Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Revamps Innovation Unit to Purely Focus on Venture and Growth Equity
Posted on 04/19/2022
The Teachers’ Innovation Platform, the venture capital and growth equity arm of the C$ 242 billion Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers’), was rebranded to Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG). The new name will provide a clearer definition of the group’s offering as part of a growth plan that will more than double the size of its portfolio to comprise seven to 10% of Ontario Teachers’ net assets over the next five to ten years, up from approximately 3% today.
Teachers’ Venture Growth has grown significantly since being established in 2019 to focus on late-stage venture and growth equity investments in technology companies. Beginning with an initial investment in SpaceX in June 2019, TVG now holds a C$ 7.1 billion portfolio comprised of 20 direct investments and several partnerships with some venture capitalfunds.
Teachers’ Venture Growth plans to make 12 hires over the next year to support its ambitions to grow its global portfolio of investments across various sectors, including fintech, enterprise software, logistics-tech, and climatech. Teachers’ Venture Growth will also open a new office in San Francisco later this year to add to its existing presence in the local ecosystem and to work closely with TVG’s offices in Toronto, London, and Hong Kong.
TVG’s portfolio includes companies such as Applyboard, Epic Games, ComplyAdvantage, Kry, Tanium, and Pony.ai. Recent investments include leading the £210 million funding round for Lendable, a consumer finance platform, and participating in the US$ 420 million B-1 funding round for FTX Trading Ltd. owner and operator of FTX.COM, a global cryptocurrency exchange.
