The Weston family-backed firm plans to back 15 more startups.
Toronto-based Wittington Ventures has closed its third venture capital (VC) fund, raising C$180 million to invest in new start-ups in the climate, retail, consumer products, healthcare and food tech sectors at Series A and B stages.
News: Wittington Ventures managing partner Jim Orlando announced the news on LinkedIn on Thursday. The fund’s limited partners include Wittington Investments (the holding company of the Canadian billionaire Weston family, which controls Canadian grocery and pharmacy chains Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart) and other undisclosed entities. Wittington Ventures’ third venture fund is 50 percent larger than its predecessor, launched in 2022, with a budget of $120 million, and brings the seven-year-old company’s total assets under management to $820 million. Wittington Ventures has not yet invested through the fund, but intends to back 15 companies and invest an average of $10 million each.
From the source: Orlando told BetaKit stated in an interview that Whittington invests in areas where they have “different” points of view. He said Wittington Ventures’ third venture fund would bring more of the same. “I think we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing.”
Context: Launched in 2019 under the leadership of Orlando, who previously led OMERS Ventures, Wittington Ventures began as a single $100 million venture capital fund focused on retail and healthcare, managed by a small team able to build on Weston’s broader portfolio. The firm has since grown into a broader 15-person platform that also covers pre-seed, seed, equity, climate, consumer and food technology – areas in which Wittington Ventures believes it has an advantage due to its close relationships with various Weston family firms. This includes a $100 million early-stage strategy focused on Canadian deep technology and bridging the gap between research and commercialization, $400 million through three major venture capital funds, and $320 million for profitable and near-profit growth companies (including a $100 million commitment to Canadian growers and food processors).
To date, Wittington Ventures has backed more than 25 companies, from Toronto-based Gray Matter Neurosciences, Odaia and Shakudo to Vancouver-based ViewsML and US-based Gatik, some of which have also partnered with other Weston businesses.
Last thought: Orlando is proud to have built Wittington Ventures and expects its next seven years to be just like the first. He wrote that the firm plans to continue to focus on providing patient capital and supporting talented people solving complex problems with the help of its colleagues at Loblaw, Shoppers Drug Mart, Choice Properties, Holt Renfrew, Wittington Investments and the Weston Family Foundation.
Image courtesy of Whittington Ventures.