Garage Capital

Reviewed Updated Mar 23, 2026

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Location Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Founded 2012
Fund Size Fund V (current); received $50M from federal VCCI program
Website https://www.garage.vc
Stage Focus
pre-seed seed
Sector Focus
enterprise saas robotics ai deep-tech fintech healthcare aerospace

Team

Michael Litt Co-Founder & General Partner
Mike McCauley Co-Founder & General Partner
Devon Galloway Co-Founder & General Partner
Donna Litt Venture Partner

About

Garage Capital is a pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm based in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada 1. The firm was founded in 2012 by Michael Litt, Devon Galloway (co-founders of Vidyard, YC S11), and Mike McCauley (co-founder of BufferBox, YC S12, acquired by Google) 2. All three founders are University of Waterloo Engineering alumni who have built, scaled, and sold venture-backed companies 1.

The firm is currently on its fifth fund (Garage Capital V) 3 4. BDC Capital is invested in Fund II, Fund III, and Garage Opportunities Fund I 5. In 2019, Garage Capital received $50 million from the federal Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI), which required matching private capital on a 1:1 basis 2. Garage Capital is also part of Inovia Capital’s Emerging Managers portfolio 6.

As of early 2026, Garage Capital has invested in over 200 companies with a collective portfolio valuation exceeding $30 billion 1. The portfolio includes 12 companies valued at over $1 billion, including Groq, Astranis, Aalo Atomics, Substack, and Kepler Communications 3. The firm has seen 26 portfolio acquisitions, including DarwinAI (acquired by Apple in 2024), North Inc. (acquired by Google in 2020), SSIMWAVE (acquired by IMAX in 2022), Secoda (acquired by Atlassian in 2025), Clearpath Robotics (acquired by Rockwell Automation in 2023), and Kindred (acquired by Ocado in 2020) 1 7 8 9 10 11.

Stated Thesis

Garage Capital publicly describes itself as “built by founders, for founders,” investing in founders at the earliest stages to help them build “category-defining businesses” through “experienced-based advice, operational empathy, and early stage capital” 6.

The firm was created because its founders wanted to bring Silicon Valley-style seed funding to Canada’s Waterloo Region. McCauley has stated: “One of the reasons we started Garage was because we didn’t want every company to have to do that. We wanted to create the early-stage funding models that exist in Silicon Valley. A lot of those early-stage-focused VC funds are started by previous [company] founders, and there wasn’t any of that in Waterloo [Region]” 12.

McCauley has also said: “That funding aspect is an important ingredient for any early-stage company. You need that to have a complete, healthy ecosystem for startups” 2.

The firm describes its two investment categories as “business software and moonshots” 13. It also describes itself as “an angel seed stage fund focused on supercluster companies that are looking to expand their networks into Silicon Valley” 3.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 30 verified portfolio investments (a partial sample of 200+ total investments), the following patterns emerge. This sample is too small for reliable percentages; qualitative patterns are described instead.

Stage focus: Overwhelmingly pre-seed and seed, consistent with stated thesis. The firm occasionally participates in follow-on rounds at Series A and beyond for existing portfolio companies (e.g., ApplyBoard Series C, Groq through six rounds, Float Financial Series B) 13 14 15.

Sector distribution: The portfolio spans a wide range, with significant clusters in enterprise software/SaaS (Fellow, OpenPhone, Relay, Secoda, Vendr, Humi), robotics and hardware (Gecko Robotics, Clearpath Robotics, Upside Robotics, Kindred, TRIC Robotics), deep tech and aerospace (Groq, Astranis, Kepler Communications, Aalo Atomics, DarwinAI), and consumer/marketplace platforms (Substack, ApplyBoard, BetterUp, Nurx). Per Tracxn data, the firm has invested in 118 tech companies, 93 enterprise (B2B) companies, and 79 software companies 13.

Geographic concentration: Heavily weighted toward Canadian startups, particularly the Toronto-Waterloo corridor. Litt has stated: “We invest in Canada with the vast majority of companies in the Toronto-Waterloo corridor” 12. However, the portfolio also includes significant U.S.-based companies (Substack in San Francisco, Gecko Robotics in Pittsburgh, BetterUp in San Francisco, Groq in Mountain View), suggesting a strong secondary focus on YC-backed companies regardless of geography.

Y Combinator connection: The firm has deep YC ties — all three founders went through YC (S11 and S12), and YC-affiliated companies appear frequently in the portfolio (Substack, OpenPhone, Embark Trucks, Secoda). This represents a differentiated deal flow channel.

