Latin America has no shortage of SaaS superstars. A healthy availability of capital is essential for building a thriving SaaS ecosystem, which suggests there’s plenty of SaaS investors and VCs to help these companies grow.
We looked at the data and discovered a few vital moments in the funding history of the region.
In 2001, the establishment of DGF Investimentos seemed to kick-start venture capital in the region. 2008/2009 was another key moment when 5 funds were started. Then in 2011/2012, another 5 VC firms started up, plus we saw a number of international ones launch funds specifically aimed at the LatAm market.
Most well-known funds experimented with funding Brazilian and Latin American B2C ventures. Unfortunately, the economy crashed in 2015 and stayed in turmoil for another 2 years. By 2017 as things stabilized, VC firms such as Accell and Tiger came back, while a new breed of local Seed stage ones emerged. This time around, it was SaaS that they were looking at.
Today, Brazil is the most mature market for VC funding in Latin America, but we’re seeing rapid growth throughout the region. Now that the brief history lesson is over, here is a list of 27 regional funds.
🇦🇷 Argentina
NXTP
NXTP Labs is the most active early stage fund for tech companies in Latin America. As well as providing venture capital, it offers a powerful network for entrepreneurs, investors, executives and organizations who believe in building the best ventures with global impact. It is one of the most established venture capital firms in Latin America, and since 2015 have specialised in Fintech and Agtech verticals.
Founded: 2011
Size of fund: $103M
Stage: Seed, Series A, Series B
🇧🇷 Brazil
A.B.Seed Ventures
A.B.Seed Ventures is a VC fully focused on B2B SaaS investments. The firm is financing companies at the seed stage independently or with qualifying partners. A.B.Seed provides businesses with the basics they need for fast growth. It supports them with their go-to market strategy, marketing, sales, customer success, and business development. The partners and mentors also assist portfolio companies with legal counselling and financial guidance.
Founded: 2017
Size of fund: N/A
Stage: Seed
Alexia Ventures
Alexia Ventures is an investment firm launching its first-time fund in the first half of 2020, to support outstanding entrepreneurs in Brazil who focus on large, capital-efficient disruptions that are often counter-cyclical and outside of “hype cycles”. Its founders are entrepreneurs who began their joint trajectory during the dot-com bubble. After years of work in Silicon Valley and Brazil, they have built proven investment methodologies that generate consistent top-quartile performance – through deep domain expertise and an investment platform built around the region’s top entrepreneurs, families, and investors.
Founded: 2019
Size of fund: N/A
Stage: N/A
Astella Investimentos
Astella Investimentos is a venture capital firm based in São Paulo. It finances promising tech companies, helping develop the startup ecosystem in Brazil. The focus of its partners is on entrepreneurs and their difficult but exhilarating journey to success. To help out founders on the way, Astella Investimentos’ mentors provide guidance in the most crucial areas, such as customer acquisition, product development, and company training, as well as creating a roadmap for scalability and all stages of business development.
Founded: 2008
Size of fund: R$65M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
Canary
Canary invests in Brazilian startups, aiming to transform the country’s startup ecosystem by filling an early stage funding gap that it has identified. The VC firm focuses on ensuring entrepreneurs the right conditions for developing a winning business. Its partners provide much-needed help at important points such as funding rounds and tackling challenges. Canary offers access to its extensive network for its portfolio companies.
Founded: 2017
Size of fund: $75M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
DGF Investimentos
DGF Investimentos is a Brazilian VC company financing SaaS businesses. With more than 18 years of experience in investments, it’s one of the leading investment groups in the country today. DGF operates six funds and distributes them among small and medium-sized tech companies in Brazil. It has financed more than 40 companies, a few of which have also completed successful exits. The DGF team provides valuable support to businesses in crafting their strategy, operations, governance, and finance.
Founded: 2001
Size of fund: $305.8M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Late Stage Venture, Private Equity
e.Bricks Ventures
e.Bricks Ventures is a venture capital platform founded by the Sirotsky and Szajman entrepreneurial families in Brazil that invests in early-stage tech startups. The company boasts high-level investors and advisors who assist portfolio businesses with their extensive know-how in sales, technology, business development, entrepreneurship, as well as with networking connections. Funding small and mid-sized SaaS companies is one of e.Bricks’ main investment goals.
Founded: 2013
Size of fund: N/A
Stage: Early Stage Venture
General Atlantic
Founded in 1980, General Atlantic is one of the top global growth equity companies. Among its 13 offices spread across five regions is one in São Paulo, which manages its operations in Brazil. General Atlantic provides entrepreneurs with thorough expertise and valuable connections, enabling them to fuel their business development. It invests in four sectors: consumer, financial services, healthcare and technology. General Atlantic currently has more than 100 portfolio companies, including Airbnb and Squarespace, among others.
