Velocity Fund II (VFII), an early-stage venture capital fund spun out of the University of Waterloo’s globally renowned Velocity incubator, announces the first close of its fund with US$10 million in committed capital.
Managed independently by General Partners Akash Vaswani and Ross Robinson, the fund is focused on investing in founders at the earliest stages across software, deep tech and health tech sectors.
“We’re committed to supporting incredible and ambitious founders with the fund we wish had existed when we were starting out. We move quickly and focus on founders who are solving significant problems,” said Robinson.
VFII secures its strong start from a group of limited partners that include Graphite Ventures, the University of Waterloo, the AngelList Systematic Fund of Funds, and undisclosed high-net-worth individuals, many of whom are Waterloo alumni.
“We’re excited to back Velocity Fund II and to have it be our first university spin-out fund. My past research has suggested that Waterloo is one of the best schools globally for startup founders,” said Abraham Othman, managing partner of the AngelList Systematic Fund of Funds.
Waterloo was the first post-secondary institution in Canada to invest from its endowment into an independent venture capital fund.
“At Waterloo, we believe in the power of bold thinking and entrepreneurial drive,” said Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo.
“By investing in Velocity Fund II, we are supporting the extraordinary talent emerging from our ecosystem and reinforcing our commitment to transforming groundbreaking ideas into lasting impact. This fund allows us to back visionary founders who will shape the industries of tomorrow.”
Building on the success of its inaugural fund, VFII aims to be the first institutional investor in promising early-stage startups, offering capital and deep ecosystem support with a total of US$25 million raised.
The fund’s focus on early-stage investing and close ties with Waterloo founders has seen companies like Ground News and Scribenote benefit from its investments. VFII has already made investments into five new companies including Voltra Energy and Handshake, two high-profile Velocity-based start-ups which have already yielded commercial success.
“We have unparalleled access to the most concentrated pool of entrepreneurial talent in country, and we’re good at identifying emerging trends and spotting world-class founders early,” said Vaswani.
For more information, visit the Velocity Fund’s website.
This document is not an offer to issue or sell, or a solicitation of an offer to subscribe for or buy, any securities or other financial instruments, nor does it constitute a financial promotion, investment advice or an inducement to purchase any product, or to participate in any offering or investment. Any offer to purchase or buy securities will only be made to qualified investors, and only pursuant to an offering document and subscription documents furnished to such qualified investors on a confidential basis.
Feature Image: Velocity Fund II General Partners Ross Robinson (left) and Akash Vaswani. (University of Waterloo)
