August Monthly Recap
Active August for Private Deal flow in Canada
In this months recap we take a look at the private deal flow across Canada. A number of companies successfully closed on private funding in August across the provinces. A total of 24 deals brought in $140M of funds across the country. Of note, our criteria was based on Pre-Seed, Seed or Series A financings (all data from Crunchbase).
The largest Pre-seed financing was for Profound Impact in Waterloo, Ontario at $2.2M. There were a couple of big Seed financings out of Toronto with Konscious Foods raising $26M and Ideogram raising $22.3M. LemFi, also out of Toronto, was the largest Series A round at $33M.
While Ontario and BC drove over 90% of the total funds raised, the number of deals was spread more evenly with Quebec and Alberta in the mix. Of the 24 deals, only 4 were Series A, with 24 Seed financings and 6 Pre-seed deals.
EXRO Technologies (EXRO:TSXV)
Exro announced its 2Q23 financial results earlier in the month. Here are some of the highlights:
Introduction of three new Directors and a shift in Board leadership
Closure of a financing deal amounting to $34.9M
Commercialization agreement with Linamar Corporation for the Coil Driver™ traction inverter
Exclusive manufacturing partnership with Re:Build Manufacturing for Cell Driver™
2Q23 Revenue: $2.4M (significant growth from $142K in 2022).
As of 2Q23, Exro held cash reserves of $35M.
More recently Exro announced that they successfully attained certification from Underwriters’ Laboratory (UL) for its innovative Cell Driver battery modules. This is a pivotal step, though a full system UL certification is still pending, expected by the end of 2023.
Alongside this, Exro secured a patent for its energy storage technology, which promises to boost charge, safety, and cell longevity.
For our latest post on EXRO click HERE
SHARC Energy Systems (SHRC:CSE)
SHARC announced their Q2 2023 financial results on August 29th. The company indicated an increase in order backlog and continued growth in the sales pipeline:
As of August 29, 2023, SHARC reported a Sales Pipeline of 16.7M and a Sales Order Backlog of $1.3M, a 20% growth in the latter.
At June 30, 2023, the company held $4.2M in working capital, including $3.1M cash. It cleared all debts by converting $3.95M debt to equity in 1H2023.
2Q2023 revenues reached $0.45M, a 173% increase from Q2 2022. The gross margin improved to 44.5% in YTD 2023 from 29.9% in YTD 2022 due to a shift in revenue mix.
Hanspaul Pannu, CFO and COO, highlighted the company's debt clearance and the strategic addition of thermal energy expert Michael Albertson, enhancing SHARC's potential in the Wastewater Energy Transfer industry
SHARC also provided an update on their involvement in a $1.2 billion redevelopment project in Brooklyn's East New York:
SHARC Energy completed the final submittal process and received a purchase order for its SHARC 660 Wastewater Energy Transfer (WET) system for the project's initial phase.
The initial redevelopment phase, valued at $373 million, will establish 576 affordable homes, a 15,000-square-foot outpatient medical clinic, and 7,000 square feet of retail space.
For our latest post on SHARC click HERE
Alchemy Grills
Raising $1.5mm in equity
Alchemy Grills is the latest company to partner with 4Front Advisory. They are looking to disrupt the North American grill market with they innovative, and eye-catching combo smoker, grill and plancha. They have the backing of Toronto chef, author and TV personality Matt Basile as well as a number of industry veterans from other grill companies and BBQ distributors helping them navigate the full-scale launch of their 32” and 22” grills.
For our introductory post on Alchemy click HERE
Zyng Corp
Zyng Corp., a Canadian fintech company, released its 2Q23 financial results. The company specializes in ATM "Smart Kiosk" software and is gearing up to introduce Neo banking software for a pre-paid card system named "Zyng Card." Despite delays, they aim to launch by early 2024, offering both virtual and physical cards via kiosks, a website, and a mobile app for the US and Canadian markets.
Key Highlights:
2Q23 Financial Results: Revenue reached US$440K, a 16% increase from 2Q22.
Network Expansion: Operates over 500 ATMs and Smart Kiosks across key US regions, acquiring an extra 30 ATMs and 6 Smart Kiosks in 2Q23.
Private Placement Financing: Working on a non-brokered private placement of up to US$5 Million at US$0.35 per share.
For our introductory post on Zyng click HERE
Refresh Resources
Raising $1.5mm in equity
Refresh completed the remediation of three produced water ponds for a major oil and gas operator in northeast BC in July
August activities were focused on business development in Houston and Calgary, where jobs are being lined up for latter 2023 and into 2024
Activity in Canada was delayed due to forest fire activity, though the company remains on track to deliver positive EBITDA in its first year of operation
For our introductory post on Refresh Resources click HERE
InnerVision
Raising $1.5mm in equity ($500K raised)
InnerVision is a downhole tool that uses medical grade ultrasound imaging to provide clear images of casing, cement, threads and into the reservoir.
Key Points:
InnerVision has secured some government grants that will allow it to complete the construction of its first tool. Independent testing is planned for later in 2023.
Ongoing talks with ADNOC (The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, fully owned by the government) and the applicability of the tool in their onshore/offshore operations.
For our introductory post on InnerVision click HERE
SOMÉ
Raising $3mm in equity ($1.5mm raised)
SOMÉ is a leading luxury wellness brand that has dedicated itself to enhancing the quality of sleep by combining advanced technology and science-infused fabrics in the sleepwear and bedding space.
August Milestones:
Shipped Award Winning 400 TC sheets to the first redemption partner in the US.
Featured on Good Morning America’s ‘Steals & Deals’ over August long weekend.
Founder & CEO Lara Smith featured on Canada’s #1 podcast for entrepreneurs HERE
First shipment of 400TC PCM sheets to US retail distributor.
Featured in CNET’s Best Cooling Sheets roundup. SOMÉ won in the Best Luxury category. HERE
Completed move to new 3PL partner in the US and began the undertaking of streamlining supply chain logistics with movement of fulfillment and warehousing to Calgary from Toronto.
Additional Dropship partners added.
For our introductory post on SOMÉ click HERE