Founded: 1980
Size of fund: $3.3B
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Late Stage Venture, Private Equity
Intel Capital
Intel Capital is Intel’s division dedicated to handling its venture capital, global investments and M&As. Among its numerous activities, it funds SaaS businesses from Latin America as well. Intel Capital invests in AI, autonomous tech, software and security and IoT, among other sectors. To date, it has supported 1,544 innovative companies in 57 countries.
Founded: 1991
Size of fund: $1.3B
Stage: Corporate Venture
Kaszek Ventures
Kaszek Ventures is among the biggest venture capital firms in Latin America. Its partners are renowned entrepreneurs from the continent who have led their company to a successful exit. The VC invests in high-impact tech companies from the region. Kaszek provides portfolio businesses with guidance in terms of strategy, operations, growth, HR and networking, among others. It has invested in 58 companies across seven countries. While it is industry agnostic, Kaszek has a track record of investing in SaaS.
Founded: 2011
Size of fund: $430M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Late Stage Venture, Seed
Monashees
Monashees is the largest Brazilian VC that makes investments in innovative solutions worldwide, but with a strong focus on Latin America. It recently raised its eighth fund, which is also its largest one ever. Early stage companies that show the necessary potential receive not only financing, but also practical support with growth and development. The target fields include logistics and transportation, finance, and healthcare. Monashees has a bold manifesto: to invest in entrepreneurs who are ready to change the current reality for the better.
Founded: 2005
Size of fund: $477.1M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
ONEVC
ONEVC is a venture capital firm based in Brazil and Silicon Valley. Its partners boast diverse venture experience and have previously invested in more than 70 companies. The focus of ONEVC is on early stage and seed financing for entrepreneurs with high promise to create businesses that turn into leaders in their markets. The firm looks for business ideas that can lead to world-famous, transformational products.
Founded: 2017
Size of fund: $30M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
Oria Capital
In 2016, Oria Capital launched a tech investment fund in Brazil and raised a second fund for $72 million in 2018. Its current focus is on B2B tech companies, with more than 40 transactions in Latin America to date. Oria has funded ten high-growth SaaS businesses with more than $47 million, which have gone through more than 10 M&As. Areas of particular interest for the VC are logistics, cybersecurity, human capital management, FinTech, healthcare and advertising tech.
Founded: 2009
Size of fund: N/A
Stage: Growth stage
Qualcomm Ventures
Qualcomm Ventures is the VC branch of the tech giant Qualcomm. It invests in companies that are working on next-generation tech which holds potential for Qualcomm’s growth. Since 2000, it has financed more than 140 companies with a couple of billion-dollar exits, including the Brazilian app 99. The sectors of interest for Qualcomm Ventures include AI, automotive, data center, digital health, IoT, and mobile.
Founded: 2000
Size of fund: $100M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Late Stage Venture, Seed
Redpoint eventures
Redpoint eventures is the first Brazilian VC fund financed by Silicon Valley. It works with Redpoint Ventures and e.ventures, the U.S. partner funds, as well as with a worldwide network of sister funds. Its focus is on early-stage Brazilian startups, with about half of its investments targeted at SaaS businesses. The company provides entrepreneurs with assistance from both national and international partners and mentors. They provide portfolio companies with insights into business development, financing, and exit strategies.
Founded: 2012
Size of fund: $130M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
Riverwood Capital
Riverwood Capital is one of the leaders in growth stage tech investments. It is based in Silicon Valley but has a particular flair for Latin American companies. Riverwood provides late stage venture and private equity funding for companies with high potential from a number of industries, including IT, hardware, consumer electronics, IT services, B2B software, and digital and consumer internet. The focus of the company is nurturing scalability, profitable growth, culture and teamwork within its portfolio businesses.
Founded: 2008
Size of fund: $3.3B
Stage: Late Stage Venture, Private Equity
SP Ventures
SP Ventures is one of the pioneers in venture capital investment in Brazil. It was launched in 2007 to operate the Criatec I Fund’s investments in São Paulo. Currently, it manages the São Paulo Innovation Fund (FIP), focusing on funding agriculture, IT, health tech and FinTech companies in the state. Target companies should have proprietary technology with high scalability potential, as well as annual revenue below R$18 million.
Founded: 2007
Size of fund: $66M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
Valor Capital Group
Valor Capital Group’s activities bridge the U.S. and Brazil technology markets. It is the first cross-border venture fund that operates between the two countries, with offices in New York, San Francisco and São Paulo. Valor Capital provides growth equity and venture capital to visionary entrepreneurs in Brazil, as well as U.S. companies looking to expand there. With the VC’s support, its portfolio companies have managed to obtain $1.9 billion in follow-on capital.
