AI Model Development

BDC Capital's Deep Tech Venture Fund is a dedicated venture capital fund established in 2021 by BDC Capital, the venture and growth capital arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Canada's federal development finance institution. The fund was designed to address a persistent financing gap in Canada's deep technology sector, providing capital to Canadian startups commercializing transformational technologies requiring longer development cycles and specialized expertise to reach commercial scale. The fund targeted investments across four foundational technology areas: quantum computing, advanced electronics and photonics, next-generation semiconductor applications, and foundational artificial intelligence systems. With a mandate to invest in 15 to 20 companies over at least 12 years, the fund committed CAD 200 million to build Canada's deep tech commercialization pipeline, focusing on companies at the intersection of scientific research and commercial viability, often bridging the gap between university spin-outs and Series A institutional venture rounds. The fund made 12 investments before BDC's broader portfolio review led to a strategic restructuring of its venture capital activities following a CAD 220 million write-down in the value of BDC Capital's VC portfolios in fiscal year 2024 (ending March 31, 2024). BDC subsequently wound down the Deep Tech Venture Fund after approximately four years, shifting focus to a defence-technology successor mandate. The fund achieved Closed status as BDC redirected resources toward next-generation technology investment programs, having demonstrated early commercialization potential in several portfolio companies operating in quantum, photonics, and AI infrastructure.