\u201cWe\u2019re back, open for business, [and] ready to write cheques,\u201d Khera told BetaKit in an exclusive interview. Khera, who has a 13-year track record in VC from her time with MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, 500 Canada<\/a>, and 2048 Ventures<\/a>, joined IRV earlier this month as managing partner based in Toronto.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason we had so many candidates was because there were so many people who were part of funds that had not been able to launch.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Mario Venditti, <\/strong> Innovobot<\/a>, which oversees IRV and innovation hub Innovobot Labs, launched IRV back in 2018. But since IRV announced an initial close of $14 million CAD<\/a> for Fund I in late 2022, IRV was ultimately only able to raise slightly more than that, falling well shy of its $40-million target amid tough VC fundraising market conditions<\/a>. It restructured its management to suit a smaller fund.<\/p>\n Given this leadership turnover, the vast majority of Fund I has yet to be deployed. <\/p>\n IRV has made only two investments out of the fund to date, backing Montr\u00e9al cleantech company CarbiCrete<\/a>, which is working on decarbonized concrete, and Oneka Technologies<\/a>, a Sherbrooke, Que.-based desalination startup.<\/p>\n Under Khera\u2019s leadership, IRV plans to invest the remainder in another 25 to 30 deep tech startups over the next three years and go slightly earlier than initially planned. Deep tech typically refers to cutting-edge innovation that requires significant advancements in science or engineering to be realized.<\/p>\n IRV intends to focus on deep tech startups across Canada at the pre-seed stage, but is open to making seed investments and backing companies outside of Canada, cutting cheques of between $250,000 and $500,000 into businesses with strong intellectual property and technical moats in areas that align with Innovobot\u2019s expertise, like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, internet of things, and advanced materials that intersect with applications in industries like supply chain, healthcare, and energy.<\/p>\n As traditional business-to-business software-as-a-service has gotten \u201creally crowded,\u201d Khera argued that innovation in that space has become \u201cincrementalized.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you think about the next big wave of where opportunity is going to come from, I\u2019m a huge believer that it will be in this category that we call deep tech,\u201d Khera said.<\/p>\n Adjusting to a smaller fund size<\/strong><\/p>\n In an interview with BetaKit, Innovobot CEO and founding partner Mario Venditti said that IRV realized around late 2023 that raising a $40-million fund was no longer feasible and concluded that a smaller fund would require a shift in strategy. The VC firm informed its limited partners (LPs), which include undisclosed family offices and entrepreneurs like former Shopify CTO Jean-Michel Lemieux and Flinks co-founder and ex-CEO Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf.<\/p>\n Former IRV managing partner Zoya Shchupak left the fund in May 2024. \u201cWe came to the conclusion that Zoya was not going to be the one to lead the team,\u201d Venditti said. He declined to say whose decision it was or elaborate further, aside from noting, \u201cThere was no clear path forward under a new strategy with the existing team.\u201d<\/p>\n Around the same time, then-IRV general partner (GP) Sylvain Carle transitioned out of that role, but continues to remain involved<\/a> as tech-for-good lead. When asked why Carle changed roles, Venditti said that given IRV\u2019s ultimate fund size, the firm could not afford to have another partner. BetaKit has reached out to Shchupak and Carle for comment.<\/p>\n RELATED: <\/strong>Innovobot holds initial close of targeted $40-million fund to invest in \u201cdeep tech for good\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n With Shchupak and Carle out, IRV took time to rebuild its strategy and largely refrained from deploying capital. According to Venditti, IRV\u2019s existing LPs were supportive of the moves the firm made during this period, as none reduced their commitments or pulled out of the fund.<\/p>\n Venditti said that IRV conducted a broad search for a new managing partner with the help of a third-party firm, interviewing lots of candidates before landing on Khera, who is now leading the fund with Venditti and Innovobot CTO and founding partner Danny Grant supporting as GPs.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only is [Khera] super smart, and not only is she super capable, but culturally, she fits what we\u2019re trying to do here.