The artificial intelligence market is estimated to reach $266 billion by 2027 (all figures in USD) and venture capital investment continues to follow the talent as Canada remains a central hub in global AI research.
In 2021, from January 1st to June 23rd there were 49 VC funding rounds for AI startups in Canada, raising a total of $1.38 billion. The total amount of capital raised is up 190% from the same period last year. Over half of these investments ($872 million) have been in late stage rounds (series C+), pointing to an interest from growth stage investors in deep tech companies with defensible AI technologies. Xanadu, a Radical Ventures portfolio company with a mission to build scalable quantum computers, raised $100 million in contributing to the total of $291 million raised in Canadian series B rounds this year.
Twelve series A companies jointly raised $166 million for some top-tier teams including Radical Ventures portfolio company, Waabi with what was one of the largest series A rounds ($83.5 million) ever raised by a Canadian company.
Finally, 26 seed companies raised $51 million. These companies are applying machine learning and AI technology to an expansive set of industries from agriculture to biomedicine, robots, and real estate. All of the aforementioned fundraises do not include at least ten startups in stealth and/or with unannounced rounds, including in Radical’s portfolio.
The teams creating and driving these companies will accelerate the momentum in the Canadian AI sector. As we have discussed frequently, Canada is a globally unique AI ecosystem built on the work of AI pioneers, a critical mass of talent, focused government policies and, more recently, smart capital.