Matthew Cooper

Toronto Tech Week is around the corner. And we’re not hosting a pitch night. We’re hosting a capital markets briefing. As part of the University Through Adversity: Courage to Lead tour, Ndeipi will convene a private Institutional Session focused on one theme: Programmable Infrastructure Yield. For decades, emerging markets have exported raw resources and imported expensive capital. That model is structurally inefficient. What if: Gold is processed locally. Solar powers production. Revenue flows are structured through disciplined SPVs. Yield is transparently distributed. Institutional capital allocates into measurable, income-producing infrastructure. This session will walk through: • Gold dore processing economics • Solar-backed industrial infrastructure • Institutional-grade SPV structuring • Yield distribution mechanics • Governance, insurance, and risk frameworks • A mobile infrastructure terminal enabling real-time transparency This is not a crypto presentation. This is a structured conversation about real assets, cash flow, and capital architecture. We are inviting: • Family Offices • Pension Funds • Infrastructure Allocators • Venture Capital partners exploring infrastructure-tech convergence • HNWI with long-term capital mandates Toronto has deep pools of capital. Africa has deep pools of resources. The next decade belongs to those who can structure the two together with discipline. Attendance is limited to serious capital participants. The future of emerging market capital markets will not be built on hype. It will be built on structure. #TorontoTechWeek #FamilyOffices #PensionFunds #Infrastructure #RealWorldAssets #CapitalMarkets #Ndeipi

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AI isn’t about replacing people; it’s about empowering them. As Managing Partner, Sam Pirzadeh explains, when it comes to Canadian manufacturing, AI can automate repetitive tasks, act as an assistant, and unlock insights from massive amounts of data gleaned through manufacturing. Pioneera’s focus is on AI implementation and adaptability, helping teams do more, keep the most engaging parts of their work, and remain headquartered in Canada. Learn more about our story: https://lnkd.in/gAppSHhG Video via BC + AI Ecosystem | Kevin Friel #Manufacturing #ManufacturingTech #PioneeraVentures #FutureOfWork #AIManufacturing #MadeInCanada

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A real full-circle moment to join the Ivey Venture Capital Club Podcast. When I was walking the halls at Ivey, I had no idea what venture capital was, let alone that I'd one day build a career in it. Like many students, I was simply trying to figure out what came next. It was a privilege to sit down with Trinity Chung to reflect on my path into Esplanade Ventures and venture capital, how being a first-generation immigrant shaped my perspective, and why I continue to believe #healthcare is one of the most important sectors for innovation. Thank you to Trinity for the thoughtful conversation, to Ivey for having me, and to the team at Front Row Ventures, for continuing to build the next generation of amazing founders and investors with an incredible community. A good reminder that careers rarely follow a straight line, and that the opportunities that shape us are often the ones we never saw coming.

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I hate to argue with the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) on this but, not sure how they view this as “a healthy, stable” Canadian VC market." So, three things 1. The data as presented is unfortunately wrong and misleading. How can that be you ask? Well, it includes $837M of secondary or buyout transactions that while providing great liquidity to the investors who participated, are NOT primary investments. These transactions should have been recorded only as exits on the VC ledger and then they should have been recorded as investments in the PE/Buyout ledger. 2. So when you remove $837M from the primary VC investment column (i.e. capital that truly supports the growth and scaling of a business vs simply facilitating a change of ownership) it drops to ~4.05B vs $4.9B a 17% decline - kind of material, and it means we are running at about 60% of 2024 which as we all know was not a particularly great year. 3. Finally, when you compare US VC financing activity vs CDN VC financing activity the only thing that they have in common is that deal volume is down. In fact, while YTD 2025 VC investment activity in the US has virtually returned to 2021 levels (yes, the mix and type of companies funded has indeed materially changed) the investment levels in the Canada are continuing to head down and to the right. In fact, with VC investments YTD in Canada being C$4B and the US being ~US240B, Canada is at 1.25% of US levels and per capital investment on innovation and the next generation economy is $73 per CDN citizen and $701 per US citizen - OUCH So, at least to me, nothing about this year feels healthy or particularly stable and if we as a country want to compete globally it is going to be very hard to do so investing 1/10th the amount per citizen vs our neighbours to the south

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