Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Jun 26, 2026

Artificial intelligence has become one of the most exciting sectors for investors. From generative AI tools to enterprise automation, companies developing advanced AI models have attracted billions of dollars in funding and global attention. As a result, investors are increasingly looking for the next major opportunity among AI IPOs and pre-IPO AI companies.
One company generating significant interest is Anthropic. Known for developing Claude AI, Anthropic has emerged as one of the strongest competitors in the AI industry. Some technology analysts, including Jeff Brown, believe the company could eventually become one of the world's most valuable AI businesses. That growing optimism has fueled widespread searches for information about a potential Anthropic IPO and whether investors can benefit before the company goes public.
Anthropic is an artificial intelligence company founded by former OpenAI researchers with the goal of building reliable and safe AI systems for businesses and developers. Its flagship product, Claude, is a large language model designed to assist with writing, coding, research, data analysis, and complex business workflows.
Unlike many AI startups that primarily target consumers, Anthropic has focused heavily on enterprise customers. Businesses use Claude to summarize lengthy documents, automate repetitive tasks, generate software code, and improve productivity across different departments.
The company has also attracted partnerships and investments from some of the biggest names in technology. These strategic relationships have strengthened Anthropic's position in the rapidly expanding AI market while placing it alongside major competitors such as OpenAI and Google.
Interest in Anthropic investment opportunities has grown alongside the rapid adoption of generative AI. Organizations across healthcare, finance, legal services, education, and software development are integrating AI into daily operations, creating enormous demand for advanced language models.
According to the research discussed in the uploaded documents, Jeff Brown highlights Anthropic's enterprise-focused approach, rapid business expansion, and support from leading technology companies as key reasons for investor optimism.
Growing interest in the company has led many investors to examine Jeff Brown's Anthropic forecast, which explores why some believe Anthropic could become one of the most valuable AI businesses in the coming years.
Although Anthropic remains privately owned, its funding rounds and growing customer base have made it one of the most closely watched pre-IPO AI companies in today's market.
Jeff Brown's prediction centers on the belief that Anthropic could become a trillion-dollar AI company if enterprise AI adoption continues to accelerate.
In his published research, Brown argues that Anthropic's Claude platform solves real business problems rather than simply providing consumer chat experiences. He points to enterprise use cases such as document analysis, software development, and workflow automation as major drivers of long-term growth.
Brown also highlights the company's ability to attract substantial investments from major technology firms. Strong financial backing, experienced leadership, and growing enterprise demand form the basis of his long-term AI investing thesis.
Investors should remember that these are forecasts rather than guarantees. Predicting whether a private company will eventually reach trillion-dollar status involves many assumptions, including future revenue growth, competitive positioning, market conditions, and successful execution.
Even highly respected analysts can be wrong. Investment decisions should never rely solely on one prediction, regardless of the source.

One of the biggest questions investors ask is whether an Anthropic IPO will happen soon. At present, Anthropic remains a privately held company. Like many successful AI startups, it continues raising capital from institutional investors instead of offering shares through public stock markets.
Before an IPO occurs, companies typically strengthen financial reporting, expand operations, satisfy regulatory requirements, and determine favorable market conditions. The exact timing depends on management decisions and broader market sentiment.
Because Anthropic is still privately held, many investors are researching how investors may gain exposure to Anthropic before an IPO through indirect investment opportunities and related public companies.
While direct investment is generally unavailable for retail investors, many choose to monitor developments until official announcements are made.
Investors don't necessarily have to wait for an Anthropic IPO to participate in AI investing.
Several established companies already benefit from the growth of artificial intelligence:
Diversification helps reduce the risks associated with relying on a single pre-IPO company while still participating in the broader AI revolution.
Every investment carries risk, particularly when evaluating private companies.
Potential challenges include:
Predictions about future AI stocks should therefore be viewed as informed opinions rather than certain outcomes.
Anthropic has established itself as one of the most closely watched AI companies thanks to its Claude platform, enterprise adoption, and support from major technology investors. These strengths explain why discussions surrounding a possible Anthropic IPO continue gaining momentum.
