Alberta Enterprise Corporation Invests $10 Million in Yaletown Partners New Innovation Growth Fund

EDMONTON, Nov. 21, 2017 /CNW/ - Alberta Enterprise Corporation announced today a $10 million investment as part of a first closing in Yaletown Partners latest fund, the Yaletown Innovation Growth Fund. This new fund will invest in emerging growth technology companies across Canada focused on enhancing sustainability and productivity in the Intelligent Industry and Intelligent Enterprise sectors.

"Our strategy at Alberta Enterprise is to attract new fund teams to the province, and to continue supporting funds in our existing portfolio that are high performing ? both in terms of activity and investments in Alberta, as well as financial return. Yaletown has been an active investor in the province and they have an excellent history of supporting the local ecosystem. We are confident that this latest placement by Alberta Enterprise in Yaletown Innovation Growth Fund will continue to develop valuable connections and investment channels for Alberta companies," said Kristina Williams, CEO, Alberta Enterprise Corporation.

Managed by five partners with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto, Yaletown Partners plays a hands-on role with portfolio companies. Their new fund focuses on high-opportunity sectors including Machine Learning, Data Analytics, and the Industrial Internet of Things. The firm's investment strategy is to help scale companies that are generating revenues and looking to finance their next stage of expansion to become market leaders.

Alberta Enterprise, through its investment in Yaletown will be building the network of private independent funds operating in Alberta, leveraging the investment of other industry Limited Partners. The focus sectors of the new Yaletown fund match the available deal flow in the province. The 2016 Deal Flow Study released by Alberta Enterprise showed that Yaletown's target sectors represent more than 70% of the deal flow in Alberta and that these sectors had over 50% growth rates.

"Alberta Enterprise has been a strong supporter of Yaletown as an investor in our second Fund and in the Accelerate Fund II," said Brad Johns, Partner with Yaletown Partners. "We are again delighted to have them as an investor in our Innovation Growth Fund and look forward to helping expand the Alberta technology ecosystem and scale world class technology companies."

The firm is engaged in the Alberta Venture Capital community with investments in companies such as Calgary based Chaordix and Edmonton based Showbie. Yaletown Partners won the CVCA 2017 deal of the year in the venture capital category for its investment in Bit Stew Systems Inc., now part of GE Digital.

About Alberta Enterprise Corporation:
Alberta Enterprise Corporation promotes the development of Alberta's venture capital industry by investing in venture capital funds that finance early-stage technology companies. We focus on funds that have a strong commitment to Alberta ? including a full-time presence in the province. In addition to capital, we support Alberta's venture capital ecosystem by connecting investors, entrepreneurs, and experienced technology executives who share our passion for building a bright, innovative Alberta.

Since our inception we have committed $144 million for investment to eleven VC funds, as well as the Accelerate Fund I and II, covering a diverse range of forward-looking industries including clean and energy technologies, information and communications technologies, life sciences, and agriculture and food.
www.alberta-enterprise.ca

About Yaletown Partners:  Yaletown invests in emerging-growth technology companies that enhance sustainability and productivity for industrial and enterprise customers. Our Innovation Growth Fund helps Canadian technology companies to scale and become market leaders. In 2017, Yaletown won the CVCA Venture Capital Deal of the Year Award for its investment in Bit Stew Systems, which was Canada's largest venture financed exit of 2016. Yaletown is backed by leading institutional investors and a network of successful technology entrepreneurs and angel investors. 
www.yaletown.com

SOURCE Alberta Enterprise Corporation