Canada-based and Cleantech-focused venture capital firm ArcTern Ventures recently announced it has raised an additional $35 million for its second fund, bringing the fund’s total commitments to $200 million.
The fund is targeting early-stage ventures in six sectors in the cleantech space: clean energy, energy use and storage, mobility, advanced manufacturing and materials, resource use and efficiency, and AgTech and foodtech. ArcTern has stated that it will lead first investments at a minimum of $500,000 and can fund ventures through their growth stages.
The company is one of a few Canadian venture capital firms that invest in early stage cleantech startups. Murray McCaig, Managing Partner at ArcTern stated, “We are at the dawn of a multi-decade overhaul of the global economy where clean technology will enable economic growth and sustainability to co-exist.”
ArcTern Ventures has deployed capital into several Canadian tech startups, including Kitchener-Waterloo’s Smarter Alloys, which recently received $4.8 million from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, as well as Toronto-based carbon emissions reducer, Parity. ArcTern Fund II was the sole investor in Parity’s $5 million Series A.
The second close of Fund II, totalling $165 million, was announced in September, exceeding the firm’s original target of $100 million. New limited partners (LPs) participating in the $35 million raise include Norway-based Nysnø and Investissement Québec. These new investors join existing LPs OMERS, Equinor, TD Bank Group, Suncor, and the Business Development Bank of Canada. The Canadian government’s Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) has committed $10 million.
