Salus Ventures

At Menlo Ventures, we go ALL IN. This isn’t just a motto, but how we show up everyday for the companies we back, the investors who back us, and each other. When we win, we win as a team. 47 Years 80+ Public Companies 165 + Mergers + Aquisitions $5B+ Under Management We focus on the "three stages of early" We are investors and company builders - we know what it takes to turn a budding idea into a scalable business. We work with early-stage founders to find product-market fit, develop go-to-market strategies, scale their organizations, and support them as they grow. Inception: Our Menlo Labs team helps founders validate early-stage ideas, de-risk opportunities, and build successful foundations. Venture: Our venture team provides series A and B startups with guidance and hands-on help as they build their teams and products. Inflection: Our inflection team supports early growth-stage startups during critical points as they prepare to scale. Our focus areas At every stage from inception through IPO, we invest in game-changing ideas that reinvent life and work. Although we remain open to new ventures within consumer, enterprise, and healthcare, we go deep in the following seven focus areas: AI: Generative AI is breaking into every software vertical, and winners in these markets will create massive economic and societal value. Menlo Ventures is placing bets on the most promising GenAI companies at the infrastructure and application layers, where we see immense potential for groundbreaking businesses that will reshape industries and push the boundaries of what we can achieve. Bio + Healthcare: Innovations at the intersection of advancements in technology and biology will drive major improvements in the quality of our health and the cost of healthcare. At Menlo, we invest at that intersection - backing breakthrough digital health companies (vertical SaaS and digital care) and novel life sciences companies (therapeutic platforms and transformative technologies). Consumer: The world we live in today is enhanced by technologies we might not have thought possible even 10 years ago. There is so much still to come. At Menlo, we invest in the game-changing companies of the future, those that will help us do things better, faster, or cheaper than we can today. Cloud Infrastructure: As enterprises continue migrating to the public cloud, a new generation of companies will write the playbook for the underlying infrastructure that powers their applications. These tools and platforms are built for and cater to the developer, optimized for time-to-integration with beautiful, easy-to-use UIs and APIs. Cybersecurity: In a complex, post-pandemic world, rapid cloud adoption and the proliferation of open-source software have dramatically expanded the attack surface for bad actors against enterprises, governments, and their applications. Additionally, the shift-left approach to software development requires developers to embrace a security-first mindset. As the cyber war continues, Menlo will back the best teams fighting on the frontlines. Fintech: Financial transactions and services power the global economy. Menlo invests in four fintech categories: dev-focused infrastructure and embedded finance (API layers), vertical banking, end-to-end financial services for consumers and SMBs, and tools that serve finance teams and the office of the CFO. SaaS: The shift to the cloud introduced an entirely new business model–Software-as-a-Service–and created unprecedented opportunities for enterprise software companies. Menlo divides the SaaS landscape into three categories, each with a distinct point of view that guides our investment, research, and resources: Departmental SaaS, Vertical SaaS, and Horizontal SaaS. Supply Chain + Automation: This once-in-a-generation reinvention/reinvigoration of the supply chain will create a world that is more efficient, resilient, and sustainable because of the operational efficiencies we gain. With an eye on a more functional future, Menlo invests in a broad range of technologies–robotics and industrial automation among them.

Cybernetix Ventures is a venture capital firm leading the way for investment into early-stage robotics, automation, and AI startups. Headquartered in Boston, the world’s epicenter for robotics innovation, Cybernetix connects its portfolio to the national and global robotics ecosystems, bringing unparalleled expertise to companies poised to make major impacts in sectors including advanced manufacturing, logistics/warehousing, architecture, engineering and construction and healthcare/medical devices. The fund will also invest in key robotics-enabling software companies in AI/machine learning, cloud robotics, cybersecurity, autonomy, and sensors/edge computing.

It invests in small, growing companies and the ideas that will transform aerospace and defense. An investment from RTX Ventures carries benefits beyond an infusion of funding. It enables our partner companies to use our resources and mentorship to accelerate their growth and fuel innovation. Partnership benefitsAccess to our global network of more than 58,000 engineers Strategic funding to accelerate technology development Connectivity to 10 enterprise-wide capability development centers Fortune 50 business leaders ready to provide advice and mentorship RTX Ventures focus areas RTX Ventures is interested in technologies that can have an impact across the entire RTX portfolio. Some of these interests include: Secure and connected ecosystem: Connecting millions of nodes and networks across aviation as well as the domains of defense for seamless data-sharing and reliable operation amid dynamic cyber threats. Power and propulsion: Driving the next generation of propulsion through systems including scramjets and hybrid electric engines and motors – and solving the hardest challenges in heat management and materials science. Autonomy and artificial intelligence: Developing systems that interpret large data sets, respond autonomously and help human operators make critical decisions quickly. Precision sensing and effects: Building systems that provide greater visibility into operating environments and offer a variety of options to respond.

