Toronto, Ontario–(January 22, 2015) – McRock iNFund LP, an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) venture capital fund managed by McRock Capital, has held a second close with new investments from Cisco Investments and Teralys Capital Innovation LP, a fund manager financing private venture capital funds with more than $1.5 billion in assets under management. BDC Capital also increased its investment commitment to the fund in the latest closing.
McRock is focused exclusively on the intersection of sensors and software in large industrial markets, an area known as the IIoT. The fund will invest in high growth private companies across North America. It is specifically targeting large industrial markets looking to maximize the efficiency of operations by connecting the unconnected and using software to make machines, equipment and devices run more intelligently. A final fund close is scheduled in 2015 with a cap of $65 million.
“The addition of Cisco Investments and Teralys to our investor base further validates the tremendous momentum and appeal of the IIoT,” said Whitney Rockley, co-founder and managing partner of McRock Capital. “We are excited to work closely with Cisco Investments, an incredibly strategic investor for McRock, and two of Canada’s largest fund-of-funds investors, Teralys and BDC, to build global IIoT companies together.”
“What makes this so exciting is that only one percent of the world’s devices are connected today,” said Paul Howarth, director, Cisco Corporate Development. “The founders of McRock Capital have deep experience investing in Industrial software companies and are incredibly well positioned to capitalize on the next evolution of the Internet. We are delighted to invest in McRock under our Cisco Canada Innovation Program.”
“Teralys is excited to be joining McRock, a specialized investment fund dedicated to the rapidly growing Industrial Internet of Things sector,” said Eric Legault, managing partner of Teralys Capital. “The founding partners of McRock have backed some very successful entrepreneurs and early disruptors in
the past and will use their experience to support the next generation of high growth companies in that sector. The creation of a new venture capital franchise is a great development for the venture capital ecosystem in Canada.”
About McRock Capital
McRock Capital is a venture capital firm making investments in North American companies offering Industrial Internet of Things software and sensor solutions for the grid automation, digital oilfield, advanced manufacturing and smart city markets. For more information, visit www.mcrockcapital.com. Follow McRock Capital on Twitter @McRockCapital