Jeff Brown predictions have further increased public interest by suggesting the company could become a future leader in artificial intelligence. However, investors should remember that these forecasts remain speculative until supported by future business performance and official company decisions.
Whether you're evaluating Anthropic stock opportunities, researching AI startup investments, or exploring the next wave of AI IPOs, maintaining a diversified portfolio and conducting independent research remain the most effective long-term investment strategies.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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June 26, 2026 | NCFA Insight | SME Finance And Business Banking, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Open Banking And Open Finance, Fintech And Innovation

On June 26, 2026, the OECD published Leveraging AI and Digital Tools for SME Sustainable Finance, arguing that one of the biggest barriers to sustainable finance for small and medium sized businesses is not only capital availability but the cost of collecting, verifying, sharing, and monitoring reliable business information.
SMEs account for around 50% of economic output and business sector environmental impacts, yet remain underrepresented in sustainable finance. Sustainable finance markets have grown, but smaller firms still struggle because sustainability data is costly to generate, difficult to verify, and fragmented across reporting frameworks.
So what does this mean?
AI can help lenders process information faster, automate routine work, and monitor portfolios, but only when SMEs can produce trusted, reusable data. Without that foundation, AI just processes weak information faster.
The OECD identifies four main barriers holding back SME sustainable finance:
The report cites survey evidence that SMEs identify lack of time at 42%, technical difficulties at 41%, and high reporting costs at 41% as top barriers to sustainability measurement and reporting.
Many SMEs may want financing for efficiency upgrades, transition investments, or buyer requirements, but the paperwork and verification burden can make targeted sustainable finance harder to access than standard financing.
The OECD looks at the full financing path, not just the lending decision. The process starts when an SME collects sustainability information and continues through bank onboarding, risk review, monitoring, and reporting.
For SMEs, the first job is basic data capture. Carbon calculators, digital templates, consent based APIs, and automated reporting tools can help owners turn energy use, emissions, invoices, utility data, and operating records into information lenders can review.
For financial institutions, the work then moves through three stages. Front office tools can help with onboarding, document intake, product matching, and early screening. Middle office tools can support risk review, evidence checks, benchmarking, and sustainability claim review. Back office tools can monitor targets, prepare reports, track KPIs, and keep portfolio records current.
The OECD’s warning is direct and impactful. AI cannot compensate for missing, inconsistent, or weakly verified data. AI becomes useful only when the underlying information is trusted enough to compare, reuse, and monitor over time.
Sustainable finance does not scale for SMEs if every small loan requires a custom review. Origination, due diligence, verification, monitoring, and reporting all take time. When the loan is small, those fixed costs can make SME sustainable finance unattractive for lenders even when capital is available.
This is why the OECD's lifecycle approach may help. Digital onboarding, reusable sustainability credentials, API based data sharing, AI assisted verification, and continuous monitoring can reduce the cost of serving smaller borrowers.
The opportunity is not just faster approvals. It is making small ticket sustainable finance workable for lenders and less painful for SMEs.
The OECD highlights several initiatives that show how reusable sustainability data can work in practice.
Denmark's Climate Compass gives SMEs a free digital tool to calculate Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in line with recognized standards. The SME Climate Hub offers a free carbon calculator for micro and small businesses. Ireland's Climate Toolkit 4 Business combines an emissions calculator with a climate action plan.
Singapore's Project Greenprint helps SMEs generate emissions reports by pulling data from trusted sources, while the United Kingdom's Project Perseus explores how SMEs can share energy data with banks through reporting solutions. Belgium's Kube ESG, developed with major Belgian banks, gives SMEs a digital platform for sustainability reporting.
SMEs shouldn't have to rebuild the same sustainability file for every bank, buyer, or public program. They need data that can be generated once, verified, and reused with permission.
Canada already has many of the building blocks the OECD describes, but policy and market conversations are often separate.
Open banking and open finance can support permission based business data sharing. Digital identity can improve trust and verification. AI underwriting can reduce manual review. Embedded finance can connect lending to accounting, payments, invoicing, payroll, and commerce data. Sustainability reporting tools can help SMEs generate the evidence lenders and buyers increasingly request.
