As pandemic wreaks economic havoc, two Toronto startups see a spike in demand – and raise funding

Sanjana Basu is an Investment Associate with Radical Ventures and is primarily involved in sourcing and diligence of deal flow. She also assists our impact team as a Board Observer for RoadBotics and Sensibill.

Prior to Radical, Sanjana worked at the venture and incubation arm of the Tata Group, the $100B Indian conglomerate covering fintech, mobility, consumer-tech. Sanjana also worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Barclays focused on M&A and DCM.

She completed her MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) and her undergraduate in Economics & International Relations from Tufts University in Boston, US.
Sanjana is passionate about the healthcare space and the many companies that are using deeply disruptive technology to advance the sector.

Blair is CFO at Radical Ventures and is primarily responsible for financial matters relating to Radical’s corporate entities, partnerships, limited partners and investments and investor relations.

Prior to Radial, Blair was a Director at Onex, responsible for financial reporting for various funds; assisting the investment teams on fund transactions from a treasury and reporting perspective; implementing internal processes and software solutions; and assisting in fundraising and investor relations efforts. Previously, Blair worked in Audit and Assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Blair holds an HBA from The Richard Ivey School of Business and is a CPA in Ontario and Illinois.

Aaron oversees public affairs for Radical Ventures, managing strategic communications and policy.

Prior to Radical, Aaron served as head of public affairs for Google Canada. Aaron also managed communications for Google AI, supporting AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton and working to amplify his team’s groundbreaking research. Before Google, Aaron straddled the worlds of technology and journalism. He served as the Director of Marketing at Incognito Software, before joining the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a founding producer of The Current where he held several titles including Documentary Producer and Assignment Editor.

Aaron sits on the board of the Canadian Journalism Foundation.

Ed was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2010 – one of the country’s highest distinctions – for his “contributions to Canada’s banking and financial industry, and for his voluntary and philanthropic endeavours.”

Currently, Ed is a Director of Thomson Reuters, Chair of the Vector Institute, an independent non-profit institution dedicated to Artificial Intelligence. Former CEO of TD Bank, Ed was named Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year in 2010 – widely viewed as the most prestigious award in Canadian business. In 2012 and 2013, Ed was named to Barron’s prestigious annual list of the World’s 30 Best CEOs. In October 2014, the Harvard Business Review named Ed to The 100 Top Performing CEOs in the World. Most recently, he was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame for his “outstanding professional achievements and enduring contributions to Canadian society.”

Jordan Jacobs is Managing Partner and co-founder of Radical Ventures. Before Radical, Jordan co-founded Layer 6 AI and was co-CEO prior to its acquisition by TD Bank Group where he joined as Chief AI Officer (Business & Strategy). Jordan is also a founder of the Vector Institute, a concept he devised with Radical and Layer 6 co-founder Tomi Poutanen and Professor Geoffrey Hinton. Jordan sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).

Jordan previously co-founded Milq, a cultural content discovery platform and early adopter of machine learning for personalization. Jordan also founded SpyBox Media, through which he developed and partnered with Elton John’s Rocket Pictures to executive produce the TV series Spectacle. Hosted by Elvis Costello, the Emmy- nominated, NY Times Top 10 TV series features guests including Bono and The Edge of U2, Bruce Springsteen, Renée Fleming, Lou Reed, Diana Krall and Herbie Hancock.

Jordan previously was a tech and media lawyer, and received his JD from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto where he was admitted at age 19.

Meg Lizza is the Director of Talent of Radical Ventures. She currently leads Radical’s human capital efforts by supporting the firm’s talent network and partnering with portfolio companies on their talent management strategy and technical recruitment needs. Prior to joining Radical, Meg specialized in machine learning recruitment in New York City, where she helped build machine learning research and engineering teams in various hedge funds, private equity groups and other fintech startups, including Layer 6 AI.

Meg holds a Bachelors of Arts degree from Georgetown University, where she majored in Government and minored in French and History. She was born and raised in Southern California, but is enjoying her new transition to Toronto.

Daniel is an investor at Radical and Board Observer for Aspect Biosystems. He invests in mission-driven founders building companies that leverage knowledge generated by machine intelligence systems in language, vision, physics, and biology.

Prior to Radical, he helped scale the Creative Destruction Lab, the world’s largest AI startup program, where he coached hundreds of founders. While at CDL people thought he was crazy for building the world’s first quantum software incubator. Born and raised in Guatemala, he holds a B.A. in Political Science & Economics from the University of Guelph, and an M.S. in Global Affairs from NYU.

Parasvil Patel is a Principal with Radical Ventures. As a member of the investment team, he partners with visionary entrepreneurs using AI to transform traditional industries. He also leads go-to-market support for portfolio companies as a member of Radical’s Impact team.

