BDC Warns 80%-90% of Big Startup Rounds Come From Foreign Capital
Updated
Updated · The Logic · May 26
BDC Warns 80%-90% of Big Startup Rounds Come From Foreign Capital
2 articles · Updated · The Logic · May 26
$8 billion was invested in Canadian companies in 2025, down 6%, as BDC said too few startups scale into large firms without leaning heavily on foreign money.
In deals of $50 million or more, 80%-90% of capital came from foreign investors, a dependence BDC said could shift ownership, intellectual property and decision-making out of Canada.
More than 66% of VC deals were still pre-seed or seed rounds, but Series A activity has fallen sharply since 2022 and later-stage capital is concentrating in a handful of big winners.
Weak exits are worsening the domestic funding gap: Canadian VC funds' 10-year returns fell to 8.6%, no VC-backed company has gone public in two years, and fundraising dropped to $1.8 billion across 11 funds.
The report lands as Ottawa decides how to deploy $750 million budgeted for startups, with BDC arguing the money could help fill Canada's shortage of later-stage domestic capital.