On September 4 Desire2Learn made a public announcement that the eLearning software startup had gotten $80 million in backing from two venture funds. The news was a major win for the company and signaled the growing importance of the Waterloo region technology industry. Desire2Learn is now Canada’s largest eLearning software developer and is the perfect example of the interest international investors are showing in the Waterloo region’s start up and tech sector.
The eLearning startup chose the first day of school in Ontario as the perfect back drop for their announcement as the firm became the recipient of the largest Series A round of funding for any software business in Canada. The two Venture Capitals that inject funds into Desir2Learn were US based New Enterprise Associates (NEA) Inc. and Canada’s OMERS Ventures.
One of the first companies to show their support for Desire2Learn after the news broke was Communitech, which is an organization that represents over 800 technology companies in the Waterloo Region. According to the Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech, the news shows that the Waterloo Region is a rising star in the technology start up sector. He believed that the area had the perfect mix of variables to make it the right place for technology companies to set down roots. He went on to say that, “This news from Desire2Learn, a company which has been on a growth trajectory and has already hired more than 200 people in 2012, is the latest global success story to emerge here.” Mr. Klugman also tied together the success of Desire2Learn and the growing prominence of the region by stating, “With a pool of talent and superlative innovation under way in the Region, infusion of capital to jump-start new ventures is the next step to fueling even more companies like Desire2Learn. Communitech welcomed the recent news that Canada is now ranked the second most attractive country in the world for venture capital according to the Global Venture Capital and Private Equity Country Attractiveness Index.”
The Waterloo Region success story currently has 400 startups working in the area including hundreds of small to medium sized companies. Some of these enterprises have become large global players after setting up shop in Waterloo. Some examples include Research In Motion, which is the maker of the world famous BlackBerry smartphone. Other major players based in the area are OpenText, COM DEV and Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc., who are some of the biggest players in Canada for their industry.
Communitech is at the forefront of this revolution and is spurring further innovation by announcing more than $30 million in seed funding for innovative start ups in the area.
Source: Canada Newswire
Photo: Department of Geography and Resource Management
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