About Relay Ventures
Relay Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 1996. It is primarily based out of Toronto, Canada. As of Jan 2026, Relay Ventures has invested in 43 companies. It primarily invests in Seed round in Canada based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to Consumer and FinTech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Mave AI Overall, Relay Ventures portfolio has seen 4 unicorns, 3 IPOs and 6 acquisitions including key companies like Bird, Greenlight and VTS. A lot of funds co-invest with Relay Ventures, with names like Alate Partners sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Relay Ventures has team of 26 people including 6 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 4 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Unicorns
Relay Ventures' List of Top Investments
Relay Ventures has a portfolio of 43 companies, including 4 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Mave AI and 7shifts.Their portfolio spans across Canada, United States and Germany. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, Consumer, FinTech and 19 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 4 more. Here is the list of top investments by Relay Ventures:1. Bird
App-based rental platform providing self-drive electric kick-scooters. Users can locate, and reserve electric kick-scooters through the app. They can unlock vehicles by scanning the QR codes, ride the scooters, and park in legal parking spaces at the end of the ride. The kick-scooters include self-reporting damage sensors, self-sealing tires, dual anti-tipping kickstands, and anti-theft encryption. App is available for both Android and iOS devices.
Key facts about Bird
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Miami (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $100M - $500M as on Dec 31, 2022
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $765M
- Employee Count: 953 as on Aug 31, 2026
- Investors: Glynn Capital, Fidelity Investments and 61 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Aug 04, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. Greenlight
App-based investment platform for kids and teens. The company offers debit cards for kids. It empowers parents to teach trade-off decisions, money management, and the power of saving with an app.
Key facts about Greenlight
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: Atlanta (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $556M
- Employee Count: 689 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Bond Capital, Venture Worx and 36 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Oct 04, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
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3. PadSplit
Provider of managed co-living and shared accommodation. The company leases properties from homeowners and offers them as managed branded accommodations. Some of the amenities provided by the company include furnishings, utilities, laundry, internet access, among others. Property owners who wish to monetize their spaces can submit an online application.
Key facts about PadSplit
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Atlanta (United States)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $35.2M
- Employee Count: 207 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Citi, Impact Engine and 22 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Nov 01, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. VTS
Cloud driven real estate leasing and asset management software that provides brokers, investors, and owners with real time access to activities in their portfolio. Developed to streamline the leasing process, the platform enables tracking and analytics across the live, active deal flow. Users get their portfolio and team onto the dashboard to interact with data, identify trends, highlight opportunities and raise red flags.
Key facts about VTS
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series E
- Total Funding till date: $302M
- Employee Count: 696 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Haymaker Growth, OpenView and 30 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Sep 06, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. 7shifts
Restaurant management platform for scheduling, payroll, and team engagement. It is a SaaS platform designed to streamline restaurant operations, focusing on scheduling, time clocking, tip management, and payroll. The platform offers tools for team engagement, task management, and communication, aiming to reduce turnover and improve employee satisfaction. It provides features for labor compliance, document storage, and performance management. The platform caters to various restaurant types, including quick service, full service, cafes, bars, pizzerias, and franchises. It offers resources like templates, guides, and a podcast to help restaurants run efficiently. The platform provides integrations, labor cost calculators, and ROI calculators. It is a cloud-based solution that helps restaurants manage their teams, optimize labor costs, and improve overall performance.
Key facts about 7shifts
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Regina (Canada)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $128M
- Employee Count: 322 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Napier Park Global Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund and 13 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Dec 01, 2024, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Relay Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Relay Ventures has invested in 43 companies over the last 25 years, with an average of 2 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 3 investments, while as of Jan 2026, it has made 1 investment in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Trusty and most recent follow-on round was in Mave AI.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
2025 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
2024 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
2023 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
2022 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2021 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
2020 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2019 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
2018 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2017 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Relay Ventures' Investments by Stage
