pinetreeWe recently had a chat with management over at Pinetree Capital (PNP.TO) and they were very optimistic about a handful of diverse investments they've made in the cloud computing (LeoNovus, LTV.V), microprocessors (Poet Technologies, PTK.V) and bio-tech (Lorus Therapeutics, LOR.TO) spaces.

As a brief primer, Pinetree is a diversified investment and venture capital firm focused on investing in early stage micro and small cap companies, with a strong track record in technology and natural resource investments. Sheldon Inwentash, Pinetree's founder, chairman and CEO, believes that the aforementioned trio of companies are high potential plays with strong fundamentals underpinned by rigorous research and development teams. We take a closer below:

1. LeoNovus - (Cloud Computing)

LTV.V (1 Year) Yahoo Finance

LTV.V 1 Year (Yahoo Finance)

LeoNovus offers a cloud-based "Smart Media Platform" that provides HDTVs and other connected devices with access to web-based features and content without the malware, security or support issues of a PC. While there are many players in the cloud space, LeoNovus has a number of strong points: 1) distributed data centers to hedge against concentration of resources in one place; 2) high data security and; 3) lower costs.

The company made news last week by agreeing to provide its services to the voice/speech technology company Fluential, which itself was recently brought into the portfolio of Los Angeles' richest man, billionaire doctor Patrick Soon-Shiong. LeoNovus counts among its management veterans from Intel, Apple and Boeing. In addition to health care applications, LeoNovus believes the technology also has wide applications in the hospitality, residential and gaming segments. The hospitality segment is particularly attractive, as it offers a simple in-room solution for entertainment and communication services largely lacking in most hospitality facilities.

2. Poet Technologies (Microprocessors)

PRK.V 1 Year (Yahoo Finance)

PRK.V 1 Year (Yahoo Finance)

To power the next generation of computing devices, technology companies will have to wrestle with what many have coined Moorepocalypse, the end of Moore's Law, which dictates that computing power doubles every 18-24 months. The physical limitation of current silicon chips is the largest obstacle to the computing industry's ability to keep Moore's Law a reality. Poet Technologies is developing a monolithic chip by integrating optics and electronics with the goal of bringing about sufficient improvements in size, power, speed and cost, which would bypass the limitations of current technology. At launch, these chip will be able to substitute into existing technology frameworks without having to re-fab current computing infrastructures. With a significant patent portfolio, Poet Technologies' experienced management team believe they are close to bringing a potential game-changer to market.

3. Lorus Therapeutics (Bio-tech)

LTV.TO 1 Year (Yahoo Finance)

LTV.TO 1 Year (Yahoo Finance)

Lorus Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company with a focus on delivering first-in-class anticancer treatments - namely small molecule therapies and immunotherapy. The management team of accomplished physicians has a track record of seeing products through the clinical trial process. This experience is critical as Lorus has a robust product pipeline - ranging from discovery to advanced Phase II Clinical - all with excellent safety profiles. Lorus believes the market potential for its portfolio exceeds $1bn and has secured various partnerships and strategic research, development and distribution alliances. A key catalyst for 2014 will be the clinical trial results for one of the company's late-stage products - Lor-253.