Upload Ventures seeks $250M for Latin America-focused growth-stage fund

Upload Ventures, the Latin American-focused investment firm spun out of SoftBank’s investment arm less than a year ago, is looking to raise a $250 million fund, according to regulatory filings.

The Mexico- and Brazil-focused firm has already secured an anchor investor, with Brazilian telecoms business TIM committing to investing $50 million in the growth-stage focused fund over the next two years.

The new fund will focus on late-stage investments, an area that has been hit hard by the downturn in Latin America. Late-stage funding in the region declined by 93% in Q3 2022 compared to the previous year, with just three of the 290 investors focused on late-stage rounds in 2021 still active in Q3 2022.

📊 Venture funding in Latin America fell 79% in 2022

In 2022, venture funding in Latin America took a significant hit, as venture volume sank almost 60% from the previous year in the wake of a sharp shift in the startup funding climate. Per Crunchbase data, investor funding sat at $8.28 billion in the region in 2022, down 58%

TechloyEmmanuel Oyedeji

This lack of available growth capital presents an opportunity for Upload Ventures, which has expanded its investment capabilities from an initial focus on early-stage investments.

The firm was co-founded by Rodrigo Baer and Marco Camhaji, who left SoftBank to focus on early-stage investments. The expanded capabilities will be executed by partners Mario Moraes and Carlos Simonsen. The team is now 13 people, including new venture partner Norberto Giangrande.