The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Nov. 5, edition that Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has invested $50-million in Toronto's Beacon Software, a tech start-up that is introducing artificial intelligence into the software consolidation model used by Constellation Software (all figures U.S.). The Globe's Sean Silcoff writes that Beacon announced in June it had raised $225-million in a financing led by U.S. private capital giants General Catalyst and HarbourVest Partners. It has since increased the round size to $425-million, including CPPIB's investment, which it will announce Thursday. The upsized deal values the company, legally named Beacon Acquisition Corp., at $1.75-billion, including cash received. Beacon has now raised $750-million-plus since its 2024 founding, an unprecedented haul for such a young Canadian company. That has fuelled equally head-spinning growth. The profitable company, following in the footsteps of fellow software giant Constellation, has bought 45 businesses in the sector. Consolidated annual revenue at Beacon now tops $200-million. Other investors include U.S. heavyweights Lightspeed Venture Partners, D1 Capital Partners and Canada's Intrepid Growth Partners.