Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC) has announced a $5 million investment in Pender Ventures‘ $100-million Pender Technology Inflection Fund II.
This strategic move aims to increase early-stage capital access for Alberta’s burgeoning technology and health technology startups. Pender Ventures has further solidified its commitment to the province by establishing a full-time presence in Calgary.
Pender Ventures, founded in 2018, specializes in supporting business-to-business (B2B) and health technology companies as they transition from commercialization to scalable growth.
The firm is led by Managing Partner Maria Pacella, a veteran in the Canadian early-stage ecosystem since 2000, who brings extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions and venture capital investment. Pender Ventures offers strategic and operational expertise to its portfolio companies, fostering their development and market expansion.
Kristina Williams, CEO of Alberta Enterprise Corporation, emphasized the alignment between Pender Ventures’ focus and Alberta’s startup landscape. “Two-thirds of Alberta’s startups focus on health and life sciences or B2B information technology, which aligns directly with the focus of Pender Ventures. With their team local in Alberta, our startups gain direct access to experienced investors with diverse perspectives that can provide a true growth advantage.”
Demonstrating its active engagement in Alberta’s tech community, Pender Ventures previously invested in Edmonton-based DrugBank through its initial fund.
Expanding its local footprint, the firm has appointed Jacob Grainger as a Calgary-based Associate. Grainger formerly served as Senior Ventures Associate at Plug and Play Alberta and co-founded Bloom Bioworks, where he led financing and operational strategies for the synthetic biology startup.
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