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Top 5 Canada Series A Investors in 2025: Complete Guide for Founders

Deqian Jia
Deqian Jia
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Canada InvestorsSeries A InvestorsFundraisingVenture CapitalStartups

Before we get into names, sanity-check that you're actually at Series A:

  • You're past pure "story" – real revenue or strong usage, with repeatable acquisition & some unit economics.
  • You know what $5–15M is for – not "grow faster" but concrete plans: hires, markets, roadmap, and milestones to get to Series B.
  • You can explain "why now" for Canada – local talent, regulatory advantages, sector density (fintech, AI, climate, etc.).

Canada's VC market has matured a lot; mega-deals in companies like Cohere and Clio have pulled more growth and follow-on capital into the ecosystem. (The Logic)

When preparing your Series A pitch, having a professional data room is essential. Peony helps Canadian startups organize investor materials with AI-powered document organization, track investor engagement with page-level analytics, and securely share sensitive financial and operational data. With transparent pricing at $40/user/month, Peony delivers enterprise-grade secure data rooms without the $5,000-20,000 per-deal costs of legacy platforms.

When choosing your Series A lead:

1. How to pick the right Series A investors in Canada

a) Stage & cheque size

You want funds that regularly lead A rounds, not just "can" if they feel like it.

  • Typical Canadian Series A cheques from serious funds: $5–15M (sometimes up to $25M for hotter, later-stage A's). (Slidebean)

b) Sector & thesis fit

Most top Canadian VCs are broadly tech-focused, but each has real "spikes":

  • SaaS & marketplaces – Inovia, Real Ventures, Vanedge. (PitchBook)
  • Fintech, infra, vertical SaaS – OMERS Ventures. (OMERS)
  • AI-heavy plays – Radical Ventures (applied & foundation-model AI). (VC Mapping)

If your deck doesn't obviously fit their "mental bucket," you'll be fighting inertia from slide one.

c) Geography

All of these funds invest globally but anchor around Canada – they tend to lean in harder when:

  • HQ or core team are in Canada;
  • There's a clear Canadian edge (regulation, data, healthcare, climate, talent, etc.);
  • Or the company is building a major office here.

d) Ownership & round dynamics

Top Series A investors usually target 10–20%+ ownership. Plan for:

  • A lead who sets terms and does real diligence.
  • 1–3 strong co-investors (local or US) for signaling and follow-on support.
  • You still having room for an insider pro-rata.

e) Value beyond capital

At this stage, you care a lot about:

  • Follow-on access (warm intros to Series B/C funds).
  • Go-to-market help (playbooks, GTM advisors, talent network).
  • Canada-specific help (SR&ED, grants, government programs, local talent).

The five funds below all score highly on at least two of those.

2. Top 5 Canada Series A Investors in 2025 (Deep Dive)

1. Inovia Capital

Snapshot:

  • HQ: Canada (offices in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary; plus presence in EU) (inovia.vc)
  • Stages: Seed → Series A → Growth (full-stack VC). (Technext)
  • Focus: B2B & B2C SaaS, marketplaces, future of work, fintech, travel, digital health, infrastructure & AI-driven software. (PitchBook)
  • Activity: 200+ companies backed; still making new investments as of late 2025. (Tracxn)

Inovia explicitly brands itself as a "full-stack venture firm anchored in Canada", with multiple venture and growth funds and a portfolio that spans early-stage SaaS up to pre-IPO winners. (inovia.vc)

What they like:

  • Ambitious SaaS, marketplace, and AI-enabled software going after global markets from a Canadian base. (PitchBook)
  • Founders with a clear handle on unit economics and GTM repeatability.
  • Companies where they can support multiple rounds (venture → growth).

Typical Series A fit:

  • Round size: roughly $10–30M, often as lead or strong co-lead.
  • Stage: clear PMF, $1–3M+ ARR or similar traction; not "idea + slideware."

Why founders rate them:

  • Deep internal operating bench & toolkits (PR, GTM, grants, etc.) available to portfolio companies. (inovia.vc)
  • Able to follow on with significant capital as you scale.

How to get on their radar:

  • Warm intro from a portfolio founder (seriously the easiest path).
  • Or, pair an inbound note + crisp traction dashboard: ARR, growth, retention, sales pipeline.

Great fit if…

  • You're building a venture-scale SaaS or marketplace and your ambition is "category-defining," not just "nice Canadian outcome."

2. OMERS Ventures

Snapshot:

  • HQ / Anchor: Toronto, with history of offices in Canada, US, and Europe. (OMERS)
  • Stages: Seed → Series A → B/C (but Series A is core). (Slidebean)
  • Focus: Fintech, vertical software, enterprise applications, AI/infra, and other software-driven businesses. (OMERS)
  • Cheque size: ~$5–25M at Series A–C. (Slidebean)

OMERS Ventures is the venture arm of one of Canada's largest pension funds, which effectively gives it deep pockets and long time horizons. In 2025 they've been shifting back toward a Canada-centric focus after a period of aggressive global expansion. (LinkedIn)

What they like:

  • Category-defining software, fintech, infra, and vertical SaaS players.
  • Clear path to large markets and defensible moats.
  • Teams already executing at a high level (solid boards, early leadership team).

