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Key people at Innovobot Resonance Ventures.
Innovobot Resonance Ventures is a Montréal, Québec, Canada-based seed-stage venture capital fund investing in deep tech startups focused on environmental and social impact, encompassing areas like AI, human-machine interfaces, IoT, and complex transformational solutions. The firm's inaugural fund recently announced a first close of CAN$14 million towards a CAN$40 million target, attracting commitments from investors including Lorne Trottier Holding Company, Jean-Michel Lemieux (ex-Shopify CTO), and Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf (Flinks CEO). Its portfolio features companies such as Heyday, later acquired by Hootsuite, and Oneka Technologies, which develops wave-powered desalination solutions. Innovobot, the parent investment and innovation platform, supports the scaling of pioneering technologies for human well-being and sustainability. Managing Partner Zoya Shchupak oversees the fund, which operates under Innovobot, founded in 2018 by tech entrepreneurs Mario Venditti and Danny Grant.
Key people at Innovobot Resonance Ventures.
Innovobot Resonance Ventures (IRV) is a woman-led, seed-stage venture capital fund based in Montreal, Quebec, focused on "Tech for Good" investments in Canadian and global deep tech startups.[1][2][3][4] As part of the broader Innovobot investment and innovation platform, IRV's mission is to back entrepreneurs building pioneering technologies that benefit humanity, particularly in complex, transformational areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Human-Machine Interface (HMI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, advanced materials, cleantech, quantum computing, energy, and manufacturing.[1][3][5][6] The fund's philosophy emphasizes active partnership beyond capital, providing strategic and operational support—such as product roadmaps and scaling expertise—to help founders commercialize disruptive innovations with positive social and environmental impact.[1][5]
IRV manages the Deep Tech for Good Fund, which closed at $10.34 million on December 13, 2022, and was relaunched in 2025 with a focus on early-stage deep tech solving complex global challenges.[2][3][7] Its influence in the startup ecosystem is evident through portfolio exits (e.g., an AI-driven customer messaging platform acquired by Hootsuite) and support for high-impact companies in carbon removal, robotics, and health tech, fostering innovation in underrepresented deep tech segments.[1][3]
Innovobot Resonance Ventures operates under the Innovobot umbrella, an investment platform founded on the idea of fostering innovation to tackle social, industrial, and environmental challenges through open collaboration and operational involvement.[5] The IRV fund itself launched with the Deep Tech for Good Fund closing on December 13, 2022, at $10.34 million, targeting seed-stage Canadian deep tech.[2] It was formally relaunched on April 16, 2025 (noted in event coverage), expanding to early-stage investments across Canada and globally, with heightened excitement for robotics, HMI, IoT, AI, and advanced materials.[3]
A pivotal moment came with the appointment of Neha Khera as managing partner, bringing over a decade of venture capital experience, including a 20x personal return, involvement in two unicorns, and leadership in Canadian and US funds.[3] This leadership shift underscored IRV's evolution toward bolder deep tech bets, highlighted during a 2025 relaunch event featuring portfolio demos like Independent Robotics (autonomous vehicles), CarbiCrete (carbon-negative concrete), and AVAtalk (avatar therapy for mental health).[3] Rooted in Innovobot's Labs for HMI, robotics, AI, IoT, and advanced materials, IRV builds on proven exits and operational expertise to humanize deep tech scaling.[1][5]
IRV rides the deep tech resurgence, capitalizing on AI's exploding demands (e.g., video processing infrastructure via Versos AI) amid global pushes for cleantech, quantum, and HMI to address climate, health, and accessibility challenges.[3][6][7] Timing aligns with Canada's deep tech ecosystem growth, post-2022 fund close and 2025 relaunch, as market forces like carbon regulations and AI scalability favor disruptive startups in robotics, IoT, and advanced materials.[1][2][3] By providing operational heft where capital alone falls short, IRV influences the ecosystem through exits, portfolio showcases, and woman-led investments that amplify underrepresented founders, bridging lab innovations to commercial impact in a capital-scarce early-stage landscape.[1][5]
IRV is poised to double down on AI-hungry deep tech like video infrastructure and climate solutions, with Neha Khera's track record signaling more high-return exits amid rising global deep tech funding.[3][7] Trends like AI scalability, cleantech mandates, and HMI for disabilities will shape its path, potentially evolving its influence through larger funds or international expansions while staying true to active, impact-driven partnerships.[1][3][6] As deep tech matures, IRV's operational edge positions it to catalyze the next wave of category-defining companies, echoing its Hootsuite success and reinforcing Innovobot's mission to innovate for humanity's benefit.[1][5]
