TLDR
– The University of Calgary launched UCeed, a pre-seed startup investment fund in June 2020 to bridge the gap between innovation and commercialization in the tech ecosystem in the city.
– UCeed has become one of Canada’s most active pre-seed and seed-stage investors, deploying $8 million CAD into 44 startups and accumulating $22 million CAD in assets under management.
University of Calgary’s UCeed is aiming to fill the funding gap between innovation and commercialization in Calgary’s technology ecosystem. Since its inception three and a half years ago, it has extended itself from being a single-donor supported fund into a group of six funds that back early-stage tech startups that develop innovative solutions in the health, social impact, and energy sectors. Over the past few years, UCeed has grown to become one of the country’s most active pre-seed and seed-stage investors, with the company deploying $8m CAD across 44 startups and accumulating $22m CAD in assets under management. The venture philanthropy fund has also become one of Canada’s most active pre-seed and seed-stage investors. Peter Santosham, UCeed’s executive director makes the claim that the venture philanthropy fund has also become one of Canada’s most active pre-seed and seed-stage investors. It invests throughout Canada and often in areas with less developed ecosystems.
Among the investors in UCeed are high net worth individuals, University of Alberta alumni, and successful entrepreneurs who want to give back to the community that had contributed to their success. The fund’s structure — entirely financed by donors and all returns reinvested back into the fund — makes it relatively unique in Canada. The average cheque size for investments is$125,000, and investments are primarily focused on Alberta or have strong connections to the University of Calgary. UCeed has backed startups such as Areto Labs, Fluid Biotech, Monark, Nimble Science, and Oncoustics.
“We’re proud of our progress to date, and we’re just getting started,” said Andrea Morris, associate vice president and chief development officer at the University of Calgary. UCeed is part of a general trend in Canada that has seen numerous funds launched to help fill the significant funding gap at the pre-seed stage.
