Investment
Funds will ramp up growth of firm that builds technology to monitor traffic in cities
Miovision raises another $15M as it chases global market
KITCHENER — Miovision has raised $15 million in funding as it prepares for a much larger round of investment in about six months.
The money will allow the Kitchener-based firm to continue to ramp up its growth.
“The primary use of the proceeds from this one will be around expanding our channel, so hiring more sales people, getting more distribution partners,” Kurtis McBride, Miovision’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said Monday.
He also wants the company to be ready for a third major round of investment.
“Building the track before the train arrives, so building all the stuff that will make us structurally well suited to take on a big capital injection,” said McBride.
Since it was founded in 2005, the company has achieved a compounded annual growth rate of more than 50 per cent with its smart traffic intersection technology. It now employs more than 150 people and continues to hire.
Miovision, located in the Catalyst137 hardware accelerator, builds technology that monitors traffic through intersections, and helps cities improve the movement of vehicles. It is finding markets in cities around the world.
“We see a big, global opportunity with the emergence of smart cities, there is a big, growing demand for what we do,” said McBride.
The new $15-million investment is in the form of a convertible note.
When the larger round of investment comes together in six months or so, the loan will convert to shares in Miovison, said McBride.
This round of financing was led by Miovision’s biggest shareholder, MacKinnon, Bennett & Co., and also involved McRock Capital, BDC Capital and HarbourVest Partners.
“We are really excited to see our largest shareholder McKinnon, Bennett come back in on this deal. That was great, a vote of confidence,” said McBride.
MacKinnon, Bennett led a $30-million round of financing for Miovision in 2015.
“Miovision’s business has been built on data,” Ken MacKinnon, MacKinnon, Bennett’s managing partner, said in a news release. “With better data, cities have more information to optimize a traffic network to minimize congestion and emissions while making intersections safer for all.”
As part of the financing, Whitney Rockley, co-founder and managing partner at McRock Capital, joins the Miovision board of directors. McRock Capital is a Toronto-based venture capital fund dedicated to the industrial side of the Internet of Things.
“She has a ton of experience and lots of energy and we are pretty excited to have her voice at the table,” said McBride.