Investor Profile: Build Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

If you are researching Build Ventures funding, this profile explains how to get funding from Build Ventures, the Halifax firm that is the most active private venture investor in Atlantic Canada. Its mission, in its own words, is simple: to help founders build companies. It provides early-stage capital to emerging, game-changing Atlantic Canadian technology companies, and it has done so since 2013.

Build Ventures funding: thesis, sectors and stages

Build Ventures invests after the seed round, in companies that have a product, a team and early revenue. Its original mandate described targets as early-stage companies with an established business model, a solid team, a large target market, some revenue, and a need for ramp-up capital. Sectors span information technology, clean technology, life sciences and other high-growth areas, with recent tracking adding B2B SaaS, deep tech and AI. Geography is the defining filter: the firm concentrates on Atlantic Canada, and third-party tracking describes it as the most active private VC in the region, with 25 portfolio companies across its two funds.

Fund size and cheque size

Build Ventures launched in 2013 with a $65 million first fund, raised from the four Atlantic provinces, BDC Capital and private investors, which backed 14 companies. Its second fund, Build Ventures II, announced an initial close of $50.5 million and, per third-party tracking, closed in 2019 at about $65 million, backed by the governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, BDC Capital and the Government of Canada's Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative. Investments are generally $1 million to $5 million per venture, with initial commitments of $0.5 million to $2 million reported by third-party profiles. A fund size beyond Fund II is not publicly disclosed.

Notable portfolio and partners

Portfolio companies include Introhive and Affinio of Halifax, Resson and Smart Skin Technologies of Fredericton, Potential Motors, Gemba Software of Saint John, and more recent bets such as 3DBioFibR, backed in a seed round in June 2025, and PayTic. The firm's first fund invested in five New Brunswick companies supporting the creation of 169 jobs in the province. The firm is led by managing partner Patrick Keefe and Rob Barbara, both Halifax-based.

Programs, support and perks

Build Ventures does not run a public accelerator and does not advertise a credits or perks programme. Its support is operator-style: the team writes publicly about traction and startup boards, and it reserves capital to re-invest in its best performers. For Atlantic Canadian founders, the firm's distinctive value is scale of cheque: where most regional funding bodies invest $100,000 to $900,000, Build Ventures invests in chunks of $1.5 million to $2 million, the level its partners say larger regional startups need to fuel growth.

How to apply for funding

There is no public application portal. Third-party tracking of Atlantic investors lists Build Ventures as accepting a direct pitch, and founders can approach the firm through its official site, buildventures.ca. The firm says it likes to invest after the seed round, so the strongest pitch shows a product solving a meaningful problem, a team in place, early revenue, and a market that is large or will become large. Expect a process of three to six months, per third-party tracking.