Founder profile patterns: The firm invests in technical founders, often from the University of Waterloo ecosystem. The “moonshots” category suggests appetite for capital-intensive deep tech (nuclear energy, satellites, AI chips) alongside capital-light SaaS.

Notable gap: Despite claiming focus on “business software and moonshots,” the portfolio includes meaningful consumer and health investments (BetterUp, Nurx, Eli Health), which are not emphasized in public messaging.

Co-investor patterns: Frequently co-invests with Y Combinator, Inovia Capital, Craft Ventures, and other Canadian-focused funds like BDC Capital.

Portfolio

The following table represents a partial sample of Garage Capital’s 200+ investments. Only entries with verified sources are included.

Company Stage Year Sector Status
Groq Series A 2017 AI / Semiconductors Active (acquired by Nvidia, 2025) 7
Substack Seed 2018 Publishing / Media Active 13
OpenPhone Seed 2018 Enterprise Software / Telecom Active 16
Ada Seed ~2016 (founding year) AI / Customer Service Active 13 17
ApplyBoard Series C 2020 EdTech / Immigration Active 14
North (Thalmic Labs) Early stage ~2012 (founding year) Consumer Hardware / AR Acquired by Google, 2020 9
Clearpath Robotics Early stage ~2012 (founding year) Robotics / Industrial Acquired by Rockwell, 2023 10
DarwinAI Early stage ~2017 (founding year) AI / Manufacturing Acquired by Apple, 2024 8
SSIMWAVE Early stage ~2014 (founding year) Video / Streaming Tech Acquired by IMAX, 2022 18
Kindred Early stage ~2014 (founding year) Robotics / AI Acquired by Ocado, 2020 19
Secoda Seed ~2021 (founding year) Data / Analytics Acquired by Atlassian, 2025 11
Aalo Atomics Seed 2023 Nuclear Energy Active 20
Gecko Robotics Early stage ~2017 (founding year) Robotics / Infrastructure Active 21
BetterUp Early stage ~2015 (founding year) HR Tech / Coaching Active 1
Kepler Communications Early stage ~2015 (founding year) Aerospace / Satellites Active 1
Astranis Early stage ~2016 (founding year) Aerospace / Satellites Active 1
People.ai Early stage ~2016 (founding year) Enterprise Software / AI Active 22
EasyPost Early stage ~2012 (founding year) Logistics / Shipping Active 22
Nurx Early stage ~2015 (founding year) Health / Telehealth Active 22
Vendr Series A 2021 Enterprise Software / SaaS Procurement Active 23
Float Financial Early stage ~2019 (founding year) Fintech Active 15
Relay Early stage ~2019 (founding year) Fintech / Business Banking Active 1
Fellow Early stage ~2017 (founding year) Enterprise Software / Meetings Active 13
Upside Robotics Seed 2026 AgTech / Robotics Active 24
Embark Trucks Early stage ~2016 (founding year) Autonomous Vehicles Shut down (acquired by Applied Intuition, 2023) 25
Buf Early stage ~2020 (founding year) Developer Tools Active 22
Nicoya Lifesciences Early stage ~2015 (founding year) Biotech / Life Sciences Active 13
Humi Early stage ~2016 (founding year) HR Tech / SaaS Active 13
Census Early stage ~2018 (founding year) Data Infrastructure Active 13

Note: Many entries use founding year as a proxy for investment year due to limited public disclosure of exact investment dates. This table represents approximately 15% of Garage Capital’s 200+ investments.

In Their Own Words

“One of the reasons we started Garage was because we didn’t want every company to have to do that. We wanted to create the early-stage funding models that exist in Silicon Valley. A lot of those early-stage-focused VC funds are started by previous [company] founders, and there wasn’t any of that in Waterloo [Region].” — Mike McCauley, Communitech News 12

“That funding aspect is an important ingredient for any early-stage company. You need that to have a complete, healthy ecosystem for startups.” — Mike McCauley, Communitech News 2

“We invest in Canada with the vast majority of companies in the Toronto-Waterloo corridor.” — Michael Litt, University of Waterloo News 12

“We’re just excited to have been such a part of this journey of seeing Groq from the ground level.” — Mike McCauley, on Groq’s acquisition by Nvidia, BetaKit 7

“It’s a really cool Canadian story.” — Mike McCauley, on the Groq/Nvidia deal, BetaKit 7

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found. The firm’s website does not feature public testimonials from portfolio founders.

