These 15 Vancouver tech companies have raised nearly $1B this year

Bench – $72.5M

The “all-in-one financial toolkit” for small businesses (albeit US-based ones for now) has locked in $72.5M CAD in Series C funding. The announcement coincided with an overhaul of the product, which now features everything from banking to taxes to payroll, adding on to Bench’s core bookkeeping features.

ChopValue – $3.15M

The manufacturers of recycled chopsticks products for home and office have secured $3.15M CAD in new funding. The company intends to use the funds towards new franchising relationships in North America and overseas. ChopValue has reported “record-high sales in the first quarter” of this year, due to expansions in product offerings at retail.

Clir Renewables – $27M

Renewable energy startup Clir has closed a Series B round with $27M CAD. Clir Renewables “maximizing project returns from renewable energy assets” with the help of AI, and will likely play an important role in the rise of clean energy projects worldwide.

Commit – $6M

Capitalizing on the critical shortage of engineers in Vancouver and elsewhere, Commit’s $6M oversubscribed seed round is building a professional network for Canadian engineers to “start and accelerate remote-first careers.” The platform is now coming out of private beta (waitlist here) and seeks to eliminate the need to relocate to Silicon Valley or other expensive tech hubs.

CubicFarm Systems – $25.3M

AgTech company CubicFarm Systems is throwing serious fuel into R&D through closing $25.3M in June. The agricultural technology startup was founded by farmers and provides “automated growing machines” as an alternative to long-distance supply chains.

Defined – $2.5M

Decentralized finance, or DeFi, has long been the ultimate goal of blockchain and other cryptocurrency proponents. Defined is a newly launched data platform that tracks the entire ecosystem in a manageable way. The startup will continue to build out programmable tools and dashboard features with the $2.5M seed round.

Dooly – $96.5M

Dooly made it on our last list with their Series A, and appears again in Q2 with a Series B raise of $96.5M CAD. Dooly continues to improve on the necessary evil of updating Salesforce, creating a great UI experience and saving time for sales teams.

Hydra Energy – $15M

Our existing land shipping infrastructure is built on conventional trucks, crisscrossing the globe over long distances. Hydra Energy’s mission is to convert those trucks to run on hydrogen, through on-site installation and fuelling stations. The $15M raise will see the company come out of pilot projects and “support the further development of Hydra’s initial waste hydrogen capture plant” in Delta.

Plantiga – $1.48M

Professional athletes take notice, Plantiga is taking insoles to a whole new level, incorporating sensors for movement analysis and AI-powered insights. The raise of $1.48M included a group of pro athlete investors, evidence of the company’s beta program test to sports organizations around the world.

SoleSavy – $15.5M

“Sneaker culture is about the people,” boasts SoleSavy’s website, and the Series A raise of $15.5M will see the footwear community grow to new heights and regions outside of Canada and the US. SoleSavy reports a “90% daily active user rate” and has seen a 200% growth in revenue since last December.

Stoko – $7.2M

Braces to prevent and treat injuries have been around for a long time, and one Vancouver startup is hoping that consumers will expect more than the uncomfortable options currently on the market. Investors are certainly improving their posture, with $7.2M total raised this quarter ($6M seed round and $1.2M from Genome BC). Stoko has invented a tight compression brace (which looks like a pair of leggings) that closely mimics the body’s natural movement.

StoryTap – $2.3M USD (~$2.8M CAD)

Video has become more important than ever before during the pandemic, and StoryTap’s video storytelling platform experienced 450% growth last year. The seed funding round of approximately $2.8M CAD will let even more brands tell their stories with the help of automation technology.

Trait Biosciences – $31M

Trait Biosciences’ $31M Series A raise is all about the behind-the-scenes technology and intellectual property within the CBD industry. The startup’s most notable R&D claim to date is a water-soluble CBD extract, which will play into infused beverages and other products.

Trulioo – $476M

“RegTech” is about managing financial industry regulation through technology, and Trulioo’s hefty $476M raise shows that ID verification continues to be a hot topic. The Vancouver-based unicorn plans to triple its Dublin office headcount over the next two years, and also has offices in San Francisco.

Visier – $125M USD (~$155M CAD)

People analytics and planning company Visier has joined the unicorn club ($1B valuation) with approx $155M CAD in Series E funding. Visier recently passed 8,000 customers, all of which are more keen than ever to incoporate the people analytics data into the overall health of a company.