Montreal-based Boreal Ventures said its newly launched Boreal Ventures II $60 million fund will help Canadian B2B technology companies compete globally.

Fund II, which has secured a $43 million first close, is backed by Government of Quebec through Investissement Quebec, BDC Capital, Fonds québécois d'amorçage de Teralys (financed by La Caisse, formerly CDPQ) and Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins.

The early-stage venture capital firm started in 2021 in partnership with Centec, and focuses on B2B companies in Canada that have the potential to scale globally. These include SaaS and AI companies, fintech and digital health. 

In its first funding round of $38.3 million in 2022, Boreal Ventures supported a range of Canadian startups – Juri, Burai, Kento and Palisade, for example. During that period, the firm came to understand there was a deeper structural issue across Canada when it came to startup growth.

“One of the things we learned is that we produce a great deal of great technical talent and ambition in Canada, only we have issues with commercializing those ambitions,“ David Charbonneau, co-managing partner and founder of Boreal Ventures, said in an interview with TechNX. “We find products and solutions that have a great market fit, great engineers, only when it comes to building these ventures out, it’s difficult for them to find the commercial talent to do that.”

Commercializing tech ambitions 

The goal of this new fund is to help startups take the needed steps to quickly commercialize solutions and grow companies so they can compete in Canada and globally, and have plans for remaining sustainable over the long-term.  

According to Charbonneau, that means looking for startups that currently have between $500,000 to $3 million in recurring revenue, have demonstrated strong year-over-year growth and established “capital efficient” operations. 

JD Saint-Martin, co-managing partner at Boreal Ventures, said the firm's approach can best be described as “hands on.”

Saint-Martin stepped into his role at Boreal Ventures after stepping away from e-commerce and point-of-sales company Lightspeed at the start of 2026. He previously worked at General Electric’s private equity fund and Québec’s Teralys Capital.

“Where once we invest in one of these companies, we get very involved and hands on to help them scale on the commercial side,” he said. “We help them structure their go-to-market strategy around having the right revenue systems and having a performance culture in place.”

That means working with founders on pipeline generation, pricing, compensation, and hiring high-performing revenue teams. There is also a network of 30 experienced operators, founders and investors who will offer needed advice on putting in place the right revenue generation and commercialization strategies to help the companies grow.

Saint-Martin described it as pairing the science of systems with the right people to help companies take the right steps to become commercially successful. 

“At the end of the day, we are backing people in this age of AI,” Charbonneau added. “We still believe in people so we are looking to find exceptional founders that are strong in the sectors they operate in and help them grow.”