February 14, 2022
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Just 9 months after having raised CDN$25 million in their last round of funding, Saskatoon-based tech company 7shifts has recently secured over CDN$100 million in Series C financing from a number of institutional investors and venture capital firms. The Series C funding comes on the heels of a period of strong growth for the young company that offers a platform of software solutions to the restaurant industry. The company’s offerings include everything from hiring tools, onboarding management, employee training, and shift scheduling. With a simple overarching goal to use technology to simplify restaurant management, the company has managed to capture the attention of restauranteurs and investors alike. The funding, which was led by Softbank Vision, Ten Coves Capital and Enlightened Hospitality investments, will be used to further develop 7shifts software platform and bring on new personnel to the company.
Over the past year, the company claims that it has added over 10,000 restaurants to their platform leading to a doubling in revenue. The company’s strong growth in 2021 comes after they faced strong headwinds in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic where restaurants across the country were forced to close as a result of lockdowns and other public health measures. While almost a third of the workforce was furloughed in the mid-2020, the company is now looking to add about 130 employees to its current 230 person workforce over the next year.
7shifts’ recent Series C financing is the latest in a string of high profile financings that have taken place in the booming Canadian tech industry. Data from Silicon Valley Bank shows that Canada’s tech sector saw a record of more than CDN$16 billion in funding raised over the course of 2021 – more than doubling the previous record of CDN$8 billion raised in 2019. While the flow of funds was slow in 2020, 2021 saw big money being invested in the Canadian tech space. In keeping with the latest round of funding secured by 7shifts, 44 other companies in Canada have secured investments of CDN$100 million or more over the past year.
By: Aryan Pour-Bahreini
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