CPE News (3.22.2022) – ONE9 Venture Partners has announced the launch of Special Mission Fund I, a specialized venture capital fund focused on national security and critical infrastructure.
Special Mission Fund I, which has an anchor commitment from Kensington Capital Partners of $10 million, has a fundraising target of $50 million.
The new fund will be led by General Partners (GPs) Glenn Cowan, a retired Squadron Commander in Canada’s Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), and Daniel Weinand, co-founder of Shopify.
ONE9 Venture Partners was launched in October 2020 with a focus on establishing itself as the pre-eminent defence, intelligence, and national security-focused investment fund. ONE9 bridges the gap between private capital markets and the world’s most innovative military technologies with substantial civilian uses.
photo credit: ONE9
News Release
Retired JTF2 Officer and Shopify Co-Founder Join Forces to Launch Canada’s First National Security and Critical Infrastructure Venture Fund
Kensington Capital Partners makes anchor commitment of $10 million in Special Mission Fund I
OTTAWA, Ontario – March 22, 2022 – ONE9 Venture Partners today announced the launch of Special Mission Fund I, a specialized venture capital fund focused on national security and critical infrastructure. The new fund, which has an anchor commitment from Kensington Capital Partners of CA$10 million, has a fundraising target of $50 million. The new fund will be led by General Partners Glenn Cowan and Daniel Weinand. Cowan is a retired Squadron Commander in Canada’s Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2) and Weinand is co-founder of Shopify.
Cowan brings to the new fund his special operations experience, classified military and intelligence knowledge, and insights on unique deal flow through his deep connections. Weinand is an experienced operator who co-founded Shopify and helped scale the business during his more than 12 years with the company across roles that included Chief Design & Chief Creative Officer and Chief Culture Officer. With Kensington’s anchor commitment in the new fund and Rick Nathan, Senior Managing Director at Kensington joining the ONE9 Venture Partners advisory board, the firm adds its world-class private equity and venture capital expertise and track record to the mix.
ONE9 Venture Partners was launched in October 2020 with a focus on establishing itself as the pre-eminent defence, intelligence, and national security-focused investment fund. The firm bridges the gap between private capital markets and the world’s most innovative military technologies with substantial civilian uses.
“Since launching ONE9 Venture Partners, I’ve come to the realization that the vision, planning, and dynamic features of special forces operations closely parallel those of venture investing,” said Cowan. “While in the military, I was intrigued by the technology that we used, and the innovations being developed to support national security operations. They were at the cutting edge and showed huge potential for growth. I’m now applying this deep interest in technology related to defence and national security, along with the strategic connections I have through the special forces, to this new venture fund.”
“As innovations in defence and national security are more critical today than ever before, bringing a new and untapped investment vertical to the Canadian market was very appealing,” said Weinand. “As an operator with hands-on experience scaling one of Canada’s most successful technology companies, I have the opportunity to apply key learnings to the investment decisions we make and provide guidance to ONE9 Venture Partners portfolio companies.”
“I’ve been working alongside Glenn on several different investments we have pursued together over the past two years, which led to our collaboration on the development of ONE9 Venture Partners,” said Nathan. “And now, with geo-political tailwinds in the security market, the timing could not be better for the launch of Canada’s first defence and national security focused fund.”
ONE9 Venture Partners has the support of strategic limited partners and an extensive advisory network that includes Peter MacKay, Canada’s former Minister of National Defence.
About ONE9
ONE9 is an ecosystem for national security and critical infrastructure technology innovation and integration. Anchored by ONE9 Venture Partners, Canada’s first security-focused venture capital fund, ONE9 provides unparalleled access to proprietary deal flow through access to the intelligence community, including Five-Eyes defence. Harnessing years of experience at the forefront of military operations, ONE9 has funded leading-edge technologies and worked with industry leaders to develop game-changing innovation while eyeing potential in a broader market sphere. ONE9 pursues its mission with an agile ‘Task Force’ of subject matter experts, providing founders, partners, LPs, and stakeholders the unique knowledge and advisory skills to navigate bringing products to market for defence and security end-users. Additional information is available at ONE9.ca.
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Disclaimer: This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any interests of the fund nor shall there be any sales of interests in the fund in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. No reliance should be placed on the completeness of the information contained in this document. This document is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all matters concerning ONE9 and/or the fund.
This document may contain forward-looking information and statements (collectively, “forward-looking information”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the fund relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based upon a number of assumptions and involves a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond ONE9’s control, which would cause actual results or events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. Although ONE9 believes that expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information since no assurance can be given that such information will prove to be accurate. ONE9 does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws.