How many investments has Accelerate Fund made?

Accelerate Fund has 20 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited.

What stage does Accelerate Fund invest at?

Accelerate Fund invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.

What is Accelerate Fund's typical check size?

Accelerate Fund typically writes checks of $250K.

Where is Accelerate Fund located?

Accelerate Fund is headquartered in Calgary, CA.

Does Accelerate Fund lead rounds?

Yes, Accelerate Fund leads investment rounds.

Who does Accelerate Fund co-invest with?

Accelerate Fund most often shares deals with Startup TNT, Thin Air Labs, UCeed Funds, among 41 tracked co-investors.

Accelerate Fund

Venture capital

Calgary · Pre-Seed–Seed · 4 people tracked

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Investment thesis

Accelerate Fund is an early-stage co-investor focused on Alberta technology startups, providing venture capital that matches angel investment. The firm targets high-growth Alberta tech companies, often participating in pre-seed rounds and helping attract additional angel investors. It positions itself as a trusted local partner with a strong regional network, track record, and expertise to support portfolio companies as they scale. Having fully invested Accelerate Funds I, II, and III, the firm is currently seeking qualified companies for Accelerate Fund IV.

Invests inAI & Machine Learning Biotech Deep Tech Enterprise SoftwareSector AgnosticCalgary Canada North America

Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.

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Stage

Pre-Seed–Seed

Check

$250K

Calgary, AB, CA

Leads rounds

Leads

Instruments

Equity

Founded

2012

Tracked investments

Unicorns

IPOs

Team · 4 people

from the firm's website

Brad Johns· Partner, Yaletown Partners· Calgaryin

Brad Johns has over 25 years of experience across private equity, venture capital, business development, product management, and manufacturing. He focuses on emerging growth opportunities in enterprise process, energy, and industrial sectors, and helps manage the Alberta-based, seed-focused Accelerate Funds II, III, and IV. He was previously a partner at Moneta Capital and vice president at Launchworks, and earlier held manufacturing and product management leadership roles at Nortel in Canada and the UK. He holds a B.Sc in Mechanical Engineering from Queen's University, an M.Eng in Systems Engineering from McMaster University, and an MBA from INSEAD.

Arden Tse· Principal, Accelerate Fund, Yaletown Partners· Edmontonin

Principal responsible for Yaletown's Accelerate Funds II, III, and IV, based in the Edmonton office, focused on early-stage Alberta-based technology companies. Previously held investment roles at Qube Investment Management and AIMCo, and holds a BSc and MBA in Finance from the University of Alberta.

arden@yaletown.com

Neil Frizzell· Industry Advisor, Accelerate Fund III & IV· Calgary, Alberta, Canadain

Neil Frizzell has nearly 30 years of experience spanning legal work, executive leadership, advising, strategic planning and governance. For much of the past decade he has funded and advised Alberta-based ventures as co-founder and partner of Birchcliff Partners LP, and provided SME advisory services and acquisition capital through a private equity fund founded by Chrysalis Capital Advisors. He began his career as a corporate lawyer at Blake, Cassels & Graydon and holds an LLB from the University of Alberta, an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and a BComm from the University of Calgary.

Yasmine Al-Hussein· Investment Manager· Edmontonin

Investment Manager at Yaletown Partners' Edmonton office responsible for the Accelerate Funds, focused on early-stage technology startups in Alberta. Previously worked at Startup TNT sourcing and evaluating startups, with experience across nonprofit, post-secondary, and small business sectors. Holds a Business Economics and Law degree and an MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the University of Alberta.

yasmine@yaletown.com

What they invest in

from 15 of 20 portfolio companies

AI & Machine Learning ×9SaaS ×5Enterprise Software ×4Data & Infrastructure ×3Deep Tech ×3Fintech ×3Healthtech ×3AgTech ×2

