Royal Bank of Canada says it will invest up to $416 million in a new fund aimed at helping Canadian technology companies scale into global businesses.
The bank announced Wednesday a $1.4-billion initiative, including the RBCx Growth Fund I, which will primarily make direct equity investments in Canadian companies that RBC believes have the potential to expand internationally.
Fund targets late-stage technology companies
RBC says the fund will combine late-stage investing with access to its banking, capital markets, asset management and public-sector relationships to support companies as they grow.
The initiative was announced ahead of the Canada Investment Summit and is focused on sectors where Canada has established strengths, including energy, agriculture, artificial intelligence, health care and frontier technologies.
RBC says companies backed by the fund will have access to commercialization opportunities, strategic partnerships and expansion support. The fund is intended to generate investment returns while supporting the growth of Canadian technology businesses.
"Our ambition is simple: a future where more of the world's next great companies build in Canada and stay in Canada," said Dave McKay, president and chief executive officer of RBC. "For decades, Canada has produced an outsized share of world-class entrepreneurs and tech talent who want to build global companies at home. But when they're ready to scale, too often they get pulled elsewhere. The RBCx Growth Fund I is about changing that by putting capital and partnership behind our most promising homegrown innovators. Because a fundamental part of nation building is ensuring your best builders never have to leave to succeed."
RBC cites gap in Canadian late-stage investment
The fund will be led by Sid Paquette, head of RBCx, the bank's technology and innovation arm. RBC says it has already attracted significant interest from potential investors during early discussions.
The bank says the fund is intended to address a gap in domestic participation in late-stage financing. Over the past decade, about 74 per cent of U.S. growth rounds have been led by U.S. investors, compared with 33 per cent of Canadian growth rounds being led by Canadian investors, according to figures cited by RBC.
RBC says the difference creates an opportunity to retain more ownership, influence and economic benefit from Canadian companies as they scale.
"When Canadian companies grow and scale at home, the effects compound. We see them attract further investment, build ecosystems around them and spawn offshoots," said Sid Paquette, Head of RBCx. "We want to amplify that effect--where success breeds success - and we'll use our strong relationships and specialized expertise across many client segments to do so. That's how we build a durable, more globally competitive economy."
Five technology sectors in focus
The fund will prioritize five technology areas: enterprise software, with an emphasis on applied AI, cybersecurity, data and analytics; health technology, including digital health, care delivery platforms and clinical software; frontier technology, including aerospace, dual-use defence, quantum and advanced computing; energy and climate technology, including carbon management and the energy transition; and agricultural technology, including precision agriculture, field automation and supply chain.
RBC says its broader resources will be used to help companies held by the fund expand, including its sector expertise, commercial banking and capital markets operations, and relationships with businesses and governments.
RBC points to Canada's investment environment
RBC also cited Canada's investor confidence, economic stability, business environment, international market access, educated workforce, research and development support, tax policies and financial system as factors supporting its investment strategy.
The bank said Canada ranked second globally in the 2025 Kearney FDI Confidence Index and is expected to be the second-best country in the G20 for doing business between 2026 and 2030.
RBC said Canadian businesses have access to 51 markets with a combined gross domestic product of more than US$72 trillion, while 65 per cent of working-age adults in Canada hold a college or university degree.
The bank also said Canada ranks second in the G7 for direct government funding and tax support for business research and development and that its tax treatment for new business investment, at 13 per cent, is the lowest in the G7.
RBC said its financial system ranks second in both the G7 and G20 and fourth among 69 countries.