# FedDev Ontario

FedDev Ontario is an Economic Development based in Kitchener, Canada.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Economic Development
- **Headquarters:** Kitchener, Canada
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- **Founded:** 2009
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** feddev-ontario.gc.ca
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/feddevontario/

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

FedDev Ontario is based in Kitchener, Canada. The Agency has made 247 investments, including a recent investment in Kepler as part of their Debt on April 01, 2026. FedDev Ontario has 38 portfolio exits, with the latest being BioConnect on November 17, 2025.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- AI/ML
- AgriTech & FoodTech
- Energy Transition & Renewables
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Life Sciences
- Digital Health

## Offices

- Toronto, Ontario
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Peterborough, Ontario
- Stratford, Ontario

## People

- Filomena Tassi — Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

## Questions

### Is FedDev Ontario a grant provider or an investment vehicle?

It operates as both, depending on the program. FedDev Ontario issues non-repayable grants for community economic development and business support services, but its core innovation programs often use repayable contributions — effectively zero-interest loans with performance-linked repayment schedules — giving the agency an investment-like posture on commercial projects. This structure allows it to recycle capital back into future programming.

### What is the relationship between FedDev Ontario and the Toronto-Waterloo tech corridor?

The agency's Kitchener headquarters is deliberately embedded within North America's second-densest technology cluster. FedDev Ontario was an early funder of Communitech, Velocity, and the quantum computing research infrastructure at the University of Waterloo — positions that have attracted follow-on institutional capital into the region's startup pipeline. Its physical presence gives staff proximity to deal screening, though the mandate covers all of southern Ontario, not just the corridor.

### Does FedDev Ontario take equity positions in companies?

FedDev Ontario does not take direct equity stakes. Its repayable contributions are structured as debt-like instruments where repayment is contingent on project revenue milestones or commercial success events. In practice, this can create outcomes for the Crown that resemble venture debt returns, but the agency's mandate does not extend to holding shares or board seats in portfolio companies.

### How does FedDev Ontario coordinate with other Canadian innovation agencies?

The agency is part of a federal network of regional development agencies — including Western Economic Diversification Canada, ACOA in Atlantic Canada, and Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions — each with distinct geographic mandates. FedDev Ontario's specific remit covers 37 census divisions in southern Ontario, from Cornwall to Windsor, and it regularly co-funds projects with provincial bodies like Ontario Centre of Innovation and federal programs run through ISED and NRC's IRAP.

## Related profiles

- [Peak XV Capital](https://altss.com/profile/peak-xv-capital)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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