Brightspark Ventures invests in early stage Canadian software companies. Brightspark has been investing in the Canadian VC industry since 1999. Over the last 20 years, the company has refined its focus to the point where it choose what it believes to be the best early-stage opportunities in the market. The company's goal is to find exceptional startups, and work closely with these companies as they grow to achieve stellar returns. We have structured our investments to allow individual accredited investors to invest with us. We have found that individual investors share the same goals as us when investing: they too want to invest in startups with CEOs that are focused on creating massive returns. This model also benefits our portfolio companies, who appreciate having a network of investors they don’t necessarily have to ''manage''. By leading the investment and actively working as the gatekeeper for the company, Brightspark ensures that the company can grow to its full potential without being distracted or becoming unfocused. This model attracts some of the best companies in Canada.

Brightspark Ventures

[Desjardins Venture Capital](http://www.dcrdesjardins.com/En/index.asp) is the venture capital fund management arm of the Mouvement des caisses Desjardins.  It manages the assets of Desjardins Venture Capital, a limited partnership, six Desjardins investment regional funds, as well as Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins, a public fund whose assets under management are projected to reach $1.425-billion over the next 10 years. Desjardins Venture Capital makes its network and expertise available to businesses.

Desjardins Venture Capital

DEEPCORE is an AI specialized incubator that trains challengers with the will to change the world with technology as entrepreneurs.DEEPCORE will provide an open R&D environment by establishing an advanced co-working space in Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo and preparing an AI computing platform, including GPUs with the cooperation of NVIDIA.DEEPCORE will provide opportunities for members to solve social issues by utilizing the latest Deep Learning and other technologies through joint demonstration experiments with companies. Utilizing its position as a member of the SoftBank Group, DEEPCORE will make industry connections, manage projects and offer other forms of support.

Deepcore

Cycle Capital is a pioneer in Canadian Cleantech venture capital fund management investing in companies at the development and commercialization stages in North America. Founded in 2009 by Andrée-Lise Méthot, Founder and Managing Partner, Cycle Capital’s Platform has become an important venture capital investor of the Cleantech industry with its 3 funds totaling $230M Assets Under Management (AUM). Cycle Capital is looking to invests in promising ventures that are not capital intensive and/or that can benefit from the leverage brought by Cycle Capital extensive network of investors, strategic partners and advisors.  In addition to its core investments, Cycle Capital targets companies with high growth potential – especially those with strong intellectual property, leading edge technologies and with exceptional management talent that would benefit from the firm’s network of strategic industrial partners and expert advisors. With its core investment and business expertise, Cycle Capital plays an active role adding meaningful and tangible value to its portfolio companies at all stages of their life.

Cycle Capital

PreVu3D

Tailored to empower Reality Capture technologies, PreVu3D® simple and intuitive software provide users with the ability to create, edit and share interactive 3D model based of real-life environment.

Canada-based PreVu3D has developed a digital twin platform to replicate real-life physical spaces. Its 3D software allows users to explore, measure, and reorganize spaces through reality modeling, simulations, collaboration, and reverse engineering.&nbsp;

Using real-time data to create dynamic virtual representations of the real world

Digital Twin

Prevu3D raises $13.3 million CAD to help enterprises take “‘first steps”’ into industrial metaverse

Canada-based PreVu3D has developed a digital twin platform to replicate real-life physical spaces. Its 3D software allows users to explore, measure, and reorganize spaces through reality modeling, simulations, collaboration, and reverse engineering.&nbsp;PreVu3D's platform utilizes cloud processing, gaming technology, and AI to generate accurate 3D models from reality capture data.As of June 2020, the company modeled 40 million sq ft of physical spaces.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsThe company operates a B2B2C business model via service providers in the US, Europe, and Australia. It focuses on various industries including energy, food and beverage, construction, shipping, maritime, automotive, and transportation. Its key customers include Lego, Port Montréal, LAUAK, AGROPUR, Thales, lovepac, Saputo, General Mills, and Amsted Rail.&nbsp;In August 2022, the company partnered with US-based technological company Kinetic Vision to expand market coverage for Prevu3D software and improve platform capabilities. In addition, it partnered with BIMstream to develop the North East and West Coast DT market (February 2023) and LOOOM to offer a comprehensive, end-to-end service that creates hyper-realistic replicas of industrial environments (January 2023).&nbsp;Funding and financialsIn February 2023, the company raised USD 10 million in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16384">Series A </a>funding led by Cycle Capital, a climate-tech venture capital firm. The funds were allocated toward advancing the deployment of its digital twin platform.&nbsp;Further in <a href="https://www.mcrockcapital.com/advancing-big-industry-with-3d-visual-digital-twins-prevu3d-joins-mcrock/">June 2024</a>, the company received an undisclosed amount from McRock Capital to scale its operations.&nbsp;

