Osler study of 353 Canadian VC and growth equity financings shows resiliency of startup ecosystem

Osler’s Emerging and High Growth Companies Group issues the second annual Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings, a comprehensive study of 353 anonymized venture capital and growth equity preferred share financings completed by the firm from 2020 to 2022, representing more than US$6 billion in total transactional value.

“We continue to publish the Deal Points report to help provide data and insights for founders, entrepreneurs, and advisors who may be considering completing transactions in the next year,” says the report’s lead author, Calgary-based partner Michael Grantmyre. “The report provides unique access as it combines publicly available data with Osler’s confidential, anonymized data sources, to deliver a deeper, more comprehensive view of financing transactions and the terms and trends associated with those transactions.”

Key report findings:

• For 2022, early-stage financings represented the bulk of financings covered by the Deal Points Report, accounting for nearly 69% of all such financings.
• For those financings that closed in 2022, key venture financing terms remained consistent with historical norms and standards, even with ongoing pressures on valuations and market uncertainty.
• The number of companies co-founded by women in the Deal Points Report rose to 16.4% in 2021, up from 13.3% in 2020 — a positive sign of the rising number of women in the Canadian ecosystem.
• Companies in the information technology industry (including artificial intelligence, blockchain, adtech, edtech and cybersecurity) made up over 40% of all companies raising a financing round covered by the Deal Points Report, with consumer-/retail-based companies having the second highest concentration of financings, representing 19% of the financings covered.

“For 2023, our team is closely watching the ongoing growth in markets such as the Prairies and Atlantic Canada, and in industries like artificial intelligence, agtech and cleantech — three key sectors that are of great importance to the Canadian economy,” says Chad Bayne, Co-Chair and partner, Emerging and High Growth Companies Group, at Osler. “As part of sharing this data, we are incredibly proud to spotlight companies doing incredible work in the space.”

“Overall, we see a robust pipeline of strong, early-stage Canadian companies supported by incredible investors across the country. We certainly expect to see these trends continue,” says Bayne.

Read the report