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Mario Venditti, <\/strong> \u201cNot only is she super smart, and not only is she super capable, but culturally, she fits what we\u2019re trying to do here,\u201d Venditti said. \u201cShe understands technology, having studied engineering and been in this space for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n Khera co-founded and served as GP of 500 Canada. She made 16 investments during her time there, which she claims are up 20-fold on the books. These include ApplyBoard<\/a>, BenchSci<\/a>, FightCamp<\/a>, and Mejuri<\/a>. She also led 16 investments as a GP at 2048, backing Eli Health<\/a> and Frate<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n She described herself as \u201ca technologist through and through,\u201d noting that the culture of Innovobot is very \u201ctechnology first\u201d and being able to \u201cspeak the same language\u201d makes her a good fit to lead IRV.<\/p>\n Venditti said that Khera\u2019s presence in Toronto was also a plus to the firm. \u201cWhile that wasn\u2019t critical, it was important to us to demonstrate that we did want to be pan-Canadian, not simply a local player,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Running into familiar challenges for Canadian VC<\/strong><\/p>\n IRV\u2019s fundraising struggles reflect the challenges Canada\u2019s VC industry continues to face. As BetaKit has reported<\/a>, Canadian LPs have become more cautious and selective since 2022 as macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated and exit markets have cooled. This LP pullback has led to smaller funds, longer fundraising timelines, shifts in investment strategy, and turnover across Canada\u2019s VC industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last October, Toronto\u2019s Information Venture Partners pivoted<\/a> to single-asset, special-purpose vehicle investing. Last month, Toronto and Montr\u00e9al\u2019s CMD Capital paused its operations indefinitely<\/a> after failing to secure anchor institutional investors for its first fund. Investors BetaKit has spoken with expect to see more Canadian VC firms quietly follow suit.<\/p>\n As LPs have reduced VC allocations and concentrated dollars on established investors with a track record of returning cash, emerging managers (firms on their first, second, or third fund) have had a particularly tough time raising money.<\/p>\n RELATED: <\/strong>Performance anxiety and access to capital top of mind for Canadian VCs<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe reason we had so many candidates was because there were so many people who were part of funds that had not been able to launch,\u201d Venditti said.<\/p>\n Khera was one of those people. She left 2048 Ventures as a GP in early 2024, and set out to launch a $20-million USD fund of her own. After \u201ca very, very intense six months\u201d fundraising, she decided to pull the plug on those plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI realized that the product I was selling was not differentiated enough to get the traction I needed in a decent amount of time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n At the same time, Khera knew that there was still an unmet need for early-stage capital in Canada. She said she asked herself whether she cared more about chasing that opportunity or having her own fund, before deciding it was the latter. She met with IRV six weeks later.<\/p>\n Building a lasting deep tech platform<\/strong><\/p>\n Today, Venditti said that IRV still has lots of capital left, dedicated LPs, and the right team in place to guide the fund through its next iteration. \u201cWhile things didn\u2019t go according to plan, we still built a fund in a time where many didn\u2019t succeed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n According to Khera, IRV intends to build a portfolio consisting of a combination of more capital- and time-intensive deep tech startups and faster-growing software firms. To support its aggressive deployment plans, the firm is hiring for an associate based in Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n IRV expects to source some deals from Innovobot Labs and lean on it for due diligence and post-investment support.<\/p>\n\n
Innovobot<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-design-64-1024x683.jpg\" "\\"Innovobot")
<\/a>Though Innovobot has a strong presence in Montr\u00e9al and Qu\u00e9bec, IRV plans to invest across Canada.
Image courtesy Innovobot.<\/p>\n\n
Innovobot<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-design-65-1024x683.jpg\" "\\"CarbiCrete")
<\/a>Montr\u00e9al cleantech and IRV portfolio startup CarbiCrete is developing decarbonized concrete.