HQs:Canada×6Poland×1United States×1

Who they back

founder profiles across 9 portfolio companies

22%

solo founders

2 of 9 mapped founding teams

31%

repeat founders

of 13 founders with career history

Founding team size:solo founder×22 founders×33 founders×34+ founders×1

Where their founders studiedfrom 12 founders with education data

University of Alberta ×5

What their founders studiedfrom 12 founders with field-of-study data

Business & Management ×4Computer Science ×3Engineering ×3

Where their founders worked beforefrom 13 founders with career history

AlbertaSat ×3University of Alberta ×3A100 ×2Knelf ×2

Investments · 20 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

Gitlabgitlab.com in 𝕏NASDAQ: GTLBLate Stage

GitLab is an intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps that enables teams and AI agents to collaborate on the full software development lifecycle, from planning through deployment, with integrated security and compliance capabilities.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US

Sid Sijbrandij(Founder)inDmytro Zaporozhets(Founder)inDmitriy Zaporozhets(Founder)inPaul Machle(Executive Officer)inSytse Sijbrandij(Founder)

Board Bruce Armstrong(Director)in

Co-investorsAlkeon Innovation August Capital Base Partners Bling Capital Category Ventures Coatue Management +36 more

Ambyintambyint.com in

Ambyint offers an AI-powered platform for optimizing oil and gas production, using physics-informed models and analytics to monitor wells, detect anomalies, and manage controller setpoints.

AI & Machine LearningEnergySaaSCalgary, CA

Co-investorsGE Ventures BDC Industrial Innovation Venture Fund Flyover Capital Frontera Technology Ventures Mercury Fund Saints Capital +3 more

Arolyticsarolytics.com in 𝕏

Arolytics appears to work on emissions detection and monitoring, with a focus case study on methane emissions at oil and gas facilities.

AI & Machine LearningClimate TechEnergySaaS

Co-investorsBDC Sustainability Venture Fund Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)Startup TNT BDC Capital Corporation Metiquity Ventures Yaletown Partners

Cellar Insightscellarinsights.com in

Cellar Insights develops predictive models to help potato growers optimize storage conditions, increasing crop quality and marketable yield while reducing post-harvest losses.

AgTechAI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureFoodTechIoT

Ross Culberson(Co-founder)inTerry(Co-founder)

Co-investorsTall Grass Ventures UCeed Funds Verdex Capital Carrot Ventures SVG Ventures | THRIVE UCeed

DrugBankdrugbank.dev in 𝕏

DrugBank develops a comprehensive drug knowledge base and API that provides curated, machine-learning ready data on drugs and drug products to pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and healthcare organizations.

AI & Machine LearningBiotechData & InfrastructureDigital HealthEdmonton, CA

Craig Knox in Michael Wilson(CEO + Co-founder)inDr. Wishart

Co-investorsBoxOne Ventures Brightspark Ventures

Estimote, Inc.estimote.com 𝕏Seed

Estimote develops Ultra Wideband (UWB) tags and proximity sensors for precise indoor and outdoor location tracking, automation, and asset management across warehousing, logistics, healthcare, retail, and hospitality.

Developer ToolsEnterprise SoftwareHardwareIoTLogistics & Supply ChainKraków, PL

Jakub Krzych(Founder)in Lukasz Kostka(Founder)inSteve Cheney(Founder)

Co-investorsActivant Capital Commerce Ventures DG Ventures, Inc.FundersClub Homebrew Javelin Venture Partners +12 more

Fairly Staffingfairlystaffing.com in 𝕏

Fairly Staffing operates a platform and mobile app that connects dental temp professionals with clinics to handle temporary staffing.

FintechHealthtechHR TechMarketplacesSector AgnosticEdmonton, CA

Aisha Abdul(Founder & COO)in

Co-investorsEdmonton Unlimited

Fluid Biomedfluidbiomed.com

Fluid Biomed develops a bioresorbable polymer-based stent designed to treat brain aneurysms by diverting blood flow and reducing risk of stroke.

BiotechDeep TechHealthtechMedical DevicesCalgary, CA

Dr. John H. Wong(Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer)Dr. Alim P. Mitha(Co-founder, President & Chief Technology Officer)

Co-investorsLifeArc Ventures ShangBay Capital LLC Symbiotic Ventures Thin Air Labs UCeed Funds Amplitude Venture Capital +1 more

Helcimhelcim.com in 𝕏

Helcim is a payment processing platform for small businesses, offering in-person, online, and phone card payments plus ACH, invoicing, payment links, and 40+ integrations.

