Key Takeaways
- • Conexus Venture Capital raised $35 million for its second tech startup fund, $5 million above its original target, according to the Regina Leader-Post.
- • The fund reopened financing after closing at $30 million at the end of 2025, driven by demand from new institutional investors and individuals.
- • Conexus Credit Union, a Saskatchewan banking cooperative, contributed an initial $15 million; the fund is made exclusively of pledges from Saskatchewan investors.
- • The raise contrasts with a national decline in Canadian venture capital, which fell from $14.8 billion in 2021 to $8 billion in 2025, with early-stage financing down 65 per cent per CVCA data.
- • Average Canadian VC deal size rose to $14.07 million last year, while early-stage deal count fell to 123 from more than 300 in 2021.
Summary
Conexus Venture Capital, a Regina-based fund manager, said it raised $35 million in its latest fundraising round, $5 million above its original target. The capital will finance its next slate of early-stage technology companies, including a parking management app and an Uber-type service for home care. According to managing director Jordan McFarlen, the fund's first vehicle ranked among the top performers of its size across North America in 2019 and included some of Saskatchewan's most successful tech companies, which helped drive investor interest.
The fund is a subsidiary of Conexus Credit Union, which put an initial $15 million into the pot. Conexus raises capital from Saskatchewan institutions, community partners and high-net-worth individuals, and McFarlen described credit unions as a "strong component" of the investor base. Conexus did not disclose individual pledge amounts. It closed at $30 million at the end of 2025, after which new institutional investors and then individual investors joined, according to McFarlen. The investor base mixed repeat backers from the 2019 fund with new financiers.
The second fund already holds 10 portfolio companies. It allocated $2.4 million to Regina-headquartered parking management platform Offstreet and another $6 million across soil remediation platform LiORA and in-home care marketplace Alto Technologies. McFarlen said other Canadian tech funds had missed fundraising targets in recent years, and in some cases could not raise a fund at all.
The raise runs counter to national trends. Citing the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), the article reports that venture capital spending across Canada fell from $14.8 billion in 2021 to $8 billion in 2025, with early-stage financing dropping 65 per cent over the period. Deal counts also fell: roughly 300 early-stage deals would have been typical in 2021, versus 123 in 2025. David Kornack, the CVCA's director of data and product, said capital is concentrating in fewer, larger deals, with the average deal size reaching $14.07 million last year against a five-year average of $12.44 million. He said the data does not show whether investment risk is driving this behaviour.
McFarlen describes Conexus as an underdog in the industry, noting it is the only credit union-led venture capital fund in Canada, and says the firm targets companies overlooked by conventional venture investors.
The fund is a subsidiary of Conexus Credit Union, which put an initial $15 million into the pot. Conexus raises capital from Saskatchewan institutions, community partners and high-net-worth individuals, and McFarlen described credit unions as a "strong component" of the investor base. Conexus did not disclose individual pledge amounts. It closed at $30 million at the end of 2025, after which new institutional investors and then individual investors joined, according to McFarlen. The investor base mixed repeat backers from the 2019 fund with new financiers.
The second fund already holds 10 portfolio companies. It allocated $2.4 million to Regina-headquartered parking management platform Offstreet and another $6 million across soil remediation platform LiORA and in-home care marketplace Alto Technologies. McFarlen said other Canadian tech funds had missed fundraising targets in recent years, and in some cases could not raise a fund at all.
The raise runs counter to national trends. Citing the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), the article reports that venture capital spending across Canada fell from $14.8 billion in 2021 to $8 billion in 2025, with early-stage financing dropping 65 per cent over the period. Deal counts also fell: roughly 300 early-stage deals would have been typical in 2021, versus 123 in 2025. David Kornack, the CVCA's director of data and product, said capital is concentrating in fewer, larger deals, with the average deal size reaching $14.07 million last year against a five-year average of $12.44 million. He said the data does not show whether investment risk is driving this behaviour.
McFarlen describes Conexus as an underdog in the industry, noting it is the only credit union-led venture capital fund in Canada, and says the firm targets companies overlooked by conventional venture investors.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.