Relay Ventures has made 15 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $3.06M, 7 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $7.86M and 2 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $13M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 15 |
Series A | 7 |
Series B | 2 |
PE | 1 |
Post IPO | 1 |
Others | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Relay Ventures' Investments by Sector
Relay Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, Consumer, Vertical SaaS, FinTech and Media & Entertainment. Notably, it has invested in 41 Tech companies, 27 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 26 Software companies and at least 23 companies focusing on Consumer (B2C).Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 13 |
Consumer | 10 |
Vertical SaaS | 5 |
FinTech | 4 |
Media & Entertainment | 4 |
Others | 31 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Relay Ventures' Investments by Geography
Relay Ventures has made most investments in Canada (17), followed by United States where it has made 9 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Canada | 17 |
United States | 9 |
Germany | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Relay Ventures' recent investments
Relay Ventures has made 1 investments in 2026 so far - Mave AI.Here are the most recent investments by Relay Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 20, 2026 | Canada | Seed | 4271 | [+2] | |
Jul 15, 2025 | Canada | Seed | 3434 | [+1] | |
Apr 03, 2025 | United States | Series A | 8202 | [+2] | |
Mar 18, 2025 | Canada | Seed | 1612 | ||
Oct 24, 2024 | Canada | Seed | 1036 | [+3] |
Unicorns in Relay Ventures' Portfolio
Relay Ventures has 4 unicorns in its portfolio - Prove, FlashParking, Greenlight and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Prove. It became a unicorn in 2023, 2 years before Relay Ventures first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Relay Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
64 | Provider of digital identity verification and authentication solutions across various industries | 2008 | New York City | Series F | wilnlsf | ||
65 | SaaS-enabled platform offering parking management systems | 2011 | Austin | Series D | lxqomtt | ||
74 | App-based investment platform for kids and teens | 2014 | Atlanta | Series D | dwvlsdu | ||
72 | Cloud driven real estate leasing and asset management software | 2011 | New York City | Series E | evnfivb |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Relay Ventures' Portfolio
3 of Relay Ventures' portfolio companies have become public. Blue Ant Media got listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), in Mar 2025 and Bird got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).Here are Relay Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar 21, 2025 | - | - | 2492 | |
Nov 05, 2021 | Aug 04, 2021 | Series D | 7736 | |
Jan 27, 2020 | - | - | 9348 |
Acquired companies in Relay Ventures' Portfolio
6 companies from Relay Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Mainstay in Mar 2026 by Lemnis for $*****.Here are Relay Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar 30, 2026 | - | - | 6670 | |
Nov 04, 2025 | Mar 26, 2019 | Seed | 3893 | |
Nov 06, 2023 | - | - | 5333 | |
Aug 05, 2021 | May 06, 2013 | Post IPO | 5066 | |
Mar 03, 2020 | Sep 11, 2006 | Series B | 3071 |
Team profile of Relay Ventures
Relay Ventures has a team of 26 members including 6 Partners and 1 Principal located in Canada and United States. Relay Ventures' team sits on the board of 3 companies.Here is a list of top team members in Relay Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Ottawa | - | ||
Partner | United States | |||
Partner | Toronto | |||
Partner | Calgary | |||
Partner | Canada | - | ||
Partner | Toronto | - | - | |
Principal | Toronto | - |
Co-investors of Relay Ventures
Over the past 25 years, 211 investors have co-invested in Relay Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Relay Ventures: Upfront Ventures, Relay Ventures and 36 others have invested in rounds before Relay Ventures. There are 2 companies where Upfront Ventures has invested before Relay Ventures and 2 companies where Relay Ventures has invested before Relay Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of Relay Ventures: 79 investors entered a company along with Relay Ventures. These include investors like Alate Partners (3 companies).
- Invested after Relay Ventures: A total of 94 investors have invested in Relay Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include LionTree (2 companies), Relay Ventures (2 companies) and Ten Coves Capital (2 companies).
Recent News related to Relay Ventures
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Following Rapid Growth, Mave Raises $5M to Become the Trusted AI Partner for the Real Estate IndustryBusiness Wire•Jan 20, 2026•Mave AI, Staircase Ventures, Relay Ventures, N49P and 1 other
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Trusty Secures $1M to Revolutionize Estate Planning Through AIFintech.ca•Jul 15, 2025•Graphite Ventures, Relay Ventures, Mistral, Trusty
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Toronto’s Doormat Rebrands as Ownright, Raises $4.5M to Expand Digital Real Estate Law ServicesFintech.ca•Mar 18, 2025•Doormat, Relay Ventures, Ownright
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Toronto’s Mave Raises $2 Million to Revolutionize Real Estate with AI AssistantFintech.ca•Oct 25, 2024•Mave AI, Relay Ventures, N49P, Alate Partners and 2 others
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The Curling Group Raises $5 million in Seed Funding to Expand the SportSGB Media•Sep 26, 2024•The Curling Group, Relay Ventures
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The Curling Group Secures US$5 Million in Seed Funding to Grow the Sport of Curling; Announces Board of DirectorsPR Newswire•Sep 26, 2024•Thegrandslamofcurling, Relay Ventures
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Construction Automation Company Raises $15MIoT World Today•Sep 10, 2024•Promise Robotics, Horizons Ventures, Radical Ventures, PSP Investments and 3 others
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The Logic closes C$4 million funding round led by FT VenturesEditor and Publisher•Jun 04, 2024•The Logic, Financial Times, Roynat Capital, Relay Ventures
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Eirene Expands into U.S. Market with $4.1M Seed Funding RoundSilicon Valley Journals•Apr 03, 2024•Eirene, Relay Ventures, Export Development Canada, St. Elizabeth Healthcare
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Relay Ventures to invest in Future Sport Lab startupsSports Business Journal•Feb 29, 2024•Relay Ventures, Futuresportlab
