Attention attention, Canadian entrepreneurs seeking capital, we have some good news! There is a new venture capital firm in town and they are actively looking for investments. This morning Azure Capital Partners, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage information technology and internet companies announced that they have selected Calgary, Alberta as the city for their first Canadian office. Part of the team here in Canada will include Dan Park, as Vice President Canada who joined the firm in January 2013. Prior to joining Azure, Dan was a Vice President and a Founding Member of Foros Group, a technology-focused investment banking advisory firm based in New York. While at Foros, he helped launch the firm and was responsible for business development and transaction execution. Prior to Foros, Dan worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Deutsche Bank Securities in New York focusing on technology, media & telecommunications, and healthcare. Before joining Deutsche Bank, Dan worked at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.
“Canada has an impressive community of talented entrepreneurs, which reflects the high quality of a number of its technology companies. In addition, Canada’s economic policies and commitment to innovation offer a compelling competitive advantage for its startups,” said Cameron Lester, General Partner at Azure. “We believe that the country warrants a local presence with strong ties back to our team in the Bay Area. This would be the first time that Azure has established an office in a new geography and is an indicator of our strong belief in the investment opportunities across Canada. We also believe that Calgary represents a central and convenient location for this office, where we can evaluate not only local deal flow, but also companies based in and around Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Our Calgary office will work closely with our team in the Bay Area, since a critical value that we bring to companies is our knowledge and contacts in Silicon Valley.”
Azure’s current fund, Azure Capital Partners III, L.P., has received investments from Alberta Enterprise and B.C. Renaissance Capital Fund, a Crown corporation that is wholly owned by the B.C. Immigrant Investment Fund.