Typical Series A fit:

  • Round size: ~$10–25M, with OMERS often leading or co-leading.
  • Stage: strong traction (multi-million ARR or equivalent usage) and readiness to scale internationally.

Why founders rate them:

  • Access to global networks (Canada, US, UK) plus institutional relationships.
  • Solid track record backing companies that went on to major growth rounds and exits (e.g. Shopify historically via the broader OMERS platform). (Tracxn)

How to get on their radar:

  • Your deck should read like: "We're building the category winner in X vertical, here's how we become a multibillion-dollar outcome."
  • Strong intros from Canadian angels, growth funds, or founders helps a lot; OMERS is very plugged into that network.

Great fit if…

  • You're a later, chunky Series A or early Series B, with real data and global ambition.

3. Radical Ventures

Snapshot:

  • HQ: Toronto, with global remit. (VC Mapping)
  • Stages: Primarily Seed and Series A, plus a new growth fund. (Tracxn)
  • Focus: AI-first and AI-intensive companies – including foundation models (e.g. Cohere) and applied AI (e.g. Waabi). (VC Mapping)
  • Scale: ~US$1.8B AUM after raising an ~US$800M AI-focused fund in 2024, one of the largest AI-dedicated vehicles globally. (VC Mapping)

Radical is the flagship Canadian AI fund. If you're an AI company in or near Canada and aiming for a big Series A, you have to at least consider them.

What they like:

  • Deep-tech AI teams with a strong research or infra edge.
  • Companies that already have post-product, post-revenue traction in real verticals like cybersecurity, fintech, healthcare, agriculture, infra. (OpenVC)
  • Founders comfortable talking about models, compute, and data strategy, not just "we use AI."

Typical Series A fit:

  • Cheque size: about $4–10M at early revenue/scaling stages; larger via their growth fund later. (OpenVC)
  • Stage: product in market, early revenue and engagement, clear capital need (often heavy on compute and GTM).

Why founders rate them:

  • One of the few funds that actually understands model training costs, infra choices, and AI go-to-market nuance. (Radical Ventures)
  • Their brand helps a ton for later US and global fundraising.

How to get on their radar:

  • Lead with your technical and data moat: what you can build that others cannot.
  • Have a clear story on path to revenue, not just "cool AI demo."

Great fit if…

  • You're building a serious AI-native company (infra or applied) and want a fund that lives and breathes that space.

4. Real Ventures

Snapshot:

  • HQ: Montreal, active across Canada. (Waveup)
  • Stages: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A (with some later support). (Waveup)
  • Focus: Technology-driven companies across sectors; strong in SaaS, marketplaces, and ecosystem-driven plays. (Waveup)
  • Track record: 150–200+ startups backed, known as a leading source of early-stage capital in Canada. (Waveup)

Real is one of the OG Canadian early-stage funds. They're famous not just for cheques, but for seeding ecosystems – they co-founded Notman House in Montreal and run the FounderFuel accelerator. (Waveup)

What they like:

  • Founders they can work with from day one through Series A.
  • Strong communities & ecosystems – they like companies that can become regional anchors (think: key players in the Canadian tech fabric).
  • Conscious, reflective founders (they care a lot about leadership and mindset, not just numbers). (Waveup)

Typical Series A fit:

  • Stage: likely already a Real portfolio company from pre-seed/seed, now raising A.
  • But they'll also occasionally lead/participate in a fresh Series A if it fits their thesis and network.

Why founders rate them:

  • Very founder-centric – hands-on support, ecosystem intros, and real empathy around the founder journey. (Waveup)
  • Deeply integrated into Canadian tech hubs, especially Montreal and Toronto.

How to get on their radar:

  • Early: apply to or connect via FounderFuel / community programs.
  • Series A: if they aren't already in your cap table, you'll want warm intros from Canadian founders they trust.

Great fit if…

  • You're already part of the Canadian ecosystem and want a long-term, hands-on partner who has seen lots of early-stage journeys.

5. Vanedge Capital

Snapshot:

  • HQ: Vancouver, with presence in Silicon Valley. (vanedgecapital.com)
  • Stages: Seed & Series A (sometimes Series B). (angelspartners.com)
  • Focus: Gaming, digital media, SaaS, enterprise software, cloud infra, cybersecurity, deep tech & computational biology. (vanedgecapital.com)
  • Cheque size: Roughly $0.5–10M, sweet spot around $3M. (angelspartners.com)
  • Recognition: Won a 2025 CVCA Global Dealmaker Award for their work with Tegus, highlighting their ability to help companies scale globally. (CVCA Central)

Vanedge is a West Coast deep-tech / software specialist. If you're in gaming, tooling, infra, or hard-tech adjacent software, they're very worth knowing.

