BDC launches CAD $200M fund for industrial tech growth
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has announced the launch of Industrial Innovation Venture Fund II (I2VF II), a new fund of CAD $200 million aimed at supporting entrepreneurs in Canada's industrial technology sectors.
The initiative follows BDC's first Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, introduced in 2019, which invested in over 20 early-stage companies. The second fund expands its focus to early-stage high-growth firms in advanced manufacturing, ag-tech, food-tech, extractive industries, and now, with a notable addition, critical minerals. BDC has identified these areas as important for increasing productivity and resilience for the Canadian industry.
Geneviève Bouthillier, Executive Vice President, BDC Capital, said that the fund specifically addresses challenges faced by key sectors in Canada.
"Canada's productivity gap is especially acute in sectors like manufacturing, mining, and agriculture," said Bouthillier. "With Fund II, we're doubling down our commitment to entrepreneurs building practical, scalable technologies that are highly needed across these industries. The growing demand for critical minerals makes this investment more important than ever."
The topic of productivity has been of ongoing concern in Canada's manufacturing, mining, and agriculture industries. The new fund continues BDC's purpose of assisting companies to scale up their solutions, particularly as demand rises for next-generation technologies that support international competitiveness and national supply chain resilience.
Track record
BDC stated that its first industrial fund helped fill a major gap in the market for early-stage financing. Investments from Fund I, according to the bank, produced measurable results in the field.
Acerta Analytics, a portfolio company, reported that it enabled a manufacturing facility to cut scrap rates by double digits. MineSense Technologies, another recipient, said that deploying its X-ray fluorescence system led to an 18.1% increase in ore production at a British Columbia mine.
These examples of efficiency gains are among the outcomes BDC aims to repeat and expand upon with the CAD $200 million allocated under I2VF II.
Technological focus
"Fund II will target companies that are developing transformative solutions in areas such as robotics, automation, applied AI and industrial software," says Bouthillier. "We believe these technologies are key to helping industrial enterprises improve efficiency, reduce waste, and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving global market."
The expanded focus on critical minerals reflects recent shifts in Canada's industrial landscape. Critical minerals, such as lithium and cobalt, have become essential for sectors like energy storage and electric vehicle manufacturing, which are viewed as strategically important to Canada's economic strategy.
BDC sees investment in these foundational industrial activities as a way to sustain Canadian businesses in an increasingly digitised and automated global environment.
BDC, which has provided financing and advisory support to Canadian entrepreneurs for 80 years, estimates that its broader financing services in 2025 will generate an additional CAD $25 billion in GDP for the Canadian economy over the next five years.