The opportunity is to connect those pieces. If Canadian SMEs can share trusted business and sustainability data through secure, interoperable systems, lenders can reduce manual work and price risk with better information.
That is where sustainable finance becomes a fintech infrastructure problem. The outcome is trusted business data that SMEs can reuse across banks, buyers, insurers, platforms, and government programs.
Open banking in Canada shows how permission based data sharing can improve financial services and reduce friction for consumers and businesses.
NCFA's Open Banking Opportunity Brief explores the commercial opportunities created by data portability and controlled financial data access.
Float's AI business finance stack points to how Canadian SME finance platforms are moving toward connected finance workflows.
EQ Bank's SME operating account push shows how business banking is expanding from accounts into spending, cash flow, and operating tools.
NCFA's Financial Innovation Map tracks opportunities across SME finance, open finance, AI, digital identity, sustainability, and financial data infrastructure.
If trusted SME data was portable and secure between businesses, lenders, buyers, insurers, platforms, and public programs with permission, which parts of commercial lending would still need manual verification?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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June 25, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Capital Markets And Funding, Wealthtech, Fintech And Innovation

On June 25, 2026, TD Securities and Luma Financial Technologies announced a partnership to bring Luma's structured products platform to Canadian investment professionals. The rollout gives advisors a better way to monitor structured notes, track key events, review performance, and manage reporting after the trade.
Structured notes can help advisors build specific risk and return outcomes for clients, but they're not simple set and forget products. Advisors need to know what clients own, how each note is performing, when events occur, and what needs attention before maturity.
The first phase focuses on TD Securities structured notes. Later updates are expected to add advanced reporting, customized education, stronger order management, and broader access through Luma's Creation Hub and Marketplace.
Structured products become harder to manage when advisors work across multiple issuer portals, spreadsheets, email alerts, and manual reminders. Better workflow gives advisors one place to monitor client holdings, product events, and reporting after the trade.
For TD Securities, the partnership strengthens the service layer around its structured note business. Product choice matters. So does the ability to monitor, explain, and manage those products throughout their lifecycle.
Luma CEO and co-founder Tim Bonacci said the partnership reflects "a new level of support for Canadian advisors." Will better monitoring, education, reporting, and order management help advisors use structured products with more confidence and less manual work?
Questrade's Custom Indexing platform puts portfolio construction directly into investors' hands, giving self directed investors new tools to build, customize, and rebalance portfolios.
Tetrix's AI platform targets private market reporting and investment data infrastructure.
RBC's investment in d1g1t reflects continued demand for analytics and portfolio reporting across wealth and asset management.
NCFA's Financial Innovation Map tracks innovation across wealthtech, capital markets infrastructure, portfolio management, and investment technology.
If structured notes become easier to monitor and manage, will advisor adoption depend more on product design or workflow confidence?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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June 25, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Capital Markets And Funding, SME Finance And Business Banking, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Fintech And Innovation

On June 24, 2026, Float Financial announced a CAD $85 million all equity Series C led by Inovia Capital, with continued participation from Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Garage Capital, and new investment from BDC Capital and Northleaf. Float says the round raises its valuation by 70% and brings total capital raised since inception to CAD $300 million, including debt and equity financing.
The financing gives Float more capital to expand its AI finance workflow layer, grow across Western Canada and Quebec, and hire across product, R&D, sales, and marketing. The company now serves more than 7,500 Canadian businesses and says revenue has grown more than 120% since its Series B.
Float’s own growth data shows how quickly Canadian business finance is moving from point solutions into connected operating platforms. Business account balances are up more than 4.5x, volumes across five products are up more than 100%, and nearly one third of customers now use more than one Float product which suggests Float is expanding inside existing finance teams rather than only adding new accounts.
Float gives Canadian businesses tools for corporate cards, expense management, bill pay, reimbursements, foreign exchange, business accounts, reporting, and working capital credit. The Series C adds more fuel to Float Intelligence, the company’s AI layer for automating finance workflows.
