Angel Investment Rebounds 27% But Canada Needs Stronger Capital Strategy to Keep Innovation at Home

TORONTO, Oct. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) today released its 2025 Annual Report on Angel Investing in Canada, revealing that overall angel investment increased 27.2% to $146.2 million in 2024—a significant rebound that signals renewed confidence but underscores the need for stronger domestic capital infrastructure.

NACO Members, Partners and Champions at NACO Reception

Among angel organizations that reported in both 2023 and 2024, total investment rose 13.9% from $112.4 million to $128.0 million, with the number of investments increasing 7.3%. The larger overall growth reflects both increased activity among existing angels and expanded participation across Canada's angel ecosystem.

This 160+ page report, authored by Colin Mason, Emeritus Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Glasgow, provides rigorous analysis of angel investment trends with policy recommendations based on international best practices.

Comparable data reveals a notable shift in investment patterns. Median investment size grew by 50 per cent, while mean investment size rose by 14 per cent, indicating that investors are backing promising founders with meaningfully larger cheques—a sign that angels are willing to take larger bets on ventures they believe can scale.

Yet the data also highlight that Canada's innovation economy remains fragile. The rebound in angel activity is encouraging, but early-stage capital continues to contract while founders increasingly turn to foreign investors—and without a coordinated national capital strategy, many of Canada's most promising ventures could struggle to scale domestically.

“Behind every data point in this report is a founder working tirelessly to build something extraordinary — often against the odds,” said Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization. “Their determination is the foundation of Canada’s innovation economy. Our collective responsibility is to match that ambition with the risk capital needed to turn it into lasting national advantage.”

Moonshots Top 20 Ventures™: Meet Canada’s Next Generation of Builders

Featured throughout this year’s report are NACO’s Top 20 Moonshot Ventures™ of 2025, exceptional Canadian founders who are redefining what’s possible across frontier sectors—from artificial intelligence and cleantech to defence, dual-use technologies, and digital health.

Together, these high-growth ventures have raised more than $190 million, demonstrating the depth of entrepreneurial talent emerging from every region of the country. The Moonshot founders embody Canada’s capacity for world-class innovation and signal what can be achieved when ambition and ingenuity are matched by networks of mentorship and early-stage support.

“Fostering the growth of early-stage Canadian ventures is essential to building the strongest economy in the G7. Now is the time to unlock risk capital and fuel the innovators whose ideas will strengthen Canada’s digital sovereignty and long-term competitiveness. I congratulate the Top 20 NACO Moonshot Ventures of 2025 for their determination to boost our nation’s wealth and productivity in key economic sectors like AI and cleantech.”

— The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

NACO Report Cover with Top 20 Moonshots Ventures

Key Findings from the 2025 Annual Report

Overall investment increased 27.2% to $146.2 million in 2024. Among angel organizations that reported in both 2023 and 2024:

Total investment rose from $112.4 million to $128.0 million (+13.9%)
Investments made increased from 467 to 501 (+7.3%)
Median investment per company climbed from $83,635 to $129,520 (+50%)
Mean investment per company rose from $276,172 to $315,322 (+14.2%)

These figures confirm a slow but steady rebound after the post-pandemic contraction. Still, the total volume of angel investment remains below 2021 levels and well short of the capital required to retain and scale Canada's most promising ventures domestically.

“Canada's founders continue to prove that talent and ambition are not in short supply—but ambition alone cannot sustain a competitive innovation economy,” said Mary Long-Irwin, Board Chair at NACO. “To keep that ingenuity rooted at home, we must strengthen the infrastructure that enables it: the angel networks, pre-seed funds, and ecosystem partners that provide mentorship and capital to help ventures scale.”

About NACO

Founded in 2002, the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) represents more than 4,000 angel investors and over 100 member organizations across Canada. Collectively, NACO members have invested more than $1.8 billion in over 2,000 Canadian ventures—fueling innovation, job creation, and economic resilience nationwide.

The full 2025 Annual Report on Angel Investing in Canada, featuring profiles of the Top 20 Moonshot Ventures™, is available at www.nacocanada.com

To schedule an interview, interested media can contact:
Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization
Email: media@nacocanada.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/79dda751-d3da-4c9e-beed-f5c2ac78d557
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NACO Members, Partners and Champions at NACO Reception

NACO Report Cover with Top 20 Moonshots Ventures

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