BEST Funds Announces $4.5 Million Investment Into Dejero
Toronto-based venture capital firm confirms debt-deal with award-winning wireless technology company
BEST Funds, a Toronto-based venture capital firm that specializes in providing capital to growing technology companies has announced a $4.5 million investment into Dejero, an award-winning bonded wireless transmission innovator from Waterloo, Ontario. The capital will allow Dejero to extend their tremendous sales growth while continuing to develop cutting-edge technologies for the broadcasting industry.
This was an exciting investment for BEST Funds, who provides Canada’s fastest growing companies with the needed capital to expand their growth and become industry leaders. BEST Funds’ Investment Manager Alan Chettiar believes that, “Dejero perfectly exemplifies the type of company that we aim to assist. We are confident that with our capital and their unique and revolutionary LIVE+ product suite, Dejero will continue to grow at an extraordinary pace.”
Of the investment, Brian Cram, CEO of Dejero said, “We have worked hard to create and produce the highest-quality broadcasting equipment, using the latest advancements in 3G and 4G LTE mobile technologies to make electronic newsgathering as immediate and portable as possible. With the $4.5 million investment from BEST Funds, we will be able to further expand our sales growth, allowing us to bring this technology to the forefront of the broadcasting industry around the globe.”
About BEST Funds
BEST Funds is a leading Venture Capital firm that focuses on funding rapidly growing Canadian technology companies by providing capital to execute their growth strategies. Primarily focused on emerging companies in the software and technology industry, BEST Funds actively deploys capital to some of Canada’s fastest growing companies. BEST Funds was established in 1996 and is based in Toronto.
For more information, visit: www.bestfunds.ca
About Dejero
Dejero is a Waterloo, Ontario-based technology company that produces industry leading platforms for the broadcasting sector. Their centrally managed LIVE+ range of products have changed the broadcasting landscape, allowing video journalists to record and transmit live, from the scene of the action, using wireless uplink solutions and its patent-pending Intelligent Connection Management system.
For more information, visit: www.dejero.com
Canadian Securities Exchange Added to OTC Markets Group’s list of “Qualified Foreign Exchanges”
CSE issuers now eligible to apply for trading on the OTCQX and OTCQB marketplaces
The Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”) today announced that the exchange has been included on the list of “Qualified Foreign Exchanges” by OTC Markets Group Inc. Starting immediately, interested CSE-listed companies are eligible to apply for trading on the OTCQX and OTCQB marketplaces operated by OTC Markets Group in the United States.
Richard Carleton, CEO of the CSE, commented: “We are extremely pleased with this move by our colleagues at OTC Markets Group. Eligible CSE-listed companies are now able to leverage their Canadian stock exchange listing with us to gain access to the largest public capital market in the world, expanding reach and liquidity opportunities. We look forward to working with our issuers and OTC Markets Group to increase investor access and visibility for our listed companies in the United States.”
James Black, VP of Listings Development at the CSE, added: “This additional benefit for CSE-listed companies comes on the heels of a record setting first quarter for the exchange – eclipsing previous bests for trading and listings on our listed marketplace. The addition of the CSE to the OTC Markets Group list addresses a longstanding desire for our issuers and further solidifies our value proposition for companies seeking a primary exchange listing in Canada.”
Jason Paltrowitz, Managing Director and Global Head of Business Development at OTC Markets Group Inc., also had the following remarks: “We are pleased to add CSE to our list of Qualified Foreign Exchanges. Our OTCQX and OTCQB marketplaces offer the best informed and most efficient trading for established and venture-stage international companies that are looking to increase their visibility with U.S. investors. We look forward to working with the CSE and CSE-listed companies to highlight these exciting Canadian investment opportunities in the U.S. market.”
Echoworx Announces NEW Policy Based Encryption at Symantec Vision 2014 in Las Vegas
Echoworx, the leading provider of credential management and managed encryption services, today announced its participation in the Symantec Vision 2014 Conference in Las Vegas, May 5-8, 2014 as a presenter and exhibitor.
