Canada-based, fintech-focused venture capital firm Information Venture Partners (IVP) has closed its second fund at C$106m ($79m), surpassing its initial C$100m target, with backing from insurance provider Manulife Financial.
Funds affiliated with investment firm HarbourVest Partners led the fundraising, which featured fintech provider D+H and financial services holding company Power Financial as well as Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund, Teralys Capital Innovation Fund and Permal Capital.
Other limited partners for Information Venture Partners Fund II include financial institutions Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Business Development Bank of Canada and state-owned export credit agency Export Development Canada.
Founded in 2001 as RBC Venture Partners, IVP was a venture capital affiliate of RBC before spinning out in October 2014.
The firm invests in enterprise software and fintech companies in the US and Canada, and currently has six active companies in its portfolio including corporate performance management software provider Adaptive Insights and fraud detection software producer Verafin.
Robert Antoniades, co-founder and general partner, said: “The additional investment from new limited partner, Manulife, strengthens our position as the leading early stage financial technology and enterprise software venture capital firm.”
In an interview with the Globe and Mail on November 20, Antoniades said: “We’re at the beginning of the [fintech] wave…I think the next 12 to 24 months will be very interesting because we will see [many emerging fintech companies] hitting scale.”