Rob Khazzam, CEO and co-founder of Float, framed the round around infrastructure:
“We are not building a single feature. We are building the infrastructure that powers how Canada does business - and proving that the best financial tools for Canadian businesses don't have to come from somewhere else.”
Canadian businesses want fewer disconnected finance tools. They need better control over spending, faster approvals, clean reporting, cash visibility, cross border payments, and finance workflows that don't depend on manual work.
Float says its platform is trusted by companies including Cohere, Knix, Neo, Jane, and Rebel. The Jane customer quote in the release points to the same theme: Canadian companies want AP, expense, and finance tools built for the Canadian market, not adapted from U.S. systems.
If Float keeps expanding across cards, accounts, payments, credit, and AI finance workflows, Canadian businesses may get a stronger local alternative to the tools many finance teams stitch together today.
Float secured $100 million in debt financing to expand SME finance in Canada before this Series C.
EQ Bank launched a Business Card, adding spending, cashback, interest, and cash flow tools to its SME banking stack.
Relay secured $50 million to grow its SMB finance platform.
Payments Canada admitted new payment service providers, including Float, as access to payment infrastructure opens to more fintech operators.
Canadian SMB banking research highlights high fees, credit friction, and outdated financial systems as ongoing barriers for business owners.
If Canadian businesses adopt one platform for spending, payments, cash, credit, and AI finance workflows, which institution owns the primary operating relationship: the bank, the fintech, or the software layer?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Jun 20, 2026 | NCFA Resource | Risk Compliance And Regtech, Artificial Intelligence And Data

On June 18, 2026, IOSCO published a Supervisory Tech (SupTech) report called 'Mapping the Use of Technology in Financial Supervision', a global survey of 49 authorities on how regulators are using technology to improve financial supervision. The report maps where SupTech is already being used, what is driving adoption, and which barriers are slowing progress.
SupTech is becoming part of regular ongoing supervision, and is no longer an experiment. Regulators are using technology to improve efficiency, receive and analyze information faster, and strengthen oversight across investor protection, market conduct, capital markets, and emerging areas such as digital assets.
The report gives regulators, fintech firms, and regtech providers a global benchmark for how supervisory technology is being adopted. It covers strategy, budgets, leadership, data, cloud infrastructure, AI, cybersecurity, digital assets, cooperation, and workforce planning.
IOSCO found that efficiency is the main driver of SupTech adoption, followed by faster access to information and stronger supervisory capabilities. AI applications, improved data access, and cloud infrastructure are the leading technology enablers.
Consumer and investor protection and capital markets supervision are the most developed use cases. Digital assets are less mature today, but interest is rising. That gap matters because market activity is moving faster than many supervisory tools.
The report also shows why implementation is hard. Cyber risk, third party dependencies, operational risk, funding gaps, and skills shortages remain major constraints. Many authorities have strategies under way, but full implementation is still uneven.
This resource is useful for securities regulators, policy teams, regtech firms, fintech compliance teams, financial institutions, digital asset platforms, market surveillance teams, and researchers tracking regulatory modernization.
It is especially useful for organizations building or assessing tools for market monitoring, fraud detection, complaints analysis, digital asset oversight, supervisory analytics, data collection, and AI enabled supervision.
The strength of this resource is its global scope. The survey covers authorities across all IOSCO regions and gives readers a baseline for comparing SupTech maturity, priorities, and constraints.
It is also useful because it avoids hype. The report shows that many regulators are still using mid level technologies and practical tools. Advanced analytics and machine learning are important ambitions, but funding and implementation capacity remain real limits.
The limit is that it's survey based, not a product guide. It doesn't rank vendors, provide implementation playbooks, or prove which tools produce the best supervisory outcomes. Its value is in the benchmark, the use cases, and the policy signals.
IOSCO SupTech Report (primary report)
IOSCO SupTech Media Release (announcement summary)
AI Agents Enter Governed Financial Workflows (AI governance and controls)
MIT AI Risk Repository For Fintech Governance (AI risk taxonomy resource)
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Jun 25, 2026

After a crash, stop your vehicle and turn on your hazard lights. Check everyone for injuries and call 911 if anyone is hurt. Move out of traffic if it's safe, then exchange names, licence, and insurance details with the other driver. Take photos of the scene, the damage, and any visible injuries. Collect contact info from witnesses. See a doctor within a day or two, even if you feel fine, and report the collision promptly.
