YMVSV Leads Series A Funding Round for Canvass Analytics Inc.

IWATA, November 11, 2020 - Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 7272) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary based in Silicon Valley in the United States, Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley Inc. (YMVSV), led the funding round for Canvass Analytics Inc. (Canvass) founded in 2016, headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Summary of YMVSV Official Release

YMVSV aims to conduct theme research and training for new business development, the promotion of commercialization and the development of new business models. The company announced that it led the $6.5 million in Series A funding for Canvass via the Yamaha Motor Exploratory Fund, a $100 million investment fund with a 10-year lifecycle.

Canvass’s vision is to transform manufacturing by empowering the workforce of the future,
providing a no-code platform that puts the benefits of AI in the hands of operators by simplifying the process of building, training and scaling applied industrial AI in their day-to-day operations.

As with this round of funding, YMVSV will continue its work to invest in exciting early-stage venture companies worldwide.

■Humera Malik, Canvass Founder and CEO (https://www.canvass.io/)
“By putting AI in the hands of industrial engineers, Canvass is transforming plant operations from being reactive to predictive, which is critical for the future of sustainable and profitable
operations. This latest round of funding, led by our new investor Yamaha Motor Ventures, fuels our ambition to be the number one player in AI for industrial operations.”

■ Anish Patel, YMVSV Partner and Mobility Investment Lead
“Yamaha Motor Ventures has a passion for identifying advanced technologies that are backed by ambitious teams. Canvass ticks both of these boxes as they seek to help manufacturers overcome decades-long operational challenges with the power of AI. The addition of Canvass to our portfolio underpins our vision to create the future of industries. We look forward to working with the Canvass team to scale their technology and bring value to additional sectors
and markets.”