Echoworx will be providing customers and the Symantec community a first glimpse of the new Policy Based Encryption capabilities during their presentation “Secure Your Email with Encryption as a Service” on Wed, May 7. Echoworx will also be showcasing their new Policy Based Encryption (PBE) in the Proactive Cyber Security section of the exhibit hall.
“We are excited to be at Vision and to have an opportunity to present the most comprehensive Cloud email encryption service available, with quick and easy deployment and support for most of today’s email encryption standards. We will be announcing a platform that empowers customers to have the flexibility to deploy and use the solution in various ways to meet the business requirements for different use cases inside their organizations”, says Jamie Northey, VP of Corporate Development at Echoworx.
The new Policy Based Encryption from Echoworx represents the state of the art email encryption service in the Cloud. The solution supports many standards including PGP, S/MIME, PDF, web-portal and removes the key management complexity while providing a consistent, secure and simple user experience.
TransGaming maintains industry lead with GameTree TV
TransGaming, a Toronto-based software developer of electronic entertainment across multiple platforms, announced today that the company had brought its family friendly on-demand social gaming platform, GameTree(TM) TV, to Sharp’s 2014 AQUOS LED Smart TVs.
According to the news release, GameTree(TM) TV will be the featured games provider on Sharp’s SmartCentral 3.0 Smart TV platform, giving GameTree a ubiquitous presence throughout the biggest consumer electronic brands worldwide.
Company president and CEO, Vikas Gupta, commented, “Distribution through Sharp AQUOS Smart TVs continues GameTree TV’s domination of the cloud gaming market on Smart TVs.”
He then concluded, “This continues to expand the GameTree TV reach to millions of consumers, making GameTree TV the de facto standard for the delivery of high quality games within the living room. We have established the largest footprint of any cloud gaming provider in the world.”
CFO Whitepaper Exposes 5 Most Common Flaws in Disclosure Management Processes
A new industry whitepaper released today explores the five most common mistakes public companies consistently make during the Disclosure Management Cycle. Aimed at corporate finance professionals, “5 Fatal Flaws Killing Disclosure Management Processes” is the first whitepaper to identify these issues and illustrates how to address them with a smarter disclosure management model.
The most common issue with the disclosure management process identified in the whitepaper is the occurrence of errors in financial reports. Since most organizations still manually rekey data into spreadsheets during reporting crunch time, almost 90% of spreadsheet documents contain errors. These mistakes can be potentially devastating – even resulting in a restatement, which one Deloitte study suggests can destroy up to 35% of an organization’s worth.
“Most companies know there are problems with their current Disclosure Management Cycle, but haven’t specifically identified them or don’t realize how easily they can be fixed,” says Paul Hill, DisclosureNet president and industry expert. “It boils down to a company’s awareness of these crucial process failures and securing executive buy-in to fix them once and for all.”
In today’s financial reporting landscape, companies can no longer afford to practice “status quo disclosure” and must recognize the strategic potential of financial reports as a means to communicate effectively with investors. This whitepaper highlights the most prevalent issues and proposes a smarter disclosure model that eliminates flawed disclosure management processes of the past and promotes the creation of high value, leading edge disclosures.
CNSX MARKETS INC. Welcomes Scotia iTRADE to the Canadian Securities Exchange
TORONTO, ONTARIO — (Marketwired) — 04/03/14 — The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) today announced that Scotia iTRADE is now offering its clients online trade execution services for the CSE.
“As one of Canada’s largest online brokers, Scotia iTRADE is an extremely important part of the investment community,” said Richard Carleton, CEO of CNSX Markets Inc. “Scotia iTRADE’s provision of CSE client online trading and CSE market information services marks an important milestone in our efforts to increase visibility and access to the exchange. On behalf of our listed companies and their investors, we welcome Scotia iTRADE to the CSE”
“Consistently enhancing the client experience is one of Scotia iTRADE’s top priorities,” said Bob Grant, Managing Director and Head, Global Online Brokerage, Scotia iTRADE. “We are very excited to be offering our clients easy online access to securities trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Immediately after launch, we noticed positive sentiment in the social media space. We are committed to continue offering solutions and enhancements to meet the needs of Canadian traders and investors.”