With an inherent aim of generating mission outcomes, we back founders who are innovating at the center of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), cybersecurity, and core areas to advance Joint All-Domain Command and Control technologies. Our focus is on early-stage companies (Seed, Series A, and Series B) where we can provide technical and strategic support, client and contract access, and where there is potential to build joint intellectual property as part of a far-reaching collaboration with our engineering and client teams. Spotlight Investments To date, we have invested in technology startups that dramatically streamline and transform how federal agencies carry out critical processes which are central to their missions. To increase speed to deployment, and eliminate traditional barriers to moving research and development out of the lab and into the field, our team connects startups with Booz Allen's developers, skilled in delivering innovation for mission impact. Explore some of the organizations we partner with today. Latent AI: Latent AI’s tinyML technologies will help reliably use ML at the edge - increasing the operating speed of complex algorithms in low-compute, low-power environments. This innovation enables our clients to gain decision advantage with small form-factor devices such as Android Tactical Assault Kits (ATAK). Latent AI’s developer tools allow for ML to be deployed to processors as small as microcontrollers. Synthetaic: Synthetaic’s advanced technologies dramatically streamline the process of labeling geospatial, video, image, and other types of data through its proprietary Rapid Automatic Image Categorization (RAIC) platform. By eliminating cumbersome manual tasks, the platform enables engineers to deploy object detection algorithms for rare objects in minutes through the use of generative AI and unsupervised learning in a seamless AI pipeline. Reveal Technology: Reveal Technology’s Farsight software facilitates data streaming from drones to ATAK devices. Users can rapidly process data at the edge and create detailed two-dimensional and three-dimensional (3D) maps that depict terrain, roads, and structures. By turning full-motion video into shared 3D mapping with layered analytics, Reveal Technology’s capabilities dramatically increase insight per megabyte to improve situational awareness on the mission front lines. Hidden Level: Hidden Level’s passive sensing technology of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for high-interference environments, supports global defense missions that operate in information-driven conflict spaces across warfighting domains and at the tactical edge. This passive aerial monitoring technology delivers real-time airspace visibility, detects silent airborne threats, and informs critical countermeasure opportunities.

Friends & Family Capital is a venture capital firm that backs entrepreneurs that transform big markets. The firm’s founding partners helped scale Palantir to $20 Billion (CFO from 2011 to 2017) and jointly backed over 20 Unicorn startups. Friends & Family Capital invests in business models that produce long-term and defensible compounding growth and cash flow. Core investments include Airtable, Anduril, Facebook, Figure, Flexport, Gusto, Mosaic, Palantir, Robinhood, SpaceX, and Verkada.

