Break out the Cachaça: Brazil’s largest early-stage investment fund opens

This morning, Redpoint e.ventures announced that it is the largest early-stage venture capital fund in Brazil. The firm raised $130 million and is the first Silicon-Valley affiliated fund dedicated to the region. This news comes just one week after BV Capital rebranded as e.ventures and formally unified its five international funds under one umbrella.

The integration is intended to emphasize e.ventures‘ global presence and make it easier for portfolio companies to operate internationally. Redpoint e.ventures will use the money to continue supporting Brazilian startups and help entrepreneurs across Latin America build e-commerce, mobile, media, and cloud service companies.

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“In Brazil, we are focusing on commerce because we can see a lot of pent up demand, and we are focusing on mobile because data pricing is coming down, said cofounder Mathias Schilling in an interview with VentureBeat.

Redpoint e.ventures will offer investment to promising startups beginning at the seed round and continuing through the first and second rounds of institutional investment. It will also leverage its global portfolio to optimize the success of its member companies. For example, e.ventures purchased a Chinese company with a billion dollar market cap, but built the company in Brazil because it was more efficient.

In addition to worldwide connections, Brazilian startups will also benefit from Redpoint e.ventures’ expertise. While Brazil has a major emerging technology market, there are few investor options between small, local funds and firms based thousands of miles away. Redpoint e.ventures strives to bridge this gap and bring the benefits of a top tier VC firm to Latin America.

The fund will be managed by founding partners of Redpoint e.ventures Yann de Vries and Anderson Thees, both Brazilian investors with Ivy League credentials and Silicon Valley experience. It already includes five active investments:  travel company Viajanet; consumer investment platform Grupo Xango; social media marketing service 55Social; monthly shoe subscription service Shoes4you, and jewelry site Sophie & Juliete.

This announcement comes about four months after Redpoint and e.ventures announced the formation of the joint firm. Both Redpoint and e.ventures are based in the Bay Area and have been investing in technology companies for around 15 years. The Sao Paulo fund is the most recent addition to e.ventures’ roster of nine.