Tech-active · Calgary, AB

The51

Women-led financial platform & venture firm backing women-led ventures in Canada.

← Investors in Alberta
Cheque
Not disclosed
Role
Can lead a round
Pace
Selective right now
Kind
Tech-active
Based in
Calgary, AB
Vehicle size
$51M
Founded
2019
Works in
EN
Last deal seen
September 2025
Stages
Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
Sectors
Climate and energy, Health and biotech, SaaS, AI and machine learning, Marketplaces and consumer, Fintech and insurtech

Their thesis, in full

The51 is a women-led financial platform and venture firm, founded in 2019 in Calgary. Closed its $51M CAD Food and AgTech Fund in January 2025 (ATB Financial placed the final dollar). Announced the first close of Fund III in June 2026, a $30M target fund investing from pre-seed to Series A in women-led companies in health, wealth and work, anchored by BMO. 36 companies funded to date, with a recent follow-on in NLPatent's round closed in September 2025. Goal by 2030 to activate $2.5B of women-led capital alongside its nonprofit partner Movement51. General Partners: Shelley Kuipers and Judy Fairburn (co-founders), plus Lauren Robinson (Fund Managing Partner since March 2025). Portfolio company Virtual Gurus sold its virtual assistant division to Zirtual in November 2025.

What they bring past the cheque

  • Women-led Canadian financial platform and venture firm
  • Fund III focus on health, wealth and work, anchored by BMO
  • $51M Food and AgTech Fund closed with ATB Financial
  • Calgary base with national reach
  • Movement51 community network

Questions they usually ask

Have an answer ready for each one before the first call.

  1. Does your founding team include a woman in a key leadership role with material ownership?
  2. Is your business building the future of health, wealth or work, the focus of Fund III?
  3. How does the Movement51 community network unlock distribution or hiring for you?

Follow-on

The51 reserves capital for follow-on rounds inside the Food and AgTech fund and mobilizes its Movement51 network plus ATB Financial relationships to bring co-investors into Series A. Founders share quarterly KPI updates and a clear plan to the next milestone.

Who to talk to

Portfolio

Names they back, most notable first.

  • CoralSeed · 2025
  • NLPatentSeed · 2025
  • NiaHealthSeed · 2025
  • HeylistSeed · 2024
  • Mercator AISeed · 2023

Often in the same rounds

Investors seen alongside them in past rounds.

Similar investors

Overlapping sectors and stages. Useful to build a list of 10 to 20 names for one round.

See how they fit your round

Set your stage, sector and amount once. Fractal App tells you if The51 can lead it, tracks every follow-up, and counts the days of silence. Free, no card.

Open in the app →

Checked September 2026 from public sources. source ↗ · Website ↗ · LinkedIn ↗