By Tatiana Bautzer
SAO PAULO, June 22 (Reuters) - Venture capital firm Maya has raised $100 million in its second fund to invest in early stage Latin American startups, co-founders Monica Saggioro Leal and Lara Lemann said.
Founded in 2018, Maya's first $40 million fund has a portfolio of 29 companies. Among them is agtech startup Clicampo, healthcare startups Alice and Nilo Saude and e-commerce firms Nana Delivery, Merce do Bairro and Merama. Maya also invested in mobility startup Kovi and food techs Diferente and NotCo.
Although early stage funding rounds have been less affected by tighter funding conditions than the later rounds, valuations have also been adjusted and companies are streamlining operations to reduce cash burn and extend time before the next round with investors, Lara Lemann said in an interview.
Investors in the new fund are mainly family offices and high net worth individuals, and some institutional investors. Maya plans to invest in 25 to 30 companies.
Some of Latin America's largest unicorns - startups valued at $1 billion or more - such as Vtex and 2TM have recently announced layoffs due to a smaller availability of capital. But co-founder Monica Saggioro still sees strong growth potential in the region. "E-commerce penetration in Brazil, for instance, is only 10%, well below rates in developed countries", she said.
(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer Tomasz Janowski)
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