Sources

  1. Garage Capital website, accessed March 2026. https://www.garage.vc/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. “Garage Capital taps $50 million federal fund for VCs,” Communitech News, 2019, accessed March 2026. https://www.communitech.ca/technews/garage-capital-taps-50-million-federal-fund-for-vcs.html↩↩↩↩

  3. “Book with Michael Litt,” Intro.co profile, accessed March 2026. https://intro.co/MichaelLitt↩↩↩

  4. “Garage Capital V,” Venture Ontario, accessed March 2026. https://www.ventureontario.ca/garage-capital↩

  5. “Garage Capital,” BDC Capital portfolio page, accessed March 2026. https://www.bdc.ca/en/bdc-capital/venture-capital/portfolio/garage-capital↩

  6. “Garage Capital,” Inovia Emerging Managers, accessed March 2026. https://www.inovia.vc/emerging-managers/garage-capital/↩↩

  7. “Groq’s staggering Nvidia deal has strong Canadian connections,” BetaKit, 2025, accessed March 2026. https://betakit.com/groqs-staggering-nvidia-deal-has-strong-canadian-connections/↩↩↩↩

  8. “DarwinAI acquired by Apple amid Big Tech arms race,” BetaKit, March 2024, accessed March 2026. https://betakit.com/darwinai-reportedly-acquired-by-apple/↩↩

  9. “North acquired by Google,” BetaKit, June 2020, accessed March 2026. https://betakit.com/north-acquired-by-google/↩↩

  10. “Clearpath Robotics acquired by automation juggernaut Rockwell,” McRock Capital, September 2023, accessed March 2026. https://mcrockcapital.com/clearpath-robotics-acquired-by-automation-juggernaut-rockwell/↩↩

  11. “Atlassian acquires Secoda,” Secoda blog, December 2025, accessed March 2026. https://www.secoda.co/blog/atlassian-acquires-secoda↩↩

  12. “Making it work,” University of Waterloo News, accessed March 2026. https://uwaterloo.ca/news/making-it-work↩↩↩↩

  13. “Garage Capital investor profile,” Tracxn, accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/garage-capital/__hh7PNPHNts_1tKy1XebtsZZrtL8kMIFa2xkuV7ETUvc↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  14. “ApplyBoard closes Drive Capital led $100M Series C at $2B valuation,” Private Capital Journal, May 2020, accessed March 2026. https://privatecapitaljournal.com/applyboard-closes-drive-capital-led-100m-series-c-at-2b-valuation/↩↩

  15. “Float Financial Announces $70 Million Investment Round Led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives,” BusinessWire, January 2025, accessed March 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250113579768/en/Float-Financial-Announces-$70-Million-Investment-Round-Led-by-Growth-Equity-at-Goldman-Sachs-Alternatives-to-Build-Canadas-Most-Complete-Business-Finance-Solution↩↩

  16. “OpenPhone announces new features, $2.6 million CAD round closed in 2018,” BetaKit, 2018, accessed March 2026. https://betakit.com/openphone-announces-new-features-2-6-million-cad-round-closed-in-2018/↩

  17. “Ada funding rounds and list of investors,” Tracxn, accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/ada/__dJ0F0kpkoLynQHtT_gOWT2k7zyUSYOX0Omxp2YK1XO8/funding-and-investors↩

  18. “IMAX acquires SSIMWAVE,” Crunchbase, September 2022, accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/acquisition/imax-acquires-ssimwave-inc–e26a69d7↩

  19. “Ocado acquires Kindred and Haddington,” Ocado Group, November 2020, accessed March 2026. https://www.ocadogroup.com/investors/ocado-acquires-kindred-systems-and-haddington-dynamics↩

  20. “Aalo Atomics Raises $27M Series A,” Aalo Atomics, August 2024, accessed March 2026. https://www.aalo.com/post/aalo-atomics-raises-27m-series-a↩

  21. “Garage Capital portfolio,” Premier Alternatives, accessed March 2026. https://www.premieralts.com/investors/garage-capital/portfolio↩

  22. “Garage Capital investments and portfolio,” Gilion VC Mapping, accessed March 2026. https://vc-mapping.gilion.com/vc-firms/garage-capital↩↩↩↩

  23. “Vendr funding rounds and list of investors,” Tracxn, accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/vendr/__vH6zH8d50xyoE57tvHW1MBRL8uo3t09LpNWt1xfO-m4/funding-and-investors↩

  24. “$7.5 million seed funding helps Upside Robotics plant the seeds for success,” University of Waterloo News, February 2026, accessed March 2026. https://uwaterloo.ca/news/75-million-seed-funding-helps-upside-robotics-plant-seeds↩

  25. “Applied Intuition to buy autonomous trucking SPAC Embark for $71M,” TechCrunch, May 2023, accessed March 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/25/applied-intuition-to-buy-autonomous-trucking-spac-embark-for-71m/↩