🏙️ Get a piece of B.C.'s $500 million fund

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InBC, the province’s $500 million fund, has announced it will soon start investing in local companies. The online application process will open to businesses on April 11.

InBC is one of the most extensive investment vehicles the province has seen. The government first released details about the fund more than two years ago, and the organization made its initial three investments in mid-December last year. InBC chose venture capital funds Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, Yaletown Partners, and Evok Innovations as its first bets, with the hope that the money would effectively reach businesses across different stages of growth.

Now, InBC is ready to invest directly in companies. The winners of the capital will most likely be Series A-stage firms or later. Seed funding, chief investment officer Leah Nguyen suggests, is still very active in the province.

The fund operates with a triple-bottom-line mandate, and must consider people, planet, and profit in each investment. In addition to seeking financial returns, the firm must select organizations that innovate for the future, drive climate action, advance reconciliation, and elevate inclusive communities in B.C. The full investment criteria is now available for review, and InBC encourages all interested companies to register for one of its upcoming information sessions.

If you’re looking for more in-depth information on applying to the fund, Vancouver Tech Journal has you covered. Join us on May 23 for an evening with Nguyen and Jill Earthy, InBC’s CEO, where you can learn more about how the fund works, its decision-making criteria and processes, and how to access its capital.

Oh, and as a member, you get 50 percent off with the code mayisformembers.

Now, onto your daily briefing.

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🤝 Funding and deals:

• TRIUMF, Vancouver’s particle accelerator centre, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian-German nuclear technology company Dual Fluid to advance the development of a small modular reactor. Learn more »

🗞️ In other news:

• Canada Drives, an online vehicle retailer, announced a restructuring of business operations after filing for creditor protection. Learn more »

• Ethos, a leading white-label digital asset platform for brands, has released software that allows NFT holders with or without a crypto wallet to easily display their NFTs in their Apple Wallet. Learn more »

• Later, a social media marketing and commerce platform for small business owners and creators, has released its first-ever Creator Rates Report. Learn more »

• Dapper Lab’s Flow blockchain has introduced walletless onboarding and hybrid custody, which it thinks will provide a seamless path for mainstream users to begin their Web3 journey with familiar Web2 user experiences. Learn more »

• Engineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new water treatment that removes “forever chemicals” from drinking water safely, efficiently, and for good. Learn more »

• Invoke, a digital product studio, has made its event platform Incrowd available on the App Store. Learn more »

💡 Ideas and insights:

• Ahnahktsipiitaa (Colin Van Loon)’s cinematic VR experience This Is Not a Ceremony, which made its world premiere at Sundance 2022, is now available on Meta Quest TV. He discusses why he chose to create the film in VR.

• Roger Patterson, co-founder and president of visual marketing platform Later and co-founder of accelerator Launch Academy, writing in Forbes: Three trends set to shape the creator economy during the downturn

• Diego Rios, co-founder of digital apparel brand Animalz, writing on LinkedIn: The fight to own virtual entertainment: Epic Games, Unity, Roblox, and Zepeto

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Until Sunday!