Jane Software co-founders Ali Taylor, left, and Trevor Johnston at the company's headquarters in North Vancouver on Dec. 14, 2022.DARRYL DYCK/The Globe and Mail
Jane Software Inc. is close to finalizing a $500-million-plus financing led by Silicon Valley investment giant TCMI Inc. that will value the B.C. company at about $1.8-billion.
The deal, set to close this week, is the latest in a string of nine-figure secondary investments in successful private Canadian tech companies that are neither looking to raise capital, sell out nor go public. TCMI (better known as TCV, formerly Technology Crossover Ventures) plus two other U.S. private-capital firms – JMI Equity and Tidemark Management Company LP – will buy shares from existing investors and employees.
North Vancouver-based Jane has raised less than $10-million in equity since it was founded in 2012. It is now worth three times more than it was when JMI, one of the most successful U.S. investors in Canadian tech, bought US$100-million-plus of shares in another secondary deal from Jane equity-holders in 2021.
Jane sells cloud software to small and medium-sized health care practitioners to manage their businesses, including booking appointments, handling billing and payments, communicating with patients and processing forms. More than 200,000 practitioners at 50,000 clinics, mostly in Canada, the United States and Britain, use the company’s platform. The company, with about 650 employees, now generates about US$100-million in annual revenue.
Jane is led by co-chief executives and founders Alison Taylor – a multidisciplinary clinic owner who was originally looking for custom software her business could use to handle online booking and charting – and Trevor Johnston, a website developer who built the initial platform. They decided to turn it into a business after other practitioners asked to use their software. Their first customers were B.C. massage therapists. Jane now serves physiotherapists, aestheticians, psychologists and midwives, among others.
The company has been profitable from the start and eschewed the typical tech-sector hoopla, ignoring the “growth-at-all-costs” mantra when it was in vogue. “They’re very methodical and thoughtful about how they grow and where they allocate capital,” said Maria Pacella, managing partner with early backer Pender Ventures who serves on Jane’s board. “A lot of folks would say that’s slow-scaling, but the numbers show otherwise.”
Jane has always spent within its means, growing primarily by word of mouth and referrals. It avoided layoffs in 2022, as other tech companies pulled back sharply, and even handed out raises to employees. “Our small-business roots are a big part of why we have always prioritized running an efficient and profitable company with real business value and a long-term plan for success and sustainability,” Ms. Taylor said. “We didn’t have to do layoffs or figure out a path to profitability. We have always been here.”
That doesn’t mean the company lacks for ambition. “We’re not going to stop improving until Jane is the obvious choice for every health care practice and their patients around the world,” Ms. Taylor said.
A big focus for Jane, like other digital companies, is adopting artificial intelligence on a grand scale. The co-CEOs have encouraged their programmers to harness the time-saving features of generative AI in their work and are launching AI products that streamline workflows, starting with an “AI scribe” that automatically takes notes in patient meetings.
The TCV deal cements Jane’s status among an elite group of Canadian technology companies that have hit the nine-figure revenue mark, attained 10-figure valuations – and are profitable. Jane is now one of at least 72 private Canadian tech companies that have reached US$100-million in annual revenue, underscoring the breadth and depth of the country’s thriving digital sector at a time when Canada’s exports of physical goods are subject to U.S. President Donald Trump’s unprecedented tariff war. TCV is also an investor in US$100-million club members Clio, Wealthsimple and Trulioo.
At least five of the US$100-million club members - Clio, Wealthsimple, StackAdapt, Plusgrade and Fullscript - have completed nine-figure secondary financings since early 2024. Such deals have become increasingly popular as merger and acquisition activity remains muted and the initial public offering market is all but closed.
Ottawa-based Fullscript, now one of Canada’s largest private tech companies with more than US$1-billion in annual revenue, said this month that existing backers HGGC and Snapdragon Capital Partners had participated in its secondary deal, backed by fellow U.S. private-equity firm Leonard Green & Partners. The parties didn’t disclose any details, but an industry source said close to US$300-million worth of stock changed hands, valuing Fullscript at more than US$2.5-billion. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source as they are not authorized to discuss the matter.
Fullscript is used by more than 100,000 U.S. medical professionals to prescribe supplements and treatment plans to 10 million-plus patients, who place their orders through its e-commerce platform.