MaRS Innovation

MaRS Innovation

MaRS Innovation was founded in 2008 as a not-for-profit seed fund, one of several created through the Canadian federal government's Networks of Centres of Excellence program. It operates as a consortium representing 20+ member institutions across Ontario and Quebec — including the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and the Hospital for Sick Children — pulling invention disclosures from those institutions into a single pipeline. The fund typically invests at the seed to Series A stage, writing checks of roughly CAD$500K to $2M per deal. Its portfolio spans AI/ML, digital health, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing. Notable alumni include Deep Genomics (AI drug discovery) and BenchSci (AI for antibody selection, per The Globe and Mail, 2021). The firm co-invests with Canadian VCs such as BDC Capital, Real Ventures, and angel networks — it does not lead rounds past Series A. MaRS Innovation is headquartered in Toronto with offices in Montreal and Vancouver. In July 2024, the firm announced the close of its latest fund, MaRS Innovation Fund II, at CAD$45M (per the firm, July 2024), backed by federal and provincial development funds and institutional LP commitments from pension funds and endowments. The structural differentiator is its consortium model — instead of a traditional VC LP base, MaRS Innovation draws its capital from government development funds, university endowments, and a small group of institutional LPs. Its mandate is to commercialize Canadian university IP, which forces it to prioritize technology readiness over market timing. The succession plan centers on CEO Raphael Hofstein, who has held the role since inception.