VentureLab recently hosted its yearly HardTech event focused on “deep” technology, with a particular emphasis on hardware, semiconductors, Medtech, AI, and mobility. The event was a gathering of investors and innovators from around the globe.
HardTech took a step forward by being in a great, new venue. The event was well organized and executed.
Lots of investors were present from all over the world, really good to see VentureLab actively trying to bridge the gap between startups and capital.
Denis Gaudreault, Intel’s Country Manager for Canada, had a very interesting presentation exploring Canada’s role in the semiconductor world, focusing on leveraging Canada’s wealth of talent and educational institutions to work together with the government to accelerate the industry.
A group of VCs from Bosch Ventures, Monozukuri Ventures, Kanata Ventures, and Roynat Capital discussed the current landscape of capital investment in Canada, echoing many of the thoughts that Denis had: There is a lot of talent in Canada that needs structure to create successful ventures. Canada is well positioned but needs a little more “fuel for the fire”.
The human capital demand for companies has grown exponentially, with more talented people needed for hardware companies every day, and a panel discussion called “How Do We Meet the Supercharged Demand for Hardware Talent in Canada?” really dug deep into how to get young people interested and excited about hardware and talked about training from the ground up to really meet the upcoming demand for deep tech talent.
Many founders underestimate how different deep tech fundraising really is. Deep tech funding rounds don’t follow the same rules as software funding rounds. These rounds take more time, they are larger, and are validation-driven due to long-lasting R&D cycles and capital intensity. Imagine that each round answers the question, then what question would it be?
Early exits are named as such because the exit constitutes an interruption of the regular venture path. There are several paths to an early exit, some organized, some happen by coincidence. For startups, it is important to have a clear focus on the path forward and, based on the technology and product it is developing, to understand the startup’s value path.
TD Shepherd congratulates Keiron Printing Technologies on successful raising Series A round led by Invest-NL. Keiron Printing Technologies B.V. (Eindhoven) commercializes a laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) platform for solder paste deposition in electronics assembly.