New Brunswick Innovation Foundation

NBIF operates a hybrid model. Its Venture Capital Fund and Start-up Investment Fund write direct equity cheques into New Brunswick technology companies. It simultaneously maintains a fund-of-funds strategy, making limited partner commitments to external venture funds that provide an indirect channel to diversified startup exposure. The Innovation Voucher Fund extends non-dilutive capital to traditional SMEs, an activity outside the typical venture mandate.

NBIF explicitly describes itself as an 'evergreen pre-seed and seed stage venture capital organization' on its website. The Start-up Investment Fund provides the earliest equity, while the Venture Capital Fund extends into early-stage growth rounds and companies expanding into new markets. The Climate Impact Fund also targets early-stage disruptive technologies. Later-stage follow-on capital is not a stated focus.

NBIF does not publish a formal exclusion list, but its portfolio as of 2026 shows no exposure to financial services, defence, adult-use cannabis, mining, or consumer packaged goods unrelated to technology. The foundation's website emphasizes cybersecurity, AI, industrial technology, agri-food, climate technology, and enterprise software. The Innovation Voucher Fund extends the economic development mandate into non-tech SMEs, but this is a grant-style program rather than an equity investment.

NBIF was capitalized with a C$100 million fund by the Province of New Brunswick. The foundation describes itself as an independent, not-for-profit organization, with governance provided by a board of directors that includes government and private-sector representatives. Returns from successful exits are recycled back into the fund — the organization claims 17 exits have generated 'hundreds of millions' reinvested into the provincial economy. It does not disclose external limited partners.