Allied Venture Partners

Hello Partners,

As a current or prospective partner, this newsletter provides exclusive insights into our investment strategy, portfolio companies, and industry trends.

Thank you for your continued trust and support,

Matt Wilson

Founder & Managing Director | Allied Venture Partners

Not an LP? Click here to join the Allied Venture Partners syndicate.

Team Updates

• Our core team includes Steve, Melinda, Brendan, and Leia.

• The Allied Scout and Advisory programs continue to expand with several new members each week, providing quality, diversified deal flow from across Canada and the United States.

• If you know a great startup that we should meet, please introduce us!

New Deals

• We currently have two follow-on investment opportunities open to syndicate members: one Seed and one Series A. If you’re not already a syndicate member, join now to get the invites.

• We have several more exciting deals in our pipeline that I look forward to sharing with you in 2026.

• New LPs can join the Allied syndicate for free and gain access to our dealflow here.

Portfolio News

• Congratulations to Cristina and the Ediphi team on winning the Filipinnovation Awards National Finals.

• RetinaLogik is quickly becoming one of Canada's fastest-growing startups, expanding nationwide and internationally to the UK. Check out their fantastic new promo video with UCeed Investment Funds.

• Shoutout to our many friends and partners recently named to Entrepreneur’s 52 Emerging Investors list. We’ve collaborated and co-invested with 19 of the 52.

• Thanks to everyone who joined our Blended Blue Tequila Tasting event in Boston. This delicious blended tequila is coming soon to a store near you.

• Innerlogic CEO, Bryce Tully, was invited to moderate a panel discussion at this year’s HR Leaders Summit in Toronto. Well done Bryce!

• I had a great time attending the inaugural Future Summit in Calgary—a big thanks to Josh and the team for the invitation and for hosting such a world-class event. I look forward to Future Summit 2026.

Industry Insights

For a complete recap of the year, I’ve published my Annual Investor Letter.

As for this month’s Industry Insights, I recently shared the following 2025 LP data in a LinkedIn post and thought I’d include it here as well:

At Allied, we track dozens of data points across thousands of LPs and funding rounds. The 2025 picture looks dramatically different from 2024:

📈 New LPs entering VC: +54% YoY

📉 LP participation rate per deal: -50%

💰 Average check size: +22%

⏱️ Days to close a seed round: flat at ~80 days

What’s really happening:

The tourist capital has left the building. What remains is a more sophisticated investor base—including many newcomers who are being selective from day one.

LPs aren’t spreading capital thin anymore. They’re concentrating firepower around syndicates and lead investors they trust, writing 22% larger checks when they find conviction. This is portfolio concentration in real-time.

The paradox?

Despite 50% fewer investors per deal, rounds still take ~80 days to close. This suggests founders are being equally selective—taking time to build the right cap table, not just any cap table.

The bifurcation:

Companies that attract capital are getting meaningfully more of it. Companies that don’t are facing a harder path. The middle ground is disappearing.

What this means for founders:

• Quality over quantity: a smaller group of committed, check-writing investors beats a large group of tire-kickers

• Brand matters: LPs are consolidating around trusted names and proven syndicates

• Geography is a feature: Cross-border syndicates (like Allied’s Canada/USA coverage) offer diversification in a single relationship

• Prepare for depth: investors are doing more diligence, even if there are fewer of them

The venture ecosystem is maturing. Smart money is doubling down. And the bar for “exceptional” has never been higher.

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Happy Holidays. See you in January – Matt

As a reminder, our Core Investment Values since Day 1:

Read our investment thesis one-pager, available here.

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Disclaimer: The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Individuals should consult their own professional advisors before making any investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.