You're driving home along Crowchild Trail when the car ahead stops short, and suddenly your morning turns into a screech of brakes and crumpled metal. Your heart is pounding, your hands are shaking, and your mind goes blank. What now? Those first rattled moments are the hardest, and that's the whole reason a plan helps.
Knowing what to do after a car accident in Calgary can protect your health, your wallet, and your legal standing long after the tow truck leaves. What you do at the scene, and in the days that follow, tends to shape your insurance payout and any claim you might file. If injuries are involved, a Richard Edwards car accident lawyer can walk you through your options once the dust settles.
This guide breaks the process into plain, manageable steps. We'll start at the scene, work through the first critical days, and cover how to handle insurers and protect your rights from there.
A collision throws your day into chaos, but the actions that follow have a clear order. Think of it as three phases: securing the scene, gathering proof, and looking after your health. Working through these steps to take after a car accident keeps you safe, satisfies Alberta law, and lays the groundwork for any claim down the road.
Your first job is to avoid a second collision and tend to anyone who's hurt. Leaving before you've handled the basics can lead to demerit points or worse under Alberta law, so stay where you are until the essentials are done.
Memories blur, and stories shift over time, so good documentation pays off later. The more you gather now, the smoother things go with insurers or lawyers.
One thing to skip: don't apologize or admit fault, even casually. A simple "I'm sorry" can be twisted later. Fault gets sorted out through proper investigation, not roadside conversation.
Alberta sets clear thresholds for reporting. You're legally required to file a report if anyone is injured or if total property damage tops $5,000, a figure the province has confirmed stays unchanged for 2026.
| Situation | What to Do |
| Injuries or a death | Call 911 immediately; police will attend |
| Damage over $5,000, no injuries | Report at a Collision Reporting Centre |
| Suspected impaired or hit-and-run driver | Call 911 right away |
| Minor damage under the threshold | Exchange info; reporting may not be required |
Here's the catch with adrenaline: it can hide real pain for hours. Injuries like whiplash, concussions, and soft-tissue damage often surface a day or two later, so a prompt medical visit guards both your health and your record.
Your health and the scene are squared away. Now comes the part most people dread: money and paperwork.

Once you're safe and checked over, attention turns to recovering your losses. This stage feels the murkiest, since it mixes paperwork, deadlines, and conversations with adjusters whose goals don't always line up with yours. A bit of preparation makes a real difference.
The sooner you notify your insurer, the better. Most Alberta policies give you a window to report, often around 30 days, though checking your own policy beats guessing. Knowing how to file a car accident insurance claim keeps you organized from day one.
A word of caution: your insurer may ask for a recorded statement. You're expected to cooperate, but you don't have to give a recorded statement before getting advice. Those recordings can resurface during settlement talks, so it's smart to pause first.
Every standard auto policy in Alberta includes Section B, or "no-fault" accident benefits. These pay out regardless of fault and kick in quickly, covering early costs while any larger claim works its way through. They come straight from your own insurer.
| Benefit | Typical Coverage |
| Medical and rehabilitation | Up to $50,000 over two years |
| Physiotherapy, massage, chiropractic | Capped sub-limits per discipline |
| Disability/income replacement | Up to $400 per week, if eligible |
| Death and funeral benefits | Limited support for families |
Section B handles immediate costs, but it doesn't replace a claim against an at-fault driver. The car accident claim process Alberta drivers navigate gets more involved here, with two moving parts to track:
Sorting out fault, future care costs, and lost income can quickly outgrow a do-it-yourself approach. So how do you know when it's time to bring in a professional?
A crash is jarring, but the path forward gets manageable once you break it into steps: secure the scene, document everything, look after your health, and handle the paperwork with care. Calm decisions early on tend to pay off when claims and deadlines arrive.
