 6 Questions: One-on-One with Jacques Bernier, head of Teralys Capital Fund
With $750 million in capital, this tech fund of funds is the largest of its kind in Canada.
When Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec announced that it was launching a new venture capital fund — along with the Fonds de Solidarité FTQ, and the Quebec government — people were understandably excited, especially when they found out that Teralys Capital Fund, headed by Jacques Bernier, would be infused with $750 million of capital, making it the largest fund of its kind in Canada.
Its mandate is to focus on tech sectors including IT, clean tech and life sciences, but because it's just over a month old — it officially opened its doors for business on April 27 — Bernier has yet to invest in anything. However, it's only a matter of time he says, pointing out that the fund isn't actually closed, but will be by the end of June.
We spoke to Bernier to find out what exactly he has in store for this massive fund of funds.
What is the greatest challenge currently facing Teralys Capital Fund and what are you doing about it?
The amount of capital which is available in Canada is a challenge. VC funding is really limited, so it's going to be tricky for me to fund investments. Though, we will try to augment the $750 million with another $150 million or so over the next two years. I know a lot of people in the market, so we're all discussing how we can work together across the whole Canadian landscape. That will be key.
Another challenge is that historically in Canada, the VC capital industry has not provided the types of returns investors want. So everyone is shying away from the asset class. All major institutions have shied away because the returns weren't there. The challenge will be to help the new VC to succeed.
Read the full interview here. |
