Canada's tech start ups face financing hurdles with SVB collapse

Customers wait in line outside a branch of the Silicon Valley Bank in Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S., March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

TORONTO (Reuters) - Last week's sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) could choke funding for Canada's technology start-ups and place them in the hands of domestic lenders who may be more selective in financing new ventures, financiers told Reuters.

That would be bad news for a sector that took a beating in 2022, which has made investors more risky averse in early stage investments.