CPE News (11.16.2023) – Deep Sky has announced the closing of $75 million Series A funding, including conversion of $17.7 million seed note and $57.5 million in new capital co-led by Brightspark Ventures and Whitecap Venture Partners, with participation from Investissement Québec ($25 million), OMERS Ventures, and BDC Capital Climate Tech Fund.
Alongside the investment, Deep Sky adds independent directors Annesley Wallace and Sam Duboc who will join Sophie Forest, Partner of Brightspark Ventures, Bicha Ngo, EVP of Investissement Québec, and Shawn Chance, Partner of OMERS Ventures, Fred Lalonde (Chair) and Dakota Smith, President of Hopper.
Montreal based Deep Sky is building the world’s first gigaton-scale carbon removal company, aiming to remove billions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere and permanently store it underground.
New capital will be used to begin planning and construction of its first commercial facility; grow the team; build corresponding carbon removal software for selling carbon credits; and fund its Alpha research facility, the world’s first carbon removal research centre.
photo credit: Deep Sky
News Release
Canada’s Gigaton-Scale Carbon Removal Project Developer, Deep Sky, Raises C$75M Series A Funding
Alongside the investment, company adds Annesley Wallace and Sam Duboc as Independent Board Directors
MONTRÉAL, Nov. 16, 2023 /CNW/ — Deep Sky, a Montreal-based carbon removal project developer, today announced it has raised a total of $75M CAD in its Series A funding to support gigaton-scale carbon removal in Canada. The round includes conversion of its $17.7M seed note and $57.5M in new capital co-led by Brightspark Ventures and Whitecap Venture Partners, with major participation from Investissement Québec ($25M), as a mandate of the government of Quebec, OMERS Ventures, and Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)’s Climate Tech Fund. The fresh capital will be used to begin planning and construction of its first commercial facility; grow the team; build corresponding carbon removal software for selling carbon credits; and fund its Alpha research facility, the world’s first carbon removal research center.
Alongside the fresh capital, Deep Sky has added two prominent independent board members, Annesley Wallace and Sam Duboc. Annesley Wallace is an Executive Vice President (EVP) at TC Energy, where she oversees the organization’s power generation and unregulated natural gas storage businesses, as well as corporate strategy, corporate development and capital allocation. Previously, Annesley served as EVP and Global Head of Infrastructure at OMERS, overseeing a global team and portfolio of approximately C$34 billion in assets across sectors including energy, digital, transportation and government-regulated services. Before that, Annesley was Vice President, Operations at SNC-Lavalin, focused on its energy and infrastructure business.
Sam Duboc is President and CEO of Elkland Capital Inc., a family-owned investment firm with a portfolio covering health services, clean energy, marketing services and technology. Mr. Duboc is a former Chair & CEO of MindBeacon, a group of behavioral health companies. And as a co-founder and CEO, Sam successfully built EdgeStone Capital Partners, one of Canada’s leading private equity firms which has managed in excess of $2 billion. Previously, he was a managing director at CIBC Capital Partners and co-founder of the Loyalty Group Inc. (now called LoyaltyOne), the parent company of the AIR MILES Reward Program. Mr. Duboc has also served on the boards of numerous companies including as chair of Business Development Bank of Canada (Chair, 2014-2018), Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. and Stephenson’s Rental Services Inc., MindBeacon Holdings Inc. (Chair, 2016-2022) and Avante Logixx Inc. (Chair, 2019-2022).
“Never before have I seen an industry in its infancy with so many tailwinds, capital infusions, and Fortune 500 and government buy-in,” said Damien Steel, Deep Sky CEO. “Our capital raise is about advancing the multi-trillion-dollar carbon removal industry and providing a platform everyone can benefit from. We’re committed to making Canada the carbon removal capital of the world and offering the highest quality carbon emission offsets.”
“Deep Sky is attacking the massive challenge of scaling carbon removal to a level that can make an immediate impact,” said Sophie Forest, Brightspark Ventures Partner. “We have full confidence in their team’s ability to scale a successful company that helps tackle a long overdue climate crisis. Our support extends not only to the initiative but to a repeat founder with whom we have built a strong foundation of trust and success for over 17 years – Frederic Lalonde.”
“At Whitecap, we invest in fast-growing startups led by exceptional founders with tremendous potential,” said Shayn Diamond, Partner at Whitecap Venture Partners. “In searching for Canada’s next big bet and upon learning about Deep Sky, it became clear that this is a team and a technology worth supporting. Climate change is the biggest challenge of our lifetime, and we need to back founders tackling the problem head-on.”
Deep Sky is the world’s first carbon removal project developer deploying the best carbon capture technology from around the world under one roof. Tech agnostic, Deep Sky brings together the most promising direct air and ocean capture technologies from around the world. Powered by renewable energy, Deep Sky’s facilities are strategically located in Quebec, a region with an abundance of hydroelectric power, immense wind power potential and a vast territory with the rich geological makeup required for carbon capture.
About Deep Sky:
Montreal-based Deep Sky is building the world’s first gigaton-scale carbon removal company, aiming to remove billions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere and permanently store it underground. Deep Sky brings together the most promising direct air and ocean carbon capture companies under one roof to bring the largest supply of high quality carbon credits to the market and commercialize carbon removal and storage solutions like never before. For more information, visit: www.deepskyclimate.com.
SOURCE Deep Sky
For further information: Brooks Wallace, Deep Sky, brooks@deepskyclimate.com