What they like:

  • Deep technical advantage or strong IP (analytics, compute, cyber, gaming tech, etc.).
  • Founders aiming at large global markets with defensible tech and recurring revenue. (vanedgecapital.com)

Typical Series A fit:

  • Early revenue, strong technical moat, and clear plan to use capital for scaling product and GTM.
  • Often they want to see traction with demanding customers (e.g., enterprise, dev tools).

Why founders rate them:

  • Partners come from serious operator backgrounds (e.g., founder Paul Lee was a former EA president and experienced angel), giving real industry insight and network. (VC Sheet)
  • They're known for helping companies attract follow-on capital from larger institutional investors. (vanedgecapital.com)

How to get on their radar:

  • Emphasize your technical moat + commercial proof: benchmarks, performance, customer wins.
  • Use intros via West Coast founders, gaming/media operators, or other Canadian VCs.

Great fit if…

  • You're building deep-tech, gaming, analytics, or infra and want a partner who actually understands the tech, not just the spreadsheet.

Other notable Canada-based Series A investors to know

Beyond the top 5 above, founders often also talk about:

  • Golden Ventures (Toronto) – legendary seed fund, occasionally supporting into Series A; great if you're earlier but want a path to A later. (golden.ventures)
  • Yaletown Partners (Vancouver) – strong in digital infrastructure, SaaS, and cleantech, with a new $250M Innovation Growth Fund III targeting scaling tech. (BetaKit)
  • Plaza Ventures (Toronto) – early growth-stage B2B / SaaS, often around Series A–B. (IncubatorList)

You can treat these as a "long list" to complement your main target set.

3. Five quick tips for pitching Canadian Series A investors

1. Come with a metrics-first story

By Series A, your narrative starts from hard numbers:

  • Revenue (MRR/ARR), growth %, net revenue retention.
  • Payback period, CAC vs LTV, sales cycle.
  • For AI/deep tech: infra costs and path to margins.

Lead with a 1-page metrics summary before you dive into slides.

2. Show why Canada makes you stronger, not weaker

Each of these funds cares a lot about Canada, but not out of charity:

  • Talk about talent density (AI, games, fintech, etc.).
  • SR&ED / grant leverage.
  • Cross-border advantages (NAFTA, timezones, bilingual markets).

Make your geo a strategic asset in the pitch.

3. Map your ask to their cheque & stage

Don't go to Inovia or OMERS with a $2M "Series A" – that's a seed extension in their world. Likewise, don't show up to a seed-heavy fund asking them to lead a $25M A.

  • For this list, think $8–20M rounds, with these funds taking $5–15M of that in many cases.
  • Explicitly say: "We're targeting $X at Y valuation to reach [specific milestones]."

4. Do the homework on each fund & partner

For every fund above, you should know:

  • Which partner is closest to your sector.
  • Which portfolio companies look similar to your path (and why you won't be competitive with them).
  • What that partner has recently written or spoken about (AI, climate, fintech, etc.).

When you email, make it impossible not to reply:

"We're a Toronto-based B2B SaaS company growing 12% MoM in the future-of-work space. We've been following [partner]'s work on X and noticed your investments in Y and Z – here's why our wedge is different and relevant."

5. Stack local + global in your round

A very strong pattern for Canadian Series A:

  • Canadian lead (from this list) +
  • 1–2 top international co-investors (US / EU sector specialists).

This gives you:

  • Strong local support and ecosystem access.
  • Global signaling and easier access to future growth funding.

When you talk to Canadian Series A funds, show you're already in conversations with relevant US/EU funds – it signals ambition and momentum.

Why professional data rooms matter for Canadian Series A fundraising

Canadian startups need to present complex documentation—financial projections, regulatory compliance, partnership agreements, and market expansion plans—professionally to build investor confidence.

Peony helps Canadian startups create investor-ready data rooms with AI-powered organization that sets up in minutes instead of weeks.

Key benefits: page-level analytics show which documents investors review most, enterprise security protects sensitive information, and transparent pricing at $40/user/month—93-99% cheaper than legacy platforms charging $5,000-20,000 per deal.

Conclusion

Raising Series A capital in Canada in 2025 requires matching your stage, sector, and geography to the right investors. The funds on this list are actively deploying, but they're selective. Bring clear metrics, a Canada-as-strength narrative, and a disciplined process—not just vision.

Having a professional data room is table stakes for serious fundraising. Peony helps Canadian startups organize investor materials, track engagement, and securely share sensitive data at a fraction of legacy platform costs.

Ready to pitch Canadian Series A investors? Set up your investor data room with Peony in minutes, not weeks.

Q&A Section

What's the best way to organize investor materials for Canadian Series A fundraising?

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How can I track which investors are most engaged with my Canadian startup pitch?

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Peony provides enterprise-grade security with identity-bound access, dynamic watermarking, and screenshot protection. With link expiry and instant access revocation, you maintain complete control over sensitive documentation.

What data room features are essential for Canadian startups pitching to Series A investors?

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