MaRS Catalyst Fund (note now Amplify Capital)

WHO WE ARE

Amplify Capital is the evolution of the MaRS Catalyst Fund, investing in mission-driven, double-bottom-line disruptors in health, education and clean tech. Every dollar invested in these companies generates a financial return and a social return. That’s how we amplify capital. And we further amplify our impact by encouraging partners, investors and co-investors to invest in companies where purpose drives profit. As investors, what we invest in today shapes the world of tomorrow.

TARGET SIZE OF FUNDS

Sector

Healthcare, Education, Cleantech

Stage

Seed, Series A

Region

North America

Countries

Canada

Founder(s)

Kathryn Wortsman

Kathryn leads Amplify Capital (formerly MaRS Catalyst Fund) where she focuses on generating outsize returns from early stage impact venture investing in Canadian ventures solving social and environmental challenges through technology and business. She is known for her passion for social finance and deep involvement and support for the companies in which she invests. That passion was born a decade ago when she joined Social Venture Partners NYC and then subsequently founded Social Venture Partners Toronto. Prior to her time in the social investing space, Kathryn worked in a traditional banking and venture capital background. She started her career in investment banking at RBC Dominion Securities and has spent most of her 20-year career investing and managing venture capital and private equity in small and medium-sized businesses, both in Toronto and New York. In Toronto, Kathryn spent time at CIBC Capital Partners, BMO Capital and Lynx Equity, a succession fund. In New York, Kathryn actively invested and managed a portfolio of early stage media technology companies with Constellation Ventures, a Bear Stearns-sponsored venture capital fund. Kathryn also actively invested and managed strategic insurance technology investments for MetLife, the largest life insurer in the United States. She has held a number of board roles in the both the US and Canada. Kathryn was born and raised in Toronto and has an undergraduate degree from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Columbia University in New York.