FintechRetail TechSaaS

Nic Beique(Founder)inNicolas Beique(Founder)

Co-investorsAquiline Technology Growth Clocktower Ventures Vesey Ventures Gold House Ventures Headline Information Venture Partners

Leankorleankor.com in 𝕏

Leankor.ai offers an AI-driven, cloud-based enterprise work and project management SaaS built for industrial enterprises to manage large-scale customer delivery projects.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

Co-investorsThin Air Labs Verdex Capital

PayShepherdpayshepherd.com in

PayShepherd enables capital and maintenance project execution through continuous improvement methodologies.

AI & Machine LearningConstruction TechEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS

Wes Sessenwein(CEO and Co-Founder)in

Co-investorsInovia Capital Thin Air Labs Yaletown Partners

PulseMedicapulsemedica.com in 𝕏

PulseMedica develops femtosecond laser technology for imaging and treating vitreoretinal eye conditions, building medical devices aimed at improving care for patients with retinal diseases.

Deep TechDigital HealthHealthtechMedical Devices

Nir Katchinskiy(CEO & Co-founder)in Eric Martin(COO & Co-Founder)inAbdulhakem Elezzabi(Co-founder)Thas Yuwaraj(CTO)in

Co-investorsEdmonton Unlimited Saltagen Ventures ScaleGood Fund LP (powered by TELUS)Startup TNT UCeed Funds

StellarAlgostellaralgo.com in 𝕏

StellarAlgo offers a customer data platform (CDP) built for sports teams that consolidates fan data, enables no-code audience segmentation, and automatically pushes fan segments to marketing and sales channels to grow ticket sales and reduce churn.

AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureMarketing TechSports Tech

Vincent Ircandia(Founder)inSean Fynn(Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer)inJoseph King(Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer)in

Co-investorsComcast Ventures InterGen Capital MaRS MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF)RBCx Thin Air Labs +1 more

Virtual Gurusthevirtualgurus.com

The Virtual Gurus connects businesses with US- and Canada-based virtual assistants to handle tasks ranging from administrative work to marketing.

AI & Machine LearningFuture of WorkMarketplaces

Co-investorsRaven Capital The 51 Ventures

Wyvernwyvern.space in 𝕏

Wyvern develops high-resolution hyperspectral imaging satellites and delivers satellite-based earth observation data for model-based predictions.

Advanced ManufacturingAgTechClimate TechDeep TechSpace TechEdmonton, CA

Chris Robson(Founder)in Kurtis Broda(Founder)in Kristen Cote(Founder)in Callie Lissinna(Founder)in

Co-investorsCortado Ventures Emerging Ventures Foresight Canada MaC Venture Capital Maple Leaf Angels Seraphim Space +17 more

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

Care GroupNorthernmostSamdeskTruffleUserful

Exits · 1

1 IPOs

GitlabNASDAQ: GTLB

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Helcim Raises $53M CAD in Series C Funding

Helcim · finsmes.com · Aug 24, 2026

Dentistry gig work platform Fairly Staffing aims to help industry meet demand | BetaKit

Fairly Staffing · betakit.com · Apr 16, 2026

Cellar Insights pockets $500,000 investment to help it protect potatoes | BetaKit

Cellar Insights · betakit.com · Jan 27, 2026

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Accelerate Fund made?: Accelerate Fund has 20 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited.
What stage does Accelerate Fund invest at?: Accelerate Fund invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
What is Accelerate Fund's typical check size?: Accelerate Fund typically writes checks of $250K.
What sectors does Accelerate Fund focus on?: Accelerate Fund focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Deep Tech, Enterprise Software, Sector Agnostic.
Where is Accelerate Fund located?: Accelerate Fund is headquartered in Calgary, CA.
Does Accelerate Fund lead rounds?: Yes, Accelerate Fund leads investment rounds.
Who does Accelerate Fund co-invest with?: Accelerate Fund most often shares deals with Startup TNT, Thin Air Labs, UCeed Funds, among 41 tracked co-investors.

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