– Dennis Kavelman and Patrick Pichette, respectively – to co-lead the effort with Mr. Arsenault. Inovia raised its first, US$400-million growth fund in 2019 and a second, for US$450-million, in 2021. Last year it also launched a $334-million “continuity” fund to reinvest in top-performing portfolio companies and buy out earlier investors that wanted to sell their stakes.
“They’ve built their team with a lot of intelligence,” said Teralys managing partner Jacques Bernier, adding that they’re “one of the few” technology-focused private capital firms in Canada to evolve the way they have over the past two decades. Mr. Bernier said it was too early to assess the success of Innovia’s growth funds, which made several bets during a period of inflated valuations in 2020 and 2021.
Asked whether this was a precarious time to be investing with the recent crash in tech valuations and worsening economic picture, Mr. Nijjar said Inovia has been consistent in how it paces its investments. “There will be times when we’re deploying capital in hot markets at high valuations and times when we’re deploying capital into markets where there are relatively lower valuations. We don’t try to time the market.