Boreal Ventures has closed on $43 million for its sophomore fund, which is targeting $60 million. The early-stage fund is focused on capital-efficient B2B technology companies founded in Canada and built to compete globally.
Boreal Ventures II will invest at the seed stage across Canada, with a particular focus on Quebec and underserved markets. The fund targets sectors such as vertical SaaS and AI, industrial tech, fintech, digital health and manufacturing. The fund is designed to invest in companies that have found early product-market fit and need to transform their early traction into a repeatable and scalable go-to-market engine.
Managing partner David Charbonneau co-founded Boreal in 2021 in partnership with Centech, the Montreal-based business incubator and accelerator that focuses on deeptech and medtech start-ups with high growth potential. The firm, based in Montreal, closed on $29.9 million for its debut fund in 2021.
The firm also announced that JD Saint-Martin has joined it as co-managing partner. Martin was previously president and chief revenue officer at Lightspeed Commerce (TSE: LSPD), developer of a unified point-of-sale and payments platform, as well as co-founder of Chronogolf, a golf course management services platform.
“Canada builds exceptional products, but commercialization remains a key challenge and can limit the growth potential of many promising companies. Fund II is designed to help address this gap, and JD Saint-Martin will play an important role in that effort,” Charbonneau said in a statement.
“He brings valuable experience scaling revenue at Lightspeed, along with a strong network and a deep understanding of the ecosystem. We believe there is a disciplined path to building enduring technology companies from Canada, one that reflects the realities of our market.”
In addition to Charbonneau and Saint-Martin, Boreal’s leadership team includes Samuel Larivière, partner and chief financial officer, who previously was on KPMG’s audit team, where he focused on the financial services industry.
Guiding the team is an investment committee comprising Robert Talbot (CDPQ, Telesystem), Mark-Anthony Sdao (Desjardins Capital) and Nelson Stacks (3i Group, Oak Investment).
The fund’s limited partners include institutional investors from Boreal’s debut fund, such as Government of Quebec through Investissement Québec, BDC Capital, Fonds québécois d’amorçage de Teralys (financed by La Caisse, formerly CDPQ) and Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins. Dax Dasilva, founder and CEO of Lightspeed Commerce, is a new LP in Fund II.
Boreal’s investment model reflects the reality most founders face. Rather than chasing binary outcomes, the firm backs founders building durable businesses capable of delivering strong returns through disciplined growth, capital efficiency and sustainable economics.
With active coverage of the Canadian market, the firm cultivates relationships with US venture and strategic buyers for portfolio positioning and follow-on fundraising for its portfolio companies.
The firm takes a hands-on, operator-led approach to building scalable go-to-market and revenue systems. It works closely with founders on pipeline generation, pricing, compensation and hiring high-performing revenue teams to transition companies from founder-led sales to repeatable growth.
This model is supported by the Guild, a network of more than 30 experienced operators, founders and revenue leaders who invest, advise and help the next generation of Canadian start-ups scale globally.
“Québec is home to a dynamic ecosystem of innovative technology companies, many emerging from small and medium-sized businesses developing high-quality solutions. Too often, the real challenge is getting those innovations to market,” said Jean Boulet, minister of economy, innovation and energy, as well as minister of labour.
“By supporting this fund, our government is helping entrepreneurs turn bold ideas into commercial success and shine a spotlight on Québec expertise around the world.”
Among the companies that Boreal has invested in are Femtum, manufacturer of mid-infrared fiber lasers for scientific, medical and industrial use; SmartD Technologies, developer of a smart motor control product designed to maximize energy efficiency and extend motor life; and Kento, developer of a digital health platform to help people manage their chronic conditions.