Geminare Enables Recovery as a Service Solutions for HP Partners
Geminare, the #1 ranked global leader in Recovery as a Service (RaaS), today announced that it has achieved HP CloudSystem Ready status, enabling HP partners to leverage Geminare’s RaaS solutions embedded on HP CloudSystem technologies.
Geminare’s RaaS enablement technology was recently awarded the Highest Product Rating Score in Gartner’s 2013 Critical Capabilities for Recovery as a Service Report, and is widely acknowledged as the industry’s most mature, proven, and accepted Cloud-based RaaS offering.
Joshua Geist, Geminare’s CEO, stated, “We’ve worked with HP for over a year to develop a comprehensive RaaS program. Thanks to these efforts, Geminare’s RaaS solutions leveraging HP technology can now be rapidly and easily deployed throughout HP’s extensive partner ecosystem.”
The HP CloudSystem Ready program and “Geminare RaaS delivered on HP CloudSystem technologies,” allows HP partners to enter one of the fastest growing “as-a-service” markets. Technavio, for example, in its November 2013 Global Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service Market Report, projects a global market increasing from $640.8 million in 2013 to $5.77 billion by 2018.
“As organizations increasingly adopt hybrid cloud environments they are looking for tested infrastructure support and technology to ease provisioning and management of the cloud,” said Doug Oathout, vice president, Alliance Enterprise Group, HP. “Geminare’s inclusion in the HP CloudSystem Ready Program brings customers and partners the much-needed ability to instantly embrace the substantial value inherent in the high-growth RaaS market.”
Geist added, “I am delighted that Geminare’s RaaS technologies can now be easily enabled for HP customers and partners alike. I believe that our #1 ranked RaaS technology deployed in HP private IaaS platforms, or within the HP CloudSystem, presents significant opportunity for both customers and partners. RaaS is fast becoming the de facto standard for disaster recovery and business continuity deployments that were traditionally comprised of a multitude of vendors and technologies. I’m confident that HP and its partner community will accelerate RaaS adoption in the months and years ahead.”
Whitepapers on Geminare’s RaaS delivered on HP Cloud Technologies, as well as toolkits and launch programs are available through the HP AllianceOne Partner Portal.
Startups to Watch: Cognivue sees opportunities in cameras
By Jacob Serebrin
CogniVue has only been in business for four years, but the company’s roots go back more than a decade.
Its history can be traced back to the founding in 1999 of Atsana Semiconductor, which was purchased six years later by South Korean semiconductor manufacturer MtekVision. It named the organization, then an R&D facility, CogniVue. MtekVision spun off CogniVue in 2010 with the goal of turning an R&D cost centre – a facility that doesn’t produce any direct revenue – into a profitable corporation.
Despite that history, the company’s CEO, Simon Morris, says CogniVue has a startup attitude.
“We’re a bootstrapped company, like a startup, but we’ve got an experienced team,” he says.
CogniVue is already seeing success with its core offering, an embedded vision processing chip. It’s a tiny computer system that detects objects, even if they’re moving, designed to go inside small cameras. The system, which CogniVue calls an image cognition processor, is being used in “smart” rear-view cameras for cars.
When the product launched, it was the first of its kind.
“We had a disruptive advantage,” says Mr. Morris.
One of the key factors, he says, is that the chip runs cooler than its predecessors. It’s an important factor in the small, sealed cameras used in the automotive sector because the heat would build up and distort the image, Mr. Morris says.
But developing a system that could process the large amounts of data generated by raw video without overheating wasn’t easy.
“The biggest issue is how you organize the data,” he says. “It was all about thinking smart about minimizing data movement.”
