Radical Ventures has announced the first close of the Radical Breakouts Fund, a late-stage vehicle that has secured more than US$1 billion in capital commitments. The announcement was made at the inaugural Canada Investment Summit in Toronto and marks the largest venture capital fund ever raised in Canada. Investors include PSP Investments, CPP Investments, HOOPP, TD Bank Group, BMO Financial Group, CI Global Asset Management and OPTrust, alongside other global institutions.
A New Late-Stage Strategy for Artificial Intelligence
The fund is designed to invest in AI scale-ups that are on a path to becoming trillion-dollar businesses. It responds to a market reality in which the most valuable companies remain private longer and raise successive large rounds before reaching public markets at valuations of US$100 billion or more. Until now, the private capital required to capture this value has existed almost exclusively in the United States.
Closing Canada's Late-Stage Capital Gap
Canada has produced globally significant AI and deep tech companies such as Cohere, Waabi, Xanadu, Veeda and Aspect Biosystems, all backed by Radical Ventures. These Canadian champions have often had to look outside the country for late-stage funding as they scale. The Breakouts Fund is intended to give leading AI companies access to domestic capital at the scale they require while also supporting investments globally.
Leadership Views on the Fund's Purpose
Jordan Jacobs, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Radical Ventures, said the firm competes to invest and partner with the best AI founders in the world. He noted that Canadian companies have never lacked world-class quality but have lacked the late-stage capital needed to remain in Canada as they grow. Jacobs added that the new fund closes that gap and helps returns come home to Canada.
Institutional Investors Signal Confidence
For Canadian pension funds and institutional investors, anchoring the fund offers exposure to a category of value creation that has largely benefited investors outside the country. Leaders from PSP Investments, CPP Investments, HOOPP, TD Bank Group, BMO Financial Group, CI Global Asset Management and OPTrust expressed support for the strategy. They emphasized long-term returns, Canada's AI talent, and the importance of domestic capital in building global champions.
A Track Record Across the AI Lifecycle
Since its founding, Radical Ventures has invested at every stage of company growth, from incubation through pre-IPO rounds. Its portfolio includes Canadian leaders such as Cohere, Waabi and World Labs as well as global AI companies including Etched and Crusoe. The new fund extends that track record into later-stage opportunities while providing Canadian institutions with direct participation in the AI economy.
Announcement at the Canada Investment Summit
The announcement was part of the official programming of the first Canada Investment Summit, hosted by the Government of Canada in partnership with CPP Investments and PSP Investments. The gathering brought together global investors, chief executives and business leaders to attract investment into Canada's economy. Radical Ventures used the forum to highlight how Canadian capital can now back AI scale-ups at a globally competitive scale.
The first close of the Radical Breakouts Fund represents a significant development for Canada's venture capital landscape and its AI ecosystem. With more than US$1 billion in commitments, it gives Canadian pension funds and financial institutions a large-scale vehicle to capture value from the next generation of AI leaders. The fund also reinforces Canada's ability to finance its own champions and compete globally for the most promising artificial intelligence companies.