Norway-based Cognite is a provider of digital twin modeling software for an entire operation through complex industrial data. With machine learning and physics simulators, companies are able to use these for predictive maintenance, production optimization, and better decision-making.&nbsp;Its main solution Cognite Data Fusion offers an open industrial digital twin by integrating IT, operational, and engineering data from sources such as ERPs, MES, and IoT platforms. The data is cleaned and contextualized into a single location and turned into insights for actionable advice, which then is used to build and automate workflows. The company claimed to be the first company to <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17445">achieve DNV-RP-A204 compliance </a>for its core product, Cognite Data Fusion.&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16217">February 2023</a>, the company advanced with new data-modeling capabilities to accelerate (up to 10–25x) deployments of industrial digital solutions and reduce cost and complexity for users. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25399">January 2024</a>, the company launched the beta version of a GenAI remote operations control room at the Celanese facility to deliver real-time operational transparency.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsThe company provides its solution mainly to the oil and gas, power and utilities, and manufacturing sectors. Its key customers include Siemens and Rockwell Automation.&nbsp;The company had partnered with Microsoft in January 2024 to integrate Cognite Data Fusion with Microsoft Fabric and deliver an AI-powered industrial data operations solution. In June 2022, Cognite formed a joint venture, CNTXT, with Saudi Aramco to provide its digitization services in the Middle East region for the private and public sectors. Also, in October 2022, the company partnered with industrial automation company Rockwell Automation to develop an industrial data hub for the manufacturing sector by combining Rockwell’s software, FactoryTalk, and the Cognite Data Fusion.Furthermore, in September 2022, the company partnered with Schlumberger to integrate the Cognite Data Fusion to Schlumberger’s Enterprise Data Solution to contextualize data in an interoperable platform.&nbsp;Funding and financialsThe company raised USD 150 million in May 2021 in an equity funding round from TCV, which brought the valuation of the company to USD 1.6 billion. The funds were allocated toward expanding its platform to global industries.&nbsp;Furthermore, in January 2022, petroleum and gas company Saudi Aramco purchased 100% of Aker BP's shares in Cognite to own a majority stake of 7.4% at a value of USD 183 million.

Cognite

Nexar is a developer of smart dash cams that gathers real-time street footage to create a digital twin of the physical world and provide data to users for decision-making. As of June 2024, the company had covered over 1.5 billion miles of imagery and holds 4T images in a neural library.&nbsp;Using AI and computer vision, captured images and videos from cars are localized on a map to detect any changes in roads to provide actionable changed data across the platform CityStream and Nexar network. The platform provides features such as detecting changes on the road (such as road blockages, potholes, and construction), driver behavioral maps, autonomous vehicles systems, and compute and connectivity optimization.&nbsp;In August 2022, the company acquired Portugal-based Veniam to combine its data with Veniam’s communications technology and provide real-time mapping for mobility applications.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsThe company operates a B2B business model providing its services to enterprises and institutions in the logistics, road construction, and insurance industries. Its key customers include the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, which partnered with Nexar in May 2021 to improve road management in Las Vegas. Also, in August 2021, the company partnered with Black Car Fund to provide cameras for Black car operators (rideshare drivers) in New York to protect Black Car Fund members in the case of accident or assault.&nbsp;It also partnered with AWS to deploy images, videos, and AI detections using AWS.&nbsp;Funding and financialsThe company raised USD 53 million in November 2021 in a Series D funding round led by Qumra Capital. The funds were used to scale its digital twin service using dash cam footage for automotive OEMs and cities.

