Alberta Enterprise has invested USD $10 million into Relay Ventures Fund V to support early-stage Alberta technology companies innovating in finance, real estate, sports and gaming as well as urban life.
Included in Relay’s Fund V investments are Alberta-based fintech company, miQ, a savings and credit building platform that aims to provide greater access to new-to-credit and new-to-Canada consumers. In previous funds Relay invested in Calgary-headquartered Mobsquad, a technology talent services provider.
Relay’s Alberta team is led by Managing Partner, Irfhan Rawji, who joined the firm in 2016 and has been an active cheerleader for Alberta as a significant Canadian tech hub, attracting capital and talent to local startups. Rawji is also a co-founder of Mobsquad.
“Relay’s investments, and Irfhan’s personal passionate commitment to the local community, help to realize the growth ambitions of startups currently dominating Alberta’s evolving economy including fintech businesses,” commented Kristina Williams, CEO of Alberta Enterprise Corporation. “It is great to see Relay continuing to focus on Alberta as a vibrant technology economy and carrying on the growth momentum started with its last fund.”
Through Fund V, Relay will provide seed and Series A funding to startups in industries with the high potential for growth, fuelled by the rapid adoption of technology. They focus on four sectors: fintech; urbantech to support better city life for citizens; property technology to enable new business models in real estate; and sportstech to transform how games are played, distributed, and consumed across sports, media, fitness and gaming.
“Relay is excited to continue our active engagement in Alberta’s innovation economy,” said Irfhan Rawji, Managing Partner of Relay Ventures. “The past several years have witnessed substantial growth of the sector, and we expect that to continue. We look forward to continuing to bring our capital and experience to help more Alberta-headquartered companies, such as miQ and MobSquad, become global champions.”
Relay Ventures has offices in Toronto, Calgary, and San Francisco.
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