Philosophy

Helping Founders build capital-efficient growth businesses

Canada’s dedicated seed partner

We’ve supported hundreds of Canadian B2B founders through the proven pathways—and away from the costly pitfalls—of early commercialization.

As Canadian founders looking to scale internationally, we found Graphite provided the strategic insight and hands-on support needed to grow our operations and investor network beyond Canada.

Philip Poulidis

CEO

Capital-efficient growth focus

We help you avoid the constant fundraising treadmill by building sustainable, capital-efficient businesses designed for your market reality.

Graphite brings a refreshing level of discipline to seed investing. They understand that focus, resourcefulness, and sustainable growth often matter more than headcount or speed alone, especially in volatile market conditions.

Steve Vander Meulen

CEO

Exit optionality

From investment timing to deal structure, we help you understand all your options and their long-term implications—so you can make informed choices that protect your company’s future.

Graphite encouraged us to build a company, not just raise a round. They helped us balance growth with sustainability—something that has been essential in a rapidly evolving market and as we enter and scale in new ones.

Purya Sarmadi

CEO

We're also different because of what we believe

We believe founders are our North Star

We’re trusted by Founders to help them grow their company and many of our Founders have become LP’s in our Fund.

We believe collaboration is essential

Call it the Canadian way, but we think Canadian entrepreneurs are most successful when we work together. We do things differently. And that’s OK. At Graphite, we deliver collaboration—both offline and online—through a robust and engaged community.

We believe in local ecosystems

Ecosystems are vital to the innovation economy. So, when we commit to an ecosystem, we entrench ourselves in it, and its diverse fabric. With over 15 years investing history, we have boots on the ground in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Waterloo and Calgary.

Closing Canada’s seed investment gap

2025

Expanded local presence in Montreal with a team supporting five Quebec portfolio companies.

2022

Established a team in Calgary to focus on Alberta and Western Canada deals.

2021

The team closed our fourth early stage fund and launched Graphite Ventures with the existing team.

2017

Through the third fund, we honed in on a target investment profile to identify specific inflection points. IAF became self-sustaining or “evergreen.”

2014

With the second fund, we evolved our methodology. We built relationships with US follow-on investors and became a trusted seed-stage partner in Canada.

2011

Established the first fund, which was sector agnostic, but stage specific and we developed a process to operationalize seed at scale.

2010

MaRS assumed responsibility for IAF in 2010 when Barry Gekiere took over and restructured the program to run it like a private sector VC firm.

2008

Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) was created as a provincial government program to fill a seed stage gap in the venture capital ecosystem in Ontario.

Nicoya improves human life by helping scientists succeed.

Nicoya is a Canadian biotechnology company dedicated to improving human life by helping scientists succeed.

Purya and Nicolas are creating a new status quo for pharmacy care.

MedMe is building the operating system for the pharmacies of the future, powering their transformation from dispensaries to community healthcare hubs.

James and the team are enabling a zero-carbon future.

Founded in 2012, e-Zinc is a Toronto based corporation that has developed a breakthrough electrochemical technology for storing energy in zinc metal.

Frequently asked questions + answers

What makes Graphite different from other seed-stage investors?

We’re Canada’s dedicated seed-stage investor with over 200 investments and more than 40 exits. Unlike generalist VCs, we focus exclusively on B2B tech at the seed stage, bringing specialized expertise in early commercialization, capital-efficient growth strategies, and proven pathways to scale without constant fundraising.

How do you help companies avoid the raise-and-dilute cycle?

We work with founders to build capital-efficient businesses through proven growth strategies tailored to their market and business model. Rather than pushing a one-size-fits-all rapid-scale approach, we help companies grow sustainably, reducing the need for constant fundraising rounds that dilute founder equity.

What stage of company do you typically invest in?

We focus exclusively on seed-stage B2B tech companies. We look for founders who have validated their product-market fit and are ready to scale their go-to-market strategy with disciplined execution.

Do you only invest in Canadian companies?

Yes, we’re deeply committed to Canadian tech success. We invest in Canadian B2B tech startups and actively help build the tech ecosystem across the country with team members in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Waterloo, and Calgary.

How hands-on are you as investors?

As investors and former operators, we serve as early-stage finance, governance, and advisory partners. We help founders navigate critical decisions around investment timing, deal structure, follow-on investors, and growth strategies to support long-term business success. We also leverage our network to provide access to mentors and subject matter experts.

What's your typical investment size and process?

We focus on seed-stage investments with a disciplined approach to due diligence that includes talking to existing customers. Our process involves understanding your market, growth potential, and how our capital-efficient growth strategies can accelerate your trajectory while preserving optionality for future rounds. We will lead rounds or follow and our typical cheque size is usually in the $500k to $1.5M range.

Find out if we’re a good fit

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