Nexar

Seeq is a provider of data analytics enabling insights, predictions, and collaboration for better production and business outcomes.The company’s product portfolio includes softwares for data analytics including 1) Seeq Workbench for advanced analytics, 2) Seeq Organizer for publishing reports and dashboards, 3) Seeq Data Lab for accessing Python libraries, and 4) Seeq Cortex for IT governance, data connectivity, and calculation features. Furthermore, the company provides deployment via cloud, SaaS solutions, and on premise depending on the customer’s system.Key customers and partnershipsThe company provides its services in more than 40 countries focusing on process manufacturing industries, including oil and gas, pharmaceutical, chemical, energy, mining, and food and beverage. In June 2024, Seeq partnered with Equinor, an international energy company, to leverage Seeq's platform across Equinor's global assets.Seeq’s software is built on long-term vendor partnerships such as SIsoft, Honeywell (since 2017), and Siemens (since 2017). Seeq has also partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure to develop features specific to their offerings, recognizing Seeq's expertise in providing cloud solutions for the manufacturing and industrial sector. Other partners include Schneider Electric and Inductive Automation.

Seeq

Q Bio provides a predictive assessment platform to analyse existential risk in an individual’s health. The company claims its platform, Gemini Digital Twin, is the fastest and safest scanner, which takes 15 minutes for the whole body to be scanned.&nbsp;The company provides the Q Exam, which gathers millions of data points from the individual’s body, such as blood, saliva, and vitals, and sends results via a web-based Q Dashboard to the individual’s physicians. Data is facilitated via the Gemini platform that captures whole body patient vitals in a non-invasive manner.&nbsp;&nbsp;The company operates a B2B2C business model offering services via employers and to individuals. It charges membership plans for one year at USD 3,495 for one exam and USD 6,495 for two exams.&nbsp;Q Bio's is developing the Mark I scanner which uses proprietary tensor field mapping technology to offer full-body scans with 3,000 anatomical measurements in just 10 minutes, creating digital twins and large biological models for health insights. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31878">July 2024</a>, Q Bio secured USD 27 million in strategic funding to propel the Mark I scanner toward market launch.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsIn May 2021, the company partnered with Amazon Web Services to provide Q Bio’s services on its cloud platform.

Q Bio

Israel-based Locusview has developed a digital construction management platform to allow companies to manage projects from start to end. The platform is supported by technological capabilities in physical assets, such as plastic and steel pipes, to enable a digital thread (information of an asset such as model or size) and for supply chain and asset traceability.&nbsp;The platform provides features to manage construction projects in and off the field including GPS and sensor-based data collection, fieldwork validations, cloud-based deployment and scaling, real-time progress tracking, online approvals, and built-in reports. Furthermore, companies can lease the complete solution or get a consultation for a customized solution.The company operates a B2B business model, providing its services mainly to the energy, utilities, and telecom industries.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsThe company’s customer base includes more than 30 leading energy utilities and telecom companies. The company has a market presence in India, the US, Australia, Mexico, the UK, and Israel.&nbsp;The company had partnered with Esri to offer a complete end-to-end solution for Esri-based utilities. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Funding and financialsThe company raised USD 64 million in April 2021 in a Series A funding round led by Israel Growth Partners. The funds were used to expand the platform capabilities and for market expansion.

Locusview

Companies that facilitate the creation of digital twins to monitor and maintain assets, including buildings and network infrastructure.

Platforms that facilitate digital twin modeling by either collectively or individually offering any combination of data capture and analytics solutions.

Companies offering digital twins to gain insights for use in commercial planning, logistics and distribution, and other supply chain processes.

Companies that offer digital twins to assess risks and recommend solutions in areas such as disaster management, DNA testing, clinical trials (to simulate effects of treatments), etc.

Used to design and build components contributing to smart cities, roads, airports, public transportation systems, etc.

Digital twins are the primary enabling technology for the digital twin industry

Startups can create digital twins of cities; enables modeling/simulation to improve efficiency/quality of life

Digital twins can be applied in the telecommunications industry for remote monitoring of communication towers

Startups can use digital twins to automate and proactively monitor industrial production lines and facilities

Uses edge computing for cost-effective and real-time data processing by reducing transmission costs

Uses AI/ML for the creation of digital twins and when running simulations

Digital twin startups use IoT for remote data collection from sensors to create digital twins

PreVu3D

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