Telefónica Innovation Ventures (TIV), a corporate venturing vehicle for telecommunications firm Telefónica, has become a limited partner in a fund operated by Brazil-based venture capital partnership Redpoint Eventures.
Founded in 2012 as a partnership between US-based VC firms Redpoint Ventures and E.ventures, Redpoint eVentures invests mainly in the Brazilian digital tech ecosystem with the aim of building links to Silicon Valley.
Redpoint eVentures’ portfolio includes on-demand accommodation marketplace Housi, mobile commerce software provider Button and online lender Creditas.
The firm closed an initial $130m fund in 2012 backed by limited partners including retail group Otto Group and had targeted the same amount for its second vehicle in 2018 according to a regulatory filing.
TIV’s contribution came as Telefónica tweaked its Brazilian open innovation strategy to double the size of investments from local open innovation subsidiary Wayra Brazil to between $100,000 and $210,000 per company.