Seido Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Seido Capital is a Montreal-based venture firm that backs life sciences and deep tech companies, from pre-seed to IPO. The firm describes its sectors as biotech (therapeutics and platforms), life sciences (medical devices, diagnostics, digital health) and AI applied to healthcare delivery, research and clinical decision-making. The stated mission is to support growth from pre-seed to Series B with strategic expertise. Seido looks for projects with high growth potential, rapid international expansion and a clear mid-term path to exit, and says it thinks about exit potential from the first investment. Co-founder Theo Risopoulos has said Canada excels at research but has struggled with commercialization, and that Seido aims to close that gap.
Origins and Fund History
Seido is the North American successor to the Belgian Theodorus funds, founded in 2003 as a spin-off initiative with the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. The firm raised about $6.8M (Theodorus I, 2003), $8.1M (II, 2006), $30.5M (III, 2012) and $62.5M (IV, 2018, which opened the Montreal office). In 2024 the team rebranded to Seido Capital, moved its headquarters to Montreal and exited Europe. Seido took over the management contract for Theodorus IV in 2025. Its fifth fund (Fund V) reached a first close of nearly $45M in November 2024, with a target of $70M. Limited partners include Fonds de solidarite FTQ and Investissement Quebec, plus Canadian family offices and life sciences entrepreneurs. Fund V commits 80% to Canadian startups and 20% to US startups. The website reports about $150M under management, 3.1x average DPI, 28 successful exits and $4.5B of capital raised and exited by companies it backed.
Stage Focus
Pre-seed, seed and Series A, with follow-on capacity through Series B. Seido is an early institutional investor and runs pre-seed programs with Eureka (Investissement Quebec) and a joint call for biopharma projects with CQDM. It also scouts university research before companies exist. The firm balances dilutive and non-dilutive capital when it structures deals.
Check Size and Lead Tendency
The site does not state a check size. Seido has appeared in a CAD 17M seed round for Reverb Therapeutics led by Amplitude Ventures and in the Series B of Kainova Therapeutics, so it syndicates and participates in larger rounds. Lead tendency is not disclosed; it is treated as unknown.
Recent Activity
- February 2025: participated in Reverb Therapeutics' CAD 17M seed round (Vancouver, antibody platform for cancer), led by Amplitude Ventures.
- February 2026: participated in Kainova Therapeutics' CAD 32M Series B first close (Montreal, immuno-oncology and inflammation).
- 2024 to 2025: pre-seed investments in Ability Biologics (generative AI for conditionally active antibodies) and Antegrade Medical (precision surgical tools for cardiology).
- November 2024: Fund V first close of nearly $45M. Fund status is actively deploying.
Portfolio Highlights
The website lists 23 active companies and 34 exits across all Theodorus and Seido funds, with 58 deals. Its portfolio page is a filtered, paginated list; only the first entries are present in the static page (a-ULaB, Ability Biologics, Acar'Up, Aliwen, Amia Systems, Antegrade Medical). Case studies: CluePoints (seed in 2015, acquired by EQT at a valuation above 500M euros, 33.2x MOIC) and MaSTherCell (cell therapy manufacturing, acquired by Orgenesis in 2015 and later by Catalent, 15.3x MOIC). Third-party sources add Reverb Therapeutics and Kainova Therapeutics. The captioned read of the logo carousel gave no legible names beyond Ability Biologics and Amia Systems.
Team
- Olivier Belenger, Managing Partner (joined 2003), led the Theodorus funds for over two decades.
- Theo Risopoulos, General Partner (joined 2018), Montreal.
- Patricia Escoffier, Principal (2020), biotech.
- Gabrielle Girouard, Investment Analyst (2025).
- Alexy L. Ouellette, Vice President of Finance and Operations (2025).
- Charles Pearson, Capital Formation Analyst (2025). Tracxn also lists Jacques-Martin Philippson (Brussels) as a partner; the firm site does not.
Decision Process
Partnership with an investment committee made up of senior experts in finance, M&A and company building, several of whom have run biopharma or medtech ventures. The committees draw on Polytechnique Montreal and the University of Ottawa. The five-phase process runs project reinforcement, qualification, committee presentation, deal structuring and closing.
Founder Preferences
Scientific founders from universities and research centers, with proprietary technology and a credible route to commercialization and a mid-term exit. Mentorship ties include Next AI, Front Row Ventures and the Creative Destruction Lab; partners include Axelys, MEDTEQ+, CQDM and Eureka.
Geographic Focus
Canada first (80% of Fund V) and the United States (20%). Offices in Montreal and Brussels. The European arm now manages legacy funds only.
Gaps
The homepage and portfolio page could not be fetched through the standard reader (HTTP 422); content came from the captioned portfolio read of the single-page site, plus the Goodmans article, the FTQ press release and Tracxn. Check size, lead tendency and the full portfolio list remain unconfirmed.