Our objective for this report on the Class of 2008 was to analyze the ten-year trajectory of tech companies launched in 2008 in select jurisdictions around the world.   Our current findings build on several other studies we conducted in the past and provide further insight into the challenges faced in the development of Canadian firms.

We looked at 2,429 companies created in 2008 in Canada, the US, France, Germany, and the UK; 983 were recorded by Crunchbase as having obtained capital of over $100,000 to fuel their growth. We looked at this subset in more detail.

Based on our analysis of the Class of 2008, we found the following:

  • The average funding received by Canadian companies in the last ten years is in second place behind the US ($25.2M),
  • Canada is strongest in funding Technology companies including software, hardware and mobile, but is lagging the US in the number of healthcare companies created and our average funding per healthcare company is weak.
  • Our companies go through fewer rounds of financing.
  • Our average time to first funding is longer than that in the US.

Our analysis of companies that are still active (i.e. those that have not recorded an exit) offered insight into how these firms have driven employment over the last ten years:

In terms of those that successfully exited, our companies have raised significantly less money before they exit. And when they IPO, they end up with significantly lower revenue and a much lower valuation.

What does this mean for the Canadian tech space? If we want to create more world-class companies, we will need to ensure that our tech companies get funding sooner and in larger amounts to be able to drive growth.

Read the full report on the Class of 2008 here.