Kensington Acquires ONE9 Venture Capital Business

Kensington adds ONE9’s core expertise in National Security technologies to its growing venture capital business

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#DefenseTech--Kensington Capital Partners Limited (Kensington) today announced the acquisition of the venture capital investment business of ONE9, the Ottawa-based team led by founder and Managing Partner Glenn Cowan. Upon completion of the transaction, all ONE9’s future investment activities, including new funds and new direct investments, will be completed exclusively within Kensington. This strategic move establishes Kensington as a market leader for investments in National Security technologies, including cybersecurity, as well as dual use and defense first technologies.

Kensington is acquiring a minority stake in ONE9 Capability Labs, the ONE9 company that provides value-added services to portfolio companies and other National Security clients, with the option to acquire the remaining interest in the business upon completion of certain milestones. ONE9’s interests in legacy investments previously completed by their team are not included in the transaction and will remain with the vendors.

Following his many years of military service as a Squadron Commander in Canada’s Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), Cowan launched ONE9’s venture capital business leveraging his special operations experience, military and intelligence knowledge, and insights on unique deal flow through his deep connections. With its focus on defense, intelligence, and National Security investments, ONE9 bridges the gap between private capital markets and the world’s most innovative military technologies with substantial civilian uses.

Over the past five years, Kensington and ONE9 have collaborated on several investments, including Tomahawk Robotics, a drone control technology successfully sold in 2023 to AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV); and Strider Technologies, an AI application that transforms open-source data into strategic intelligence, among others. Kensington was also the lead investor in the ONE9 Special Mission Fund launched by the ONE9 team. Working together on these investments led to a strong and successful business partnership, culminating in this transaction.

Through its 29-year history investing in private equity and venture capital, Kensington has independently established its own track record investing in National Security technologies, where it sees many of the most compelling new opportunities emerging in today’s market, from artificial intelligence to robotics and autonomous systems, space technologies and cybersecurity. Now, with the addition of ONE9’s domain expertise, the combined team is well positioned to take a leadership role in this sector. Kensington plans to use the ONE9 brand name and expand the platform by continuing its hybrid strategy of investing directly into emerging technology companies as well as venture capital funds focused on this sector.

“In today’s world, we are seeing the growing importance of directing our investment and innovation efforts towards our collective National Security,” said Cowan. “This transaction positions us to lead the market in this sector.”

“Working alongside Glenn and his team for the past several years has led to a strong and successful collaboration, and increased our focus on the National Security sector,” said Rick Nathan, Senior Managing Director at Kensington. “We see an exciting opportunity to launch an entirely new investment platform for Kensington in this sector, which has been growing dramatically and has led to real successes in our portfolio. The addition of Glenn and other key members of ONE9 to Kensington’s investment team will enable us to capitalize on these trends and bring new opportunities for value creation for our investors.”

About Kensington Capital Partners

Kensington Capital Partners is a leading independent Canadian investor in alternative assets established in 1996. With offices in Toronto and Vancouver, the Kensington team currently manages over $2.6 billion in private equity, venture capital, and other alternative assets. Kensington is majority-owned by AGF Capital Partners, a subsidiary of AGF Management Limited (AGF). Founded in 1957, AGF has over $54 billion in assets under management and fee-earning assets and serves more than 815,000 investors. For more information, visit www.kcpl.ca.

Contacts

Media:
Jodi Echakowitz
Boulevard Public Relations (for Kensington)
416-271-7250
jodi@boulevardpr.com