An OMERS Ventures veteran returns to the venture capital industry as Whitecap prepares its sixth fund.
Damien Steele returns to the venture capital industry after… care top job at Montreal carbon capture startup Deep Sky earlier this year.
Steele, who was managing partner of Canadian pension giant OMERS Ventures. before he joined Deep Sky in 2023, announced in Post on LinkedIn that he will join Toronto-based Whitecap Venture Partners in the new year to help raise the company's sixth venture capital fund.
“After a three-month break to reflect on what matters most—both personally and professionally—I am pleased to announce that I will be returning to my roots in venture capital investing,” Steele said.
Steele told BetaKit in a text exchange that he was joining Whitecap as a venture partner while raising Fund VI, of which he would become a partner. His appointment will not be official until the first quarter of 2026 due to some conflicting personal travel commitments.
“Whitecap has proven that they are capable of delivering value to their investors in both good times and bad,” Steele told BetaKit. “The number of foundations in Canada that can say that is extremely small.”
He added that he has known the Whitecap partners for more than a decade and that they were one of the first investors he called when he took over the leadership position at Deep Sky.
Whitecap “goal”[s] to be the “first call” when times get tough,” Steele said. “This is exactly the type of investor I have always strived to be.”
Steel resigned as CEO Deep Sky in May “After much consideration and for personal reasons.” He was replaced by then-COO Alex Petre, but remained with the company as an advisor. Steele said he will continue to advise Deep Sky, a Whitecap portfolio company, in his new role.
“Their mission remains something I am deeply passionate about,” Steele said.
Whitecap raised C$140 million for its fifth fundwhich invests in early-stage software and health technology startups at the end of 2021. Whitecap has invested in startups such as deep sky, Felix HealthAnd Liteflo.
In my own Post on LinkedInWhitecap partner Shane Diamond said the firm's fifth fund is coming to an end. With this comes planning for Fund VI for the next year and therefore Steel.
“Finding a partner is not easy, and after many years of co-investing with him in OMERS and then investing directly in Deep Sky, I can confidently say that he embodies all of the ethics, values and success that have been the hallmark of Whitecap for over 30 years,” Diamond said.
Whitecap has about one or two new investments remaining in Fund V, Diamond told BetaKit in an emailed statement, after which Whitecap Fund VI's fundraising will begin at the end of the first quarter of 2026. Diamond added that Whitecap plans to target a fund size of between C$150 million and C$200 million.
Image courtesy of OMERS Ventures.
