OMERS Ventures
Fund · Toronto · omersventures.com
The venture arm of OMERS, one of Canada's largest pension plans, backing early stage founders in fintech, software and AI, mostly in Canada.
OMERS Ventures is the venture arm of OMERS, one of Canada's largest pension plans. It was founded in 2011, and its first investment was Toronto's Wave. It says it has backed 46 Canadian companies, including Shopify, D2L and Wattpad, and more recently Cohere and Dominion Dynamics.
In Waterloo Region, its portfolio page lists Vidyard and Acerta of Kitchener and Smile.io of Waterloo as current companies, and Kitchener's D2L as a former one.
Laura Lenz was named its Managing Director, Head of Ventures in September 2026. Its investors work in Toronto, New York and Palo Alto. Founders can reach it at info@omersventures.com.
What it invests in
Series A to C rounds, with first cheques of US$5 million to US$25 million (its stated range in 2024)
Some earlier rounds too, such as Daedal's US$4 million pre-seed round in October 2026
Fintech, vertical software, enterprise applications, and AI and infrastructure software
Defence technology, physical AI and vertical AI platforms, where it sees openings in Canada
Canada first, and companies in the US and Europe as well
Location
EY Tower, 100 Adelaide St W, Suite 900, Toronto, ON M5H 0E2
Links
Waterloo Region startups backed by OMERS Ventures (4)
Smile.io
smile.ioSmile powers the world's largest network of loyalty programs, giving you the benchmarks, data, and tools you need to outperform your industry. Tailored for your brand, Shopify Plus Certified, and built to scale.
Acerta
acerta.aiDetect defects early, cut scrap and rework, and boost throughput with LinePulse, Acerta's AI-driven manufacturing quality and process analytics platform.
D2L
d2l.comCreated by D2L, Brightspace is the best LMS software for online learning and teaching. Discover how our online learning platform for schools and companies can help your organization today.
Vidyard
vidyard.comVidyard is an online video platform for business which allows you to increase leads, accelerate your pipeline and delight your customers. Learn more!
From the fund's own portfolio page and public announcements of its rounds. Only Waterloo Region companies in the directory are shown.
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