In the past 15 years, Canada’s innovation ecosystem has taken off. Startups, accelerators, incubators, investors, and forward-thinking policies have created a true hotbed of entrepreneurship. Bold ideas are flourishing, transformative ventures are thriving, and Canadian technology is reshaping industries, driving growth at home and societal impact worldwide. We could look back and self-applause our progress, but let’s be radically transparent: major challenges remain and there is still a lot left to be done. A majority of our technology companies are not achieving the global scale they legitimately could attain. They do not achieve their full potential; frequently selling prematurely instead of being the market consolidator and building for the long term. ​ A central cause of this problem is the lack of early-stage venture leadership and risk-taking at the true “inflection point” - when startups have early revenue, signs of product-market fit, and are ready to scale. Canada has no shortage of funds willing to follow on, but far too few are prepared to lead Seed and Series A rounds: to structure financings, set valuations, negotiate terms, and define the conditions for success. The “Death Valley” is real. Canadian venture capital lacks leadership, and needs to contribute more expertise. The “Death Valley” is the critical scaling stage that most companies fail to overcome. It happens as a company attempts to bridge the gap between early commercial success and achieving significant revenue scale. In 2024, roughly six in ten Canadian seed rounds included foreign investors, a dynamic that intensifies by Series A and beyond. Half of that was led by US Too often, the most promising Canadian startups saw their early rounds led by U.S. VCs. While we welcome foreign investors, global connections strengthen our ecosystem, Canada simply lacks enough lead investors to keep ownership at home. For early-stage and scale-up companies, the shortage of funding alternatives is a major barrier. Many of our best founders head south in search of stronger capital partners. The gap is readily filled by international investors, and who can blame them? Canadian founders are known to outperform and to be more capital efficient than their U.S. peers. The best founders will always attract global capital and seek out the strongest partners. But this comes at a cost. Every time leadership is ceded abroad, Canada loses ownership of its most successful businesses. An ecosystem of “follower investors” produces an economy of subsidiaries, when what we need are global leaders. The problem is twofold: not enough Canadian capital to lead at the inflection point, and not enough seasoned expertise to scale our champions. If you believe, as we do, that local technology champions will be the cornerstone of our future economic prosperity, then our ecosystem must level up. We need more early-stage capital that doesn’t just follow, but leads. Equity financing must evolve to deliver not only dollars, but expertise, resources, and technology to nurture local champions. Understandably so, when they lead funding rounds, most Canadian VC firms will either focus on the pre-seed stage, where the power-law is magnified and placing many small bets is more important than bringing expertise, or the growth stages (Series B+) where significant risk is already behind and larger checks drive the outcomes. A paradigm shift is required. New organizations must emerge that add real value and aren’t afraid to take the lead at the Seed stage. This is why we are launching Amiral Ventures. Amiral Ventures is a new venture capital firm on a mission to empower Canada’s most ambitious founders with dynamic capital and scaling expertise, building the next generation of technology flagships with lasting societal impact. Vaisseau Amiral (French for Flagship): A ship or building that is recognized for its size and strength, making it the pride of a fleet or an organization As entrepreneurs ourselves, we have utmost respect for the founder journey. We don’t just invest, we aim to deserve the right to partner with them along the way. Amiral creates the ecosystem where visionary founders thrive, with capital, expertise, global networks, and technology to fuel their growth. We’ve built scale-ups, felt the entrepreneurial highs and lows, and now channel that experience into backing the founders solving the world’s toughest problems. Prosperity Decoded Backing Canadian founders at seed to series-a to drive enterprise productivity, sustainability & resilience The challenges we face, low productivity, climate urgency, and fragile infrastructure, are systemic. But they also represent one of the greatest investment junctures of our time. New enterprise technologies, powered by AI and software, can equip leaders with transformative, mission-critical solutions. Productivity. Canada’s productivity gap is real—our workers produce only ~70% of what their U.S. peers achieve. The answer isn’t more talk, it’s action: applied AI, automation, robotics, and digital platforms. We back Canadian founders building these solutions at home and scaling them worldwide. Sustainability. Profitability and environmental impact can no longer be at odds. The transition to renewables and the optimization of energy use are urgent. Software and AI will be the linchpins of this shift, from clean energy production to efficient consumption. Resilience. Supply chains, industries, and critical infrastructure are under strain. Building resilience means more autonomy, security, and sovereignty, enabled by smart industry, robotics, digital twins, cybersecurity and intelligent manufacturing. More than just capital. Founders-led and founders-backed. Amiral Ventures will focus on leading early-stage rounds between theSeed and Series A and will actively support companies to achieve a strong global position. Capital is a commodity, expertise is not. An integral part of our investment thesis is having a dedicated impact team that will create value post-investment. Our initial focus is helping portfolio companies expand globally and seize international opportunities to scale. Over time, Amiral’s impact team will operate like a service organization, combining internal expertise, external networks, and proprietary technology to empower founders. Our goal is clear: every dollar invested by Amiral should deliver a measurable impact on a founder’s trajectory. Beyond the Amiral team’s expertise, we are surrounding ourselves by an unprecedented group of investors who are themselves founders, CEOs, CTOs, CROs, and not only share our vision but are eager to roll up their sleeves to help our flagship companies. ​Building an enduring franchise We are proudly Québécois but our market is much wider. We believe that for Québec & Canada to succeed, we must expand beyond our borders just like the Admiral butterfly. Papillon Amiral (French for Admiral Butterfly): Emblem of Québec, it is known for its rapid flight, its impressive migration, resilience and its noble appearance. Building a dynamic, resilient, and cleaner economy means securing local ownership while scaling globally. Amiral is an investment firm with an entrepreneurial mindset, built to create value for the next generation of innovators. We stand on the shoulders of the Canadian venture pioneers who came before us. History will mark the early 2020s as an inflection point. Technologies once magical are now everyday tools. The means to create prosperity are in our hands. But good is no longer good enough. High-paying jobs, economic development, and new technologies are necessary but we must also increase Canadian ownership in our champion companies, deploy smarter capital, and elevate our ecosystem. The “Death Valley” for Canadian startups must be crossed. Ambitious founders are ready to take flight on the global stage. Let’s build the next generation of Canadian flagships.