Toronto’s Peloton Innovations Secure $3 Million for Startup Studio

Toronto-based Peloton Innovations has raised $3 million in its first funding round from a group of notable Canadian entrepreneurs.

Elevate Toronto CEO Razor Suleman, Globalive Capital founder Anthony Lacavera, and TD Ameritrade CEO Tim Hockey have invested in the startup studio aimed at creating products and services for the $50 billion security industry.

While it may sound similar to an incubator model, co-founder Craig Campbell said the startup studio allows the Peloton team to turn ideas into products, and turn those products into companies.

“We think of the studio as a place where the ideas have come from within, whereas with an incubator, others are being brought in with the idea,” Campbell said. “By the time we are actually spinning out a standalone company, we have de-risked the company and proven market product fit.”

Campbell is most-known for founding Total Security Management which he grew into one of the largest privately-held security companies in Canada with 3,000 employees. He sold the company in 2013, and launched Peloton Innovations in 2016 with Mark Wires.

“This studio allows me to be industry focused. It gives me the ability to try different things—and intentionally work on more than one thing at a time— while being completely aligned with investors and shareholders,” said Campbell. “Our vision at Peloton is to become masters in innovation.”

The innovation Campbell refers to include looking at how technology can create new opportunities in the physical security landscape and how machine learning can be harnesses in financial services to prevent crimes like fraud and money laundering.

His co-founder Wires is a former corporate commercial litigation lawyer. Fuelled by the seed round, the pair is getting ready to commercialize their first company, and currently recruiting co-founders.

“This is an important step in the development of our startup studio,” said Wires. “This initial investment along with the experience of our investors provides us a solid base as we prepare to spin out our first company in early 2018.”

Campbell said they are committed to the Toronto-grown #movethedial movement—focused on boosting gender diversity in technology—and are actively looking to recruit women at the executive and board level.