US-based venture capital firm Animo Ventures has unveiled a $60m debut fund anchored by steel, construction and healthcare conglomerate Techint.
The other limited partners in the fund, which closed in July 2018 according to TechCrunch, have not been named but they are primarily made up of investors from Latin America and Europe. The firm operated as Magnetico Ventures until last week.
Animo Ventures looks to lead or co-lead early-stage rounds, investing between $500,000 and $2m a time in rounds sized between $500,000 and $4m.
Although it reserves capital for follow-on deals, the firm will not make first investments in startups at series A stage or later, nor will it back companies developing technology requiring approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, owing to a lack of related expertise among its partners.
The fund has invested in 12 portfolio companies to date, including healthy school lunch delivery service Yay Lunch, commercial real estate financing platform Lev and Ohana, a telemedicine services provider focused on women going through menopause.
Nico Berardi is the firm’s sole general partner, sourcing deals alongside partners Antonio Osio, who is based in Mexico, and Caro Acevedo, who lives in Argentina.
Despite the backing of Argentina-headquartered Techint, Animo has no plans to invest in Latin America-based companies, Berardi told TechCrunch, and will instead focus on ecosystems around the US.