Prior to joining Radical, Parasvil was with KKR where he supported diligence and portfolio value creation efforts across multiple asset classes and industries. During business school, he led go-to-market and fundraising activities for an early stage cloud startup.

Parasvil started his career as a consultant with BCG where he advised senior management across India and US on strategic and operational topics.

He received a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay and an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar.

Tomi is a founder of Radical Ventures, and co-founder of Layer 6 AI and was co-CEO prior to its 9-figure acquisition in January, 2018 by TD Bank Group where he is now Chief AI Officer (Technology) and SVP.

Tomi is also a founder of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, a concept he devised and initiated with Layer 6 co-founder Jordan Jacobs and Professor Geoffrey Hinton. Tomi is a Founding Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Rotman Business School’s Creative Destruction Lab, the world’s largest AI accelerator. Tomi and Jordan have invested in technology startups for over a decade, and now do so together through Radical Ventures.

Tomi previously co-founded Milq and is a serial tech entrepreneur with exits to Microsoft and Yahoo! The technology acquired by Microsoft (while Tomi was a student at University of Waterloo) is used over 20 years later for Azure’s cloud storage, while the technology acquired by Yahoo’s was deployed in the search ranking algorithm of Bing and Yahoo Web Search, becoming the world’s largest machine learning stack when launched in 2011. While at Yahoo, Tomi led Search internationally, built a novel $200M search advertising program called Paid Inclusion, and launched Yahoo! Answers.

Tomi holds a BSc in Computer Engineering from University of Waterloo, and both an MSc in Computer Engineering and an MBA from University of Toronto.

Donna oversees administration at Radical Ventures. Before joining the fund, Donna worked closely with Jordan Jacobs overseeing administration at Milq, a cultural content discovery platform, and then Layer 6, an AI-focused platform company.

Born in Jamaica, Donna moved to Canada as a young adult.

Adithya is part of the investment team at Radical Ventures and is primarily involved in sourcing and diligence of our deal flow. He also assists our impact team as a Board Observer for RoadBotics and Sensibill.

Prior to Radical, Adithya was a Venture Capitalist at NJF Capital in London, covering early-stage technology deals across European and North American markets. Previously, he worked as an engineer and M&A specialist for the National Grid of New Zealand.

Adithya holds an MBA from The University of Oxford, and a Bachelor’s in Engineering from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Prior to Radical, Benji was part of the executive team at Layer 6 AI as Chief Operating Officer, which was acquired by TD Bank in 2018. Benji previously worked at Constellation Software Inc. in various investing and operating roles, including VP of Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Development and Chief Financial Officer of a global subsidiary. He also worked in Private Equity and holds a CPA designation.

Benji is an associate at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management’s Creative Destruction Lab where he mentors startups.

Salim is a Partner with Radical Ventures where he leads the firm’s Impact Team. Salim is also a board member for RoadBotics Inc and Aspect Biosystems.

Salim brings over 25 years of experience in the technology sector as an entrepreneur, venture investor, corporate innovator and innovation ecosystem builder. Prior to Radical Ventures, Salim served as President, Venture Services for Toronto-based MaRS Discovery District, one of the world’s largest urban innovation centres. Salim has held leadership roles with Indigo Books & Music, CX Digital and was a Partner with early-stage VC firm Brightspark Ventures. Salim was also a Co-founder of San Francisco-based MobShop Inc, a pioneering e-commerce venture funded by GE Capital, Visa International, Mayfield Fund and Marc Andreessen.

Salim is a graduate of the Ivey Business School at Western University.

Keerthana is Director of Communications at Radical Ventures,  responsible for developing and supporting our portfolio companies on strategic communications. 

Prior to joining Radical, Keerthana worked at Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, where she was responsible for communications, issues management, and media relations for its Quayside project in Toronto. Previously, she spent the majority of her career working in communications in government and politics, including for Toronto Mayor John Tory, Metrolinx, and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. She is a York University graduate with a degree in Political Science and International Development Studies.

Leah is part of the Impact Team at Radical Ventures and is primarily responsible for operations. She also provides research for our Investment Team and Insights Program.

Prior to Radical, Leah was a Research Assistant to Professor Avi Goldfarb at the Rotman School of Management, where she focused on the economic principles of artificial intelligence and Canadian policy development. Previously, she worked as a policy analyst for the United Nations in the International Organization for Migration. Leah has also worked in global health and security for non-profits in Jamaica and South Africa. In 2018, she received a fellowship grant from the Open Society Foundation to lead an evaluation of LGBTQIA+ educational programming.

Leah holds an MBA from The University of Toronto, a Master of Global Affairs from the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and a Bachelor’s in International Development and Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University.