Founded: 2011
Size of fund: $56.8M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Late Stage Venture, Seed
🇨🇱 Chile
Aurus Capital
Aurus Capital is an investment company that handles venture capital, real estate and capital markets. It is one of the pioneers in venture capital in Chile, investing in the development of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Aurus Capital provides its portfolio companies with extensive support and mentoring in best business practices and networking opportunities. Its priority sectors in HealthTech include biotech, speciality pharmaceuticals, and diagnostics and MedTech. It also invests in various other industries, such as digital marketing and e-commerce, as well as in industrial tech such as mining.
Founded: 2008
Size of fund: $80M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
Genesis Ventures
Genesis Ventures is a Venture Capital that seeks to capitalize companies and innovative ventures with high growth potential, capable of satisfying needs and seizing market opportunities of different industries from Chile and other Latam countries to developed economies. They are headquartered in Santiago de Chile with local teams in Bogotá, Lima, London, Edinburgh, Berlin and Miami, meaning their portfolio companies can leverage local networks, operational support, talent sourcing, and access to business partnerships in each of these markets when expanding internationally.
Founded: 2013
Size of fund: $150M
Stage: Multi-stage Venture Capital
Manutara Ventures
Manutara Ventures is a leading Venture Capital fund in Chile and Latin America. They’re an early stage Venture Capital fund that aims to provide exceptional entrepreneurs with key resources to scale their businesses. The main focus of the fund is to invest in highly scalable tech ventures with a global mindset. Since 2018, they’re part of the global Draper Network.
Founded: 2016
Size of fund: $18M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
Magma Partners
Magma Partners is a seed stage venture capital firm with offices in Latin America and California. They specialise in working with the best startups in Latin America, whose primary market is the United States. They are early stage investors who invest at Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A. Their current fund supports fintech, insurance tech, and blockchain startups in Latin America, and global startups with Latin American tech teams who want to scale into the US.
Founded: 2014
Size of fund: $15M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
We Boost
We Boost was founded by four leading Chilean entrepreneurs with over 20 years of experience in the industry: Marcelo Díaz Bowen (founder of the private business incubator Tremuley), Cristián Velasco Larach (associate partner in I2B Technologies and President of Clinicas BYO), Naim Jadue (founder of K2 Advisors), and Christian Cafatti (co-founder of Urban Investment and FollowUp). The fund aims to support Latin America’s emerging markets by funding startups in the Fintech, Transport, and SaaS industries. The new fund is looking at startups across all of Latin America, but the main focus is set on the Chilean, Brazilian, Mexican, Colombian, and Peruvian markets.
Founded: 2020
Size of fund: $20M
Stage: N/A
🇨🇴 Colombia
Polymath Ventures
Polymath Ventures offers an alternative to traditional venture capital. They are a hybrid of a VC and an incubator: instead of simply investing in startups, they get involved in building them from scratch in-house and helping them scale with capital they assemble from outside investors. It is a digital venture group that builds from scratch and scales disruptive tech ventures for Latin America’s middle class.
Founded: 2011
Size of fund: $3M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
🇲🇽 Mexico
Angel Ventures
AV Network is the largest angel investor network in Latin America. Angel Ventures started in 2008 as the first professionally managed angel investor network in Latin America. It now has more than 400 members, comprised of Angel Investors and other senior executives, to co-invest in early stage, high potential companies. In 2012 the firm raised its´ first VC fund of 20 million dollars which is invested in 21 companies. In 2016 AV launched its second fund, targeted at innovative startups located in the countries of the Pacific Alliance ( Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru).
Founded: 2008
Size of fund: N/A
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
ALLVP
ALLVP is a notable and active Mexican VCs, investing in national businesses, as well as in foreign companies with exposure in Latin America. It’s the first institutional fund seed and early venture capital in the country. ALLVP invests in the healthcare, FinTech, smart cities, and consumer internet sectors, with a strong focus on digital. It seeks companies holding potential for high impact and growth and are based on new tech that provides broader access to services.
Founded: 2012
Size of fund: $115M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
Mountain Nazca
Mountain Nazca is a venture capital firm focused on backing the bold entrepreneurs that are building tomorrow’s transformative technology-enabled businesses. It focuses on Latin American and US companies with global understanding and ambitions. They back proven breakout propositions in Latin America’s vast and untapped markets as well as transforming innovations created in early adopting markets like the US.
Funded: 2012
Size of fund: $20M
Stage: Early Stage Venture, Seed