The chip is also smaller, which reduces costs for CogniVue and keeps prices down.
Mr. Morris sees even more opportunities for his company beyond the automotive sector.
In December, the company signed a deal to license its technology to Tokyo-based Digital Media Professionals, which develops graphic processing units for Nintendo and other companies.
There are cameras everywhere, but they don’t have any intelligence.Simon Morris, CEO of Cognivue
Mr. Morris says the chip also has growing applications in the mobile and wearables – things like Google Glass – markets, where the chip’s efficiencies translate to better battery life.
“This is stuff that’s not really mainstream yet but will be in a few years.”
Mr. Morris says he also sees new revenue opportunities as the chip becomes more widespread.
He’s looking to build a “parallel revenue stream where we license our software to our customers’ customers.”
He says this would speed up the process of developing applications for the camera.
“We see that part of the business as potentially more lucrative,” he says. But before the firm can take advantage of that channel, Mr. Morris says his team will have to build up the market. So for the next three years, CogniVue’s primary focus is licensing the processor technology to as many chip manufacturers as possible.
That’s not only the key to the company’s future plans; it’s also its key source of revenue.
“There’s lot of execution challenges, but that’s the vision,” he says.
Startups to Watch: Who’s on the rise in Ottawa?
Each year, OBJ’s Startups to Watch feature seeks to profile early-stage companies – particularly those flying under the radar – that possess a combination of disruptive technology, veteran entrepreneurs and professionals in leadership roles, as well as a solid financial foundation from which to grow.
It’s an opportunity to acknowledge Ottawa’s creative thinkers, innovators and risk-takers while profiling the city’s rising stars.
This year’s crop includes companies that are helping retailers learn more about their customers, changing the world of digital animation and giving engineers new tools to inspect concrete structures.
Over the next two weeks OBJ will be posting profiles of the 10 companies selected for this year’s feature.
2014 Startups to Watch
CogniVue
Exocortex
Giatec Scientific
MicroMetrics
Nuvyyo
Proximify
SageTea
SavvyDox
Solink
Spoonity
BEST Funds Secures $1.5 Million Financing with XipLink
BEST Funds announces $1.5 million investment with wireless link optimization company
BEST Funds, a Toronto-based venture capital firm, announced that they have invested $1.5 million in XipLink, a leader in the development of wireless bandwidth optimization products. The capital will be used by XipLink for sales and marketing initiatives, as well as to aid in the continuation of innovative technological developments.
A company that invests in tomorrow’s winning corporations, BEST Funds seeks out emerging firms that create necessary, groundbreaking technologies and are seeking to expand their market share and accelerate growth. CEO of BEST Funds, John Richardson, said of the deal with XipLink, “The capital we have invested in XipLink will help them reach the necessary milestones in order for their cutting-edge technology to significantly expand market penetration.”
When asked what this funding would do for the company, XipLink’s President and CEO, Jack Waters, said, “Since being named Technology of the Year by The World Teleport Association, our company has been enjoying rapid expansion and growth. We’re excited to be able to use this investment to fully capitalize on that growth, and continue to create innovative technologies that have made us a leader in wireless optimization products.”
About BEST Funds
BEST Funds is a leading Venture Capital firm, focused on funding rapidly growing technology companies by providing them with needed capital to execute their growth strategies. Primarily focused on emerging companies in the software and technology industry, BEST Funds is actively deploying capital to some of Canada’s fastest growing companies. BEST Funds was established in 1996 and is based in Toronto, Canada.
For more information, please visit: www.bestfunds.ca.
About XipLink
XipLink was founded in 2007 by a team of seasoned wireless data communications professionals. Together, they have developed reliable, proven technologies that deliver the industry’s fastest return on investment. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, XipLink applications and embedded software are sold worldwide, enabling operators and users to optimize available wireless bandwidth for maximum data at the lowest cost.
For more information, please visit: www.xiplink.com.