Phillip Trauer has joined Wayra Brasil and Vivo Ventures, the Brazilian corporate venture capital arms of Spanish telecommunications firm Telefónica, as managing director.
The news came in the wake of former Wayra and Vivo Ventures managing director Gabriela Toribio departing from the units earlier this year. Toribio, who was part of the Global Corporate Venturing Emerging Leaders 2023 roster, moved to Dutch financial services firm Rabobank as investment director.
Trauer will help Vivo and Telefônica Brasil work more closely with startups, identify joint opportunities and enter new markets.
Wayra is Telefónica’s seed-stage fund present in nine countries, and it has been in Brazil since 2012. Vivo Ventures, on the other hand, was formed with R$320m ($65m) in 2022 and participates in rounds from series A to C.
Artificial intelligence, the internet of things, cloud and software as a service are among Wayra’s focus areas, investing across sectors such as education, healthcare and financial services. Vivo Ventures also targets similar areas, in addition to energy, smart home and entertainment.
Vivo Ventures has backed four startups: telemedicine service Conexa Saúde, enterprise integration platform Digibee, AI-based decision-making tool developer Klavi and Klubi, which provides credit facilities.
Trauer had spent nearly seven years at investment firm Valor Capital Group, first as a principal from 2017 before making his way up to venture partner in September 2023. Previously, he worked for short-term rental company Sonder, banking group Citi and venture capital firm Ideiasnet.
