Indicator Capital, BNDES and Qualcomm Ventures launch $45 million fund in Latin America to IoT startups

The fund wants to make seven investments in IoT-related startups in the region by the end of 2021

Photo: Screenshot/Indicator Capital website

16.May.2021 13:45 BRT

The fund is the result of a joint initiative by BNDES and Qualcomm Ventures;
With a duration of 10 years, the fund will invest in up to 30 early-stage startups (Series A).

Indicator Capital, Brazil‘s National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES, its Portuguese acronym) and Qualcomm Ventures launched an early-stage venture capital fund, with a first-close of $45 million (BRL 240 million), focused on startups that develop services and products related to Internet of Things (IoT) and connectivity in Latin America.

Besides the creators of the public bid, the newest Indicator 2 IoT FIP fund has other five investors: Banco do Brasil, Multilaser, Motorola, Lenovo, and Telefônica Ventures / Vivo, among other institutional and corporate investors, Indicator Capital said, in a press statement.

According to Indicator Capital, with the new fund, it became the largest Brazilian venture capital manager in the region specializing in IoT. “Our objective was to launch a fund with at least $22 million (BRL 120 million), but the high demand made it possible to close the fundraising with twice the original amount”, said Thomas Bittar, one of the three founding partners of Indicator.

The fund is the result of a joint initiative by BNDES and Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated, that, in December 2019, launched a public call for tenders to select a manager to structure the newly created investment fund. Together, BNDES and Qualcomm Ventures made an initial investment of $16 million (BRL 85 million).

With a duration of 10 years, the fund will invest in up to 30 early-stage startups (Series A), with an average ticket of $1,9 million (BRL 10 million). Derek Bittar, founding partner at Indicador Capital, said that the fund wants to make seven investments in the region by the end of 2021.