2020 Highlights
it’s been a heck of a year.
This year has been a whirlwind to say the least. 2020 has been a year of reinvention, challenges, and changes. Back in October, we held our virtual Kensington Investor Conference with updates from our team, our portfolio companies, and LPs. We thought this would be a great time to take a deep dive into the highlights of our 2020 year:
👏 NEW TEAM MEMBERS
For this year, we are welcoming two new faces to the team:
- Joseph Liu/Associate/Vancouver Office
- Win Bear/Managing Director/Toronto Office
✨ COMPANY FUNDS HIGHLIGHTS
Kensington Private Equity Fund is +14.7% YOY net — We distributed approximately $27.1 million in 2020. On the direct investment side, we welcomed 11 new investments. Among our fund investments, we added 5 new fund commitments.
Kensington Alternative Strategies Fund is +8.8% YOY — The fund was awarded third place in Best 5-year Sharpe Ratio category at the 2020 Canadian Hedge Fund Conference.
⚡ PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS
This year, we welcomed some new companies and new faces to our portfolio including Clearpoint Health Network, LifeSpeak, Gridpoint, and Mintsmartwash.
- Clearpoint Health Network is Canada’s largest health network of independent surgical and medical centres.
- Lifespeak Inc. is North America’s leading digital education platform for employee mental health and wellness.
- Gridpoint’s smart building energy management solution enables customers to automate sites, lower energy spend, and better manage day-to-day operations.
- Mint Smartwash is a conveyorized express tunnel car wash,
utilizing state of the art technologies.
In addition, Appdirect and O2 Industries was added to the portfolio for our Kensington Venture Funds.
- AppDirect offers a subscription commerce platform that removes the complexity of building a recurring business model.
- O2 Industries is a leading manufacturer of reusable respirators.
🎥 YEAR IN REVIEW:
▶ KENSINGTON CAPITAL PARTNERS
JANUARY
- Kensington Private Equity Fund Makes Investment into Iguazio: Iguazio Raises $24M to Accelerate Growth and Global Penetration of its Data Science Platform
- Kensington Private Equity Fund invests USD$3 million in Echodyne
MAY
- Kensington Venture Fund L.P., Exits Real Matter
JUNE
JULY
- Kensington Private Equity Fund Announces Distribution
- Technology Industry Veteran Win Bear Joins Kensington Venture Capital Team
- Kensington Capital Announces Sale of Mobile Klinik to Telus Corporation
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
- Kensington Acquires Minority Stake in Mint Smartwash Ltd.
- Kensington Joins Forces with One9 Ventures
- Kensington Enters into a New Joint Venture with Triangle Capital Corporation
▶️ PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS/MILESTONES
- Touchbistro raises $158 million CAD in series E Funding| Learn More
- Mobile Klinik Acquires fonelab | Learn More
- Figure 1 Aiding in the Battle Against COVID-19 | Read more
- Vaughn Mills Packaging Experiences Sale Surge| Read more
- Keeping Doors Open During a Downturn with AGNORA| Read more
- The Importance of Relationships with Walker Glass | Read more
- A Deep Dive into Element 5 | Read more about their latest projects
- Our portfolio company, D-Wave Systems Inc. launched Leap 2, the first quantum cloud service designed for developers and organizations to help them solve the most difficult problems facing their industry. | Learn More
- Kognitiv Corporation and Aimia Loyalty Solutions Merge to Form a Visionary Leader in Loyalty | Learn More
- Avidbots helping to control the spread of COVID-19 | Learn More
- Volkswagen is working together with our portfolio company, D-Wave System on a global traffic routing optimization app | Watch the Video
- SpaceX in Kensington Venture Fund I and II completes the historic launch of the Falcon 9 rocket
- Pela acquires Habitat Botanicals | Learn more
- Pela Branches Out with New Eco-friendly Apple Watch Bands | Learn More
- Protecting People and Drone Collisions with Echodyne’s Pocket Sized Radar | Learn More
- Blue Ant’s Omnia Media Business Joining Forces with Enthusiast Gaming | Learn More
- Our portfolio company, TouchBistro was ranked among Canada’s fastest growing companies by the Globe and Mail for two years in a row.
- Avidbots awarded Deloitte Tech Fast 50 | Learn more
- Mojio named BC’s fastest growing company in the 2020 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards | Learn More
Here is to another year of supporting entrepreneurs with strong vision, driving innovation, and making companies stronger for the future!
Visit us at www.kcpl.ca for more information. Follow us on Twitter @kensingtonfunds.
