TORONTO – The first ever Telus Ventures Summit kicked off Thursday at Toronto’s MaRS discovery district. The one-day event was an opportunity for entrepreneurs to discuss and share their vision of market opportunities and identify areas of potential collaboration with Telus and other participant venture funds.
Telus Ventures finds, funds, and scales investments in high potential growth markets including healthcare IT, internet of things, big data, financial technology and digital security. With offices in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal the fund currently partners with 55 companies in Canada and the United States.
The fund partners with companies at various stages of development that provide both short term and long term ‘orthogonal’ strategic value for its parent company. Firm managers, Rich Osborne and Paul Lepage, believe in using corporate venture capital to support solving some of the most pressing social challenges facing Canadians with a recent emphasis on developing technologies for consumer use in a 5G, zero latency world.
Current investments include Sentrian, a self-described Remote Patient Intelligence company, that aims to eliminate preventable hospitalizations by leveraging remote biosensors and machine learning to detect patient deterioration early. Another is DOmedic which has designed a smart pill dispenser which helps people remember to take their medications as scheduled. In healthcare IT, new ventures aim to bypass traditional healthcare infrastructure such as hospitals, doctors, and nurses to provide better outcomes for patients directly.
In a market flush with venture capital, Telus adds value with its expansive telecommunications infrastructure, venture fund partnerships, and market expertise. Telus is also a limited partner in ScaleUp an Ontario Venture initiative that provides early-stage start-ups with both mentorship and capital. The fund includes provincial and private-sector investment.
The inaugural Toronto Health Innovation Week brings together the global health community to make deals, create partnerships and share knowledge. Other feature events include RESI on MaRS 2016, Singularity University Canada, Global Impact Challenge, and MEDEC’s medical device annual conference.
Pictured is Ben Yoskovitz, Founding Partner, Highline BETA
