Toronto-based Kensington Capital Partners (KCP) has raised $85 million for the Kensington Venture Fund II LP, the company announced Monday.
The fund of funds was launched to invest in venture capital (VC) funds and tech companies, under the federal government’s Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI).
Alongside the federal government, additional investors include BMO Capital Partners, Trend Forward Capital and Kensington Private Equity Fund, among other institutional and individual investors.
“Canada’s technology sector has grown dramatically in the past several years, with tremendous innovation in the market, many companies continuing to scale, and strong performance for investors. We believe that there has never been a better time to invest in this market,” says Rick Nathan, managing director of KCP, in a statement.
The VCCI, which was announced in the 2017 federal budget, is deploying $400 million to increase the availability of late stage venture capital in Canada. The effort includes $350 million worth of investment in large private sector-led funds-of-funds and $50 million worth of investment in VC fund managers.
Back in June, the government named five funds-of-funds managers including: Hamilton Lane, HarbourVest Partners, Northleaf Capital Partners, Teralys Capital and KCP.
Separately, Toronto-based Northleaf Capital Partners has announced the initial closing of the Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund II under the VCCI.
The fundps initial close includes investments from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Sun Life Financial and Toronto-Dominion Bank, along with certain high net-worth and family office investors.