Name

Build Ventures

Legal name

Build Ventures

Website

https://buildventures.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Early-stage technology funding
• Seed and Series A capital
• Atlantic Canada startups
• Portfolio company support

Headquarters

HQ city

Halifax

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture capital fund management: Build Ventures raises capital from Limited Partners (provincial governments, BDC, VCCI, private investors) into closed-end funds (Build Ventures I, Build Ventures II) and invests in early-stage Atlantic Canadian technology companies. Revenue to the firm is generated through standard VC economics: management fees on committed/invested capital and carried interest on fund returns generated via successful exits.
2. Investment returns (carried interest on exits): Realized returns from successful portfolio company exits (e.g., Resson acquired by McCain Foods 2022, Fiddlehead acquired by McCain 2020, Manifold acquired by Snyk 2020, Affinio acquired by NowVertical 2021, Celtx acquired by Blacklight 2020) and from later-stage financings (e.g., Introhive $100M Series C).

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Build Ventures is a Halifax-based venture capital firm that invests $1M–$3M in early-stage technology companies across Atlantic Canada, typically leading seed and Series A rounds. Through its two funds — Build Ventures I (launched 2013, $48.5M initial close growing to $65M) and Build Ventures II (launched 2019, $50.5M) — the firm provides capital, board-level guidance, and follow-on reserves to founders in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Product overview

Build Ventures is a single unified venture capital firm (not a platform-plus-modules product) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that deploys capital through two distinct funds: Build Ventures I (launched 2013, $48.5M initial close, grew to $65M) and Build Ventures II (launched 2019, $50.5M). Through these funds, the firm offers early-stage technology investments of $1M to $3M, generally leading rounds in Atlantic Canadian startups while occasionally participating in regional syndicates. The funds sit alongside the firm's broader support services to portfolio companies, which include board governance guidance, product-market fit coaching, fundraising strategy, and introductions to investors, customers and partners in larger markets such as Boston, New York, Toronto, and Silicon Valley.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Build Ventures I Build Ventures I is the firm's first closed-end venture capital fund, launched in May 2013 with initial close of $48.5M, eventually growing to $65M. It deploys early-stage equity capital (typically $1M–$3M per deal, leading seed and Series A rounds) into Atlantic Canadian technology companies and reserves capital for follow-on investment.
• Build Ventures II Build Ventures II is the firm's second closed-end venture capital fund, launched in 2019 with $50.5M in committed capital. Backed by private sector investors plus provincial and federal government Limited Partners, it continues the firm's strategy of leading seed and Series A rounds in Atlantic Canadian technology companies and participating in follow-on rounds.
• Early-stage venture capital and portfolio company support services The firm's core service offering is early-stage venture capital (seed and Series A equity of $1M–$3M per deal) combined with active portfolio support — board governance guidance, product-market fit coaching, hiring assistance, fundraising strategy, and introductions to investors, customers and partners in larger markets such as Boston, New York, Toronto and Silicon Valley. Targeted at technology founders in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fund I invested in 14 companies; Fund II raised $50.5M with first investment of $2M leading a $2.9M round in ProcedureFlow.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Musical AIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2026Build Ventures participated in Musical AI's $4.5M US funding round led by Heavybit. Musical AI is also a Build Ventures Fund II portfolio company; it has developed attribution technology for generative AI licensing of music. Musical AI has secured partnerships with audio rightsholders including Pro Sound Effects, SourceAudio, and Symphonic Distribution.
• Volta LabscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPatrick Keefe is a co-founder of Volta Labs (Halifax) and has served on the board since its founding in 2013. Volta is a major Atlantic Canadian startup hub and event organizer.
• Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoth Patrick Keefe (since 2017) and Rob Barbara serve as Associates of the Creative Destruction Lab, an Atlantic Canadian seed-stage program for massively scalable, science-based companies.
• Kauffman FellowscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRob Barbara is a Kauffman Fellow (Class 24) — a two-year VC leadership program. Kauffman Fellows connects VCs globally; cohort includes fellows from 21 countries and mentors such as Marc Benioff, providing Build Ventures access to a network of 650+ alumni worldwide.
• Propel ICTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPropel ICT is a regional Atlantic Canadian accelerator delivering Launch and Build programs through Planet Hatch (Fredericton), Volta (Halifax), and Common Grounds (St. John's). Build Ventures actively participates in Propel's Demo Days as a key funnel for deal flow and ecosystem visibility.
• Microsoft (Seattle Accelerator)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicrosoft selected portfolio company Affinio for its third Microsoft Seattle Accelerator cohort (focused on cognitive technologies / machine learning). Affinio presented at the Microsoft Seattle Machine Learning Demo Day in June 2016. Build Ventures benefited indirectly via the portfolio company's exposure to Azure, mentorship, and customer pipeline.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Killick Capital: Killick Capital is a Newfoundland-based early-stage venture capital firm that co-invested with Build Ventures in Celtx. Operates in the same Atlantic Canada region with a similar mandate of backing regional technology startups, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF): NBIF is a New Brunswick-based early-stage investor and Build Ventures LP/co-investor (e.g., Fiddlehead seed). Operates in the same Atlantic Canadian geography with an early-stage technology mandate, making it a regional peer.
• Innovacorp: Innovacorp is Nova Scotia's provincial early-stage venture organization (where Build Ventures GP Patrick Keefe was previously VP of Investment). Operates in the same region with a similar seed/Series A mandate, making it a directly comparable regional peer.

Direct peers

• BDC Capital: BDC Capital is Canada's largest venture capital investor and a Limited Partner and frequent co-investor with Build Ventures. While much larger in AUM, it operates a parallel early-stage venture mandate and shares deal flow with Build Ventures across Canada including Atlantic Canada.
• Whitecap Venture Partners: Whitecap is a Toronto-based early-stage VC that has co-led rounds with Build Ventures (e.g., Affinio $4M Series A). Targets Canadian technology startups at seed and Series A stages, overlapping directly with Build Ventures' investment stage and check size.
• OMERS Ventures: OMERS Ventures led InteraXon's $10M Series B with Build Ventures participating. It is a major Canadian institutional VC that co-invests in Atlantic Canadian deals, sharing a similar stage focus on early-to-growth Canadian technology companies.
• RHO Canada Ventures: RHO Canada led AirVM's $8M Series A with Build Ventures participating. A Canadian early-stage VC focused on enterprise and SaaS, overlapping with Build Ventures' portfolio themes in Atlantic Canada.
• Real Ventures: Real Ventures is one of Canada's most active early-stage seed funds, with deep ties to Atlantic Canadian founders (originally Montreal-based, pan-Canadian reach). Comparable as a seed/Series A partner backing Canadian technology founders.
• Version One Ventures: Version One is a Vancouver-based seed-stage venture fund with a network thesis similar to Build Ventures. Backs mission-driven founders across North America at the seed stage, making it a comparable early-stage Canadian VC.
• Felicis Ventures: Felicis is a US-based early-stage VC that co-invested in InteraXon with Build Ventures. Backs seed and Series A founders in software, AI, and frontier tech, overlapping with Build Ventures' stage and category focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/buildventures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/9285769

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments40 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Build Ventures