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Gloria Nie

A high-profile technology venture capital fund backed by the Ontario government and an all-star roster of Canadian business leaders has hit its first investment milestone – and made the first of what is expected to be a flurry of near-term investments.

ScaleUP Ventures did its first close on Aug. 31, passing the halfway point toward its goal of raising $75-million, said general partner Kent Thexton, a wireless telecom industry veteran who was previously managing director of OMERS Ventures.

Mr. Thexton wouldn't disclose the exact amount raised but said it came from 16 limited partners, including large Canadian corporations and wealthy individuals.

The Ontario government has committed an additional $25-million.

"The response so far has been fabulous" from investors, Mr. Thexton said.

Meanwhile, ScaleUP has made its first investment, co-leading a $6-million Series A equity funding for Fusebill.

It's a 33-person Ottawa-based subscription software firm specializing in automated billing for online companies that has more than doubled in size every year since its founding by two local tech executives in 2011, and has between $1-million and $10-million in annual revenue.

It's also a company Mr. Thexton, who will serve as chairman, knew previously: OMERS Ventures led a $2-million financing in 2013, a year before he joined the pension's tech investing arm, and he became familiar with Fusebill from general discussions at partner meetings. Other investors in the Series A round include Washington private capital firm Langdell Investments and BDC Capital.

Mr. Thexton said ScaleUP is in advanced stages on three other venture investments, with a focus on firms that sell cloud-based subscription software for business-to-business customers. ScaleUP faces "an overwhelming amount of deal flow right now," he said.

ScaleUP was created by former Rogers Communications CEO Nadir Mohamed and past Ryerson University president Sheldon Levy with a goal of helping tech startups primarily in Ontario.

In addition to capital, the venture firm promises to provide coaching and access to prominent advisers, including entrepreneurs Joe Mimran and Dan Debow, bank CEOs, Bay Street financiers and prominent corporate chieftains, including GE Canada CEO Elyse Allan, Magna CEO Don Walker and retired Corus Entertainment CEO John Cassaday.

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