TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) today announced the launch of a national roundtable focused on closing Canada’s early-stage capital gaps and mobilizing private investment at scale to strengthen Canada’s innovation-driven growth. The online roundtable takes place at 11:00 AM ET on Thursday, February 19, with registration now open at vision.nacocanada.com.
The roundtable builds on an intensive nine-month, industry-led consultation process with over 250 senior leaders across Canada’s innovation economy and follows the federal government’s $750 million commitment in Budget 2025 to support Canadian firms facing early growth-stage funding gaps. Early-stage capital—the pre-seed and seed funding that determines whether promising Canadian companies can move from concept to commercialization and scale domestically—will be a central topic of discussion.
“This $750 million announcement is a timely and strategic investment in Canada’s angel infrastructure,” said Claudio Rojas, NACO’s CEO. “It recognizes that when we support the networks and investors behind early-stage companies, we strengthen the entire innovation economy and create the conditions for Canadian companies to scale globally from Canada.”
Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization in roundtable consultation with investors from across Canada
Addressing Critical Gaps in Canada’s Innovation Economy
The roundtable will examine:
- Funding gaps hindering the formation of high-growth companies in Canada, including findings from a forthcoming evidence-based report by Startup Genome on gaps at the seed and pre-seed stages in Canada.
- The phenomenon of founders leaving Canada, with only 32% of Canadian-founded startups now being started from Canada, while the U.S. produces 45x more high-potential startups than Canada according to a recent study by Leaders Fund.
- How early-stage capital determines hyperscale outcomes, including a newly released editorial by NACO that investigates how early-stage capital and networks determine whether countries are able to produce global technology champions consistently and at scale.
The roundtable will be a forum for broader engagement on how Canada can mobilize private capital at scale across the national ecosystem, building more innovative companies that commercialize their technologies and scale globally from local communities across the country.
“We need to ensure early-stage capital reaches founders where they are,” said Mary Long-Irwin, NACO Board Chair. “A founder in Atlantic Canada, rural Alberta, or Northern Ontario shouldn’t need to relocate to access early-stage funding. When an increasing number of Canadian-founded startups are being established outside of Canada, it tells us our domestic capital infrastructure isn’t reaching founders where they are. We need to build robust capital and networks nationally, or we will continue losing founders to jurisdictions with more vibrant sources of risk capital.”
NACO Roundtable with Investors from Across Canada
From Research to Action
Building on NACO’s previous roundtable series, which convened more than 12,500 participants across Canada’s innovation economy, this roundtable will bring together industry leaders for shared insights across the funding landscape, from first-cheque to Series A and beyond. The sessions are designed to move from analysis to actionable solutions, translating industry insights into concrete strategies for mobilizing private capital at scale, strengthening Canada’s domestic capital formation, and anchoring high-growth firms in Canada.
The federal government has committed to announcing details on its early growth-stage capital strategy in 2026. This roundtable is an opportunity for stakeholders across Canada’s innovation economy to inform the policy framework that will shape how that investment is deployed.
Industry stakeholders are invited to register for the online February 19 roundtable at vision.nacocanada.com.
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.
To schedule an interview, interested media can contact:
Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization
Email: [email protected]
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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