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TIAP
TIAP is a Toronto-based venture firm that spins companies out of university and hospital research, led by Alkarim Jivraj.
TIAP
TIAP launched in 2015 as a venture-services and investment firm built on a consortium model anchored by leading Canadian research institutions—University of Toronto, University Health Network, and several other major health-science and technology centers. Alkarim Jivraj, previously a senior executive at MaRS Innovation, structured the firm to bridge the gap between academic discovery and scalable company creation. The backing members contribute not only deal flow but also recurring funding to support the early-stage validation work that determines whether a technology leaves the lab. The firm operates a disciplined company-creation engine rather than a conventional fund. TIAP identifies high-potential assets inside member institutions, funds the critical de-risking experiments, recruits seasoned entrepreneurs as CEOs, and seeds each new venture. Sectors span Enterprise Software, AI/ML tools for life sciences, Digital Health, FinTech infrastructure, and Industrial Tech. Confirmed portfolio companies include augmented-reality surgical guidance platform Tactile VR, protein-engineering AI company ProteinQure, and 3D-printed tissue firm Aspect Biosystems—which closed a $115M Series B in 2023. TIAP typically leads or co-leads the first institutional round and remains an active board-level partner through the company's growth. With its headquarters in Toronto's Discovery District, TIAP operates without a traditional limited-partner fund cycle. Member institutions provide multi-year commitments that create a rolling capital base. The firm disclosed approximately C$13 million deployed across its first 20 ventures by 2023. In January 2023, TIAP announced the launch of TIAP 2.0, expanding its member base to include additional research hospitals and deepening its mandate into AI-enabled biotechnology. TIAP's architecture inverts the standard venture capital model: the investors are the same institutions that generate the intellectual property. This eliminates the sourcing competition that most seed-stage funds face and creates a permissioned pipeline no external manager can replicate. Member institutions pay ongoing fees to fund the vetting and de-risking work, which means TIAP carries no immediate pressure to raise outside capital or generate mark-to-market returns on a fixed timeline.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2015
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
Canada
City
Toronto
Corporate office
Toronto, ON, Canada
Principals
Alkarim Jivraj
CEO & Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does TIAP source its proprietary deal flow?
TIAP's member institutions—including the University of Toronto and University Health Network—grant it an exclusive window into their research commercialization pipelines. The firm reviews hundreds of disclosed inventions annually, selects the most commercially viable, and funds internal validation work before any company is formed. This captive-origination model means TIAP sees opportunities that outside venture funds cannot access until the firm decides to spin out a startup.
How is TIAP funded, and does it operate like a traditional venture capital fund?
TIAP is not a traditional fund with external limited partners. Member institutions pay recurring fees and commit capital to a shared pool that finances the vetting, de-risking, and initial seeding of new ventures. The structure resembles a venture studio with a permanent consortium-capital base, removing the pressure to deploy and return capital on a standard 10-year fund cycle.
Who runs investment decisions at TIAP?
CEO and Managing Partner Alkarim Jivraj leads the investment committee, drawing on his tenure as an executive at MaRS Innovation and his broader track record in Canadian venture capital. Investment decisions are made in consultation with the member institutions' technology-transfer offices and a network of in-house venture architects who shape each spinout before a founding CEO is recruited.
What investment stages does TIAP target?
TIAP focuses exclusively on pre-seed and seed-stage company creation. The firm steps in before a conventional startup exists—funding proof-of-concept experiments, recruiting founding management, and often writing the first $250,000 to $1 million check. It then participates in subsequent rounds alongside external venture investors.
Which sectors does TIAP explicitly avoid?
TIAP's deal flow is constrained by the research strengths of its member institutions, so it does not actively pursue sectors like consumer internet, pure-play e-commerce, or enterprise SaaS that lacks a research-grade intellectual property moat. The firm has not indicated an interest in hard-tech sectors such as space or defense that fall outside its members' core competencies.
How is TIAP related to MaRS Innovation?
TIAP emerged from the legacy model of MaRS Innovation, the commercialization arm of the MaRS Discovery District. When MaRS Innovation's original federal funding structure evolved, Alkarim Jivraj led the transition to an independent, member-funded consortium that became TIAP in 2015, preserving the institution-sourced pipeline while gaining operational autonomy.
Does TIAP maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
TIAP is a for-profit venture firm backed by non-profit research institutions. The member hospitals and universities hold equity in the spun-out companies through their technology-transfer offices, but TIAP itself operates as a commercial entity. The consortium agreement governs how commercialization proceeds flow back to the member institutions.
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