Kaszek, whose main office is in São Paulo, pictured above, is seeking $400 million for an early-stage fund and $400 million for a growth fund, according to a presentation by the firm and people familiar with the matter.
A representative of Kaszek, whose main office is in São Paulo, declined to comment on the fundraising, which comes as Latin America garners attention for its tech market’s growth prospects. The market capitalization of publicly traded Latin American tech companies accounted for only 2.2% of regional gross domestic product last year, compared with 39% in the U.S., according to an analysis by Brazilian venture firm Atlantico. “There is so much more ‘room to grow’ here than anywhere else, so the potential is massive given we’re talking about 600 million people and $5 trillion in GDP,” said Julio Vasconcellos, managing partner at Atlantico. Portfolio companies of Kaszek, founded a decade ago by managing partners Hernan Kazah and Nicolas Szekasy, former executives of Argentinian e-commerce company MercadoLibre Inc., have received some of the largest financing rounds in the region recently.