Some situations call for a steadier hand. Knowing when to hire a car accident lawyer usually comes down to the stakes:
You don't have to sort through all of it alone, and you don't have to decide everything today. Take the first steps, protect your health, keep good records, and reach out for guidance when the situation calls for it. Handled thoughtfully, even a rough day on the road becomes something you can recover from, both physically and financially.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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June 24, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Capital Markets And Funding, Venture Funding And Building, Fintech And Innovation

On June 24, 2026, RBCx published its Canadian VC 2026 Mid-Year report, showing that Canada’s early stage funding squeeze at venture funds is now also a startup company reality. RBCx says its Early Stage Banking team works with more than 1,200 pre seed and seed stage companies headquartered in Canada each year, and its current dataset covers more than 2,100 founder conversations.
The figures report that not only less capital is being raised, but fewer founders appear to be reaching the market at all. RBCx tracked 162 companies raising a combined $510.7 million in January 2025. By March 2026, only 61 companies were actively raising, with total capital sought down to about $189.8 million.
Average raise size held near $3 million from September 2024 to March 2026. That makes the data more troubling, not less. The market is not simply producing smaller seed rounds. It appears to be producing fewer founders who can raise them.
RBCx’s data suggests that early stage capital, which is often treated as the entry point into the venture system, is becoming harder to reach.
If fewer pre seed and seed companies are actively raising while average round size holds steady, the impact affects breadth of market.
Stronger or better connected founders may still complete rounds, but the number of companies entering the funding conversation appears to be shrinking.
A smaller early stage funnel means fewer companies get the chance to test markets, build traction, reach Series A, or become future scaleups. The risk is not only lower fundraising volume. It is a thinner innovation pipeline.
The company level data also connects back to the fund level pressure NCFA covered earlier this year in Canadian VC Fundraising Contracts And Concentrates In 2025. RBCx previously found that Canadian venture firms raised just over $2 billion in 2025, while the top five funds captured 83% of total capital raised.
RBCx’s mid year update says the top five funds captured 80% of total capital raised by 2025, while all other funds combined dropped from $4.5 billion at the 2021 peak to $444 million, close to a 90% decline.
When capital concentrates around fewer funds, founders face fewer decision makers, narrower investor funnels, and less room for non consensus ideas. That is especially important at the earliest stages, where conviction often depends on relationships, sector belief, and willingness to take risk before the metrics are obvious.
RBCx estimates that emerging managers raised about $2.8 billion over the past three years, compared with an expected $4.3 billion based on historical averages. That leaves a 36% funding shortfall.
Matt Roberts, Managing Director, Venture Coverage at RBCx, described the issue directly:
“Emerging managers are the engine of early-stage innovation in Canada. They’re willing to take on the riskier bets by backing first-time founders solving problems the market hasn’t fully recognized yet.”
His quote explains why this is a capital formation issue, not only a venture industry issue. Emerging managers often fund the companies that don't yet fit the pattern recognition of larger funds. When those managers cannot raise successor funds, Canada loses part of the market that is most willing to back first time founders, new categories, and early signals.
Canadian VC fundraising contracted and concentrated in 2025, with less new capital available for initial investments.
A built in Canada startup moved to the U.S., showing how capital access, customer depth, and market scale can influence where promising companies choose to grow.
Canada’s productivity challenge increasingly connects to capital formation, innovation scale, and the ability to turn new companies into durable economic output.
Targeted entrepreneurship funding remains an active policy tool as Canada tries to close founder capital gaps across underrepresented groups.
NCFA’s Financial Innovation Map tracks capital formation, alternative funding, venture infrastructure, and founder financing opportunities across Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
If Canada rebuilds early stage breadth, more founders can test markets, attract first capital, and create the next set of Series A candidates. That requires more than headline capital. It requires LP support for emerging managers, stronger growth stage confidence, and funding pathways that let founders raise before they fit the safest investor pattern.
Fewer funded companies may improve selectivity, but it can also remove the messy experimentation that produces outlier companies. If the ecosystem only funds the obvious companies, Canada may reduce failure rates while also reducing the number of breakout opportunities.
If average seed rounds remain stable but far fewer founders are raising, is Canada becoming more selective or simply losing the breadth and risk appetite needed to build the next generation of scaleups?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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