close.
- • The first close took six months to reach and brings Inovia's total assets under management to $2.7 billion USD, with a final close targeted by the first quarter of 2027.
Summary
Montréal-based multi-stage technology investor Inovia Capital has completed a $200 million USD (C$282 million) first close of its sixth early-stage venture capital fund, Fund VI, the firm announced in a LinkedIn post, as reported by BetaKit. The first close brings Inovia more than halfway to its $325 million USD target. According to BetaKit, the strategy and size of Fund VI are expected to be "very similar" to its $325 million USD predecessor. It took Inovia six months to reach the $200 million mark, and the firm hopes to reach its full target by the first quarter of 2027.
Returning limited partners supported the close, including the Business Development Bank of Canada, La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Fondaction, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, and Teralys Capital. Inovia partner Karamdeep Nijjar told BetaKit by email that Fund VI will be the firm's "first completely AI-native fund," with every business from day one using AI in some way. Fund VI will focus on AI-native startups and emerging frontier technologies across cybersecurity, infrastructure, developer operations, energy, compute, robotics, and quantum. Nijjar credited the fundraising progress, in a difficult fundraising market, to trust built with LPs over many years and to the strength of the firm's platform spanning discovery, venture capital, and growth equity.
Nijjar also pointed to the performance of Inovia's fifth venture fund, which he said has posted top-quartile results relative to Cambridge Associates and Carta benchmarks, driven by investments in companies including Cohere, Flare, Gaia, and Spellbook. Inovia aims to make 15 to 20 core investments from Fund VI in seed to Series A companies across North America and Europe, overseen by six partners: Nijjar, Magaly Charbonneau, Shawn Abbott, Kory Jeffrey, Taha Mubashir, and Steve Woods. Fund VI deal flow is expected to come partly from the Discovery Program, the firm's fund-of-funds initiative for emerging managers, which Inovia is rebuilding with Northleaf Capital Partners. Nijjar declined to share further details on those plans.
The announcement follows Inovia's promotion of Mia Morisset to partner on its growth equity team, which has raised $365 million USD of a planned $450 million for its third growth fund. Inovia also plans to co-launch a $100 million USD Venture Scientist Fund with Mila, the Québec AI research institute. With the first close, Inovia's total assets under management reach $2.7 billion USD.
Returning limited partners supported the close, including the Business Development Bank of Canada, La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Fondaction, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, and Teralys Capital. Inovia partner Karamdeep Nijjar told BetaKit by email that Fund VI will be the firm's "first completely AI-native fund," with every business from day one using AI in some way. Fund VI will focus on AI-native startups and emerging frontier technologies across cybersecurity, infrastructure, developer operations, energy, compute, robotics, and quantum. Nijjar credited the fundraising progress, in a difficult fundraising market, to trust built with LPs over many years and to the strength of the firm's platform spanning discovery, venture capital, and growth equity.
Nijjar also pointed to the performance of Inovia's fifth venture fund, which he said has posted top-quartile results relative to Cambridge Associates and Carta benchmarks, driven by investments in companies including Cohere, Flare, Gaia, and Spellbook. Inovia aims to make 15 to 20 core investments from Fund VI in seed to Series A companies across North America and Europe, overseen by six partners: Nijjar, Magaly Charbonneau, Shawn Abbott, Kory Jeffrey, Taha Mubashir, and Steve Woods. Fund VI deal flow is expected to come partly from the Discovery Program, the firm's fund-of-funds initiative for emerging managers, which Inovia is rebuilding with Northleaf Capital Partners. Nijjar declined to share further details on those plans.
The announcement follows Inovia's promotion of Mia Morisset to partner on its growth equity team, which has raised $365 million USD of a planned $450 million for its third growth fund. Inovia also plans to co-launch a $100 million USD Venture Scientist Fund with Mila, the Québec AI research institute. With the first close, Inovia's total assets under management reach $2.7 billion USD.
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