Venture firm DFJ enters South America with $40M
Silicon Valley venture firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson has long been angling for a way to enter South America, seeing it as the last major region to conquer with its global network.
DFJ has teamed up with FIR Capital Partners, an early-stage Brazilian venture capital firm, to invest a $40 fund in the South America region — making it DFJ’s 17th regional affiliate fund.
Later this year, they’ll launch a $100 million fund, to be called DFJ FIR Brazil Fund II. See DFJ’s announcement here.
Few U.S. firms are active on the huge South American continent. Brazil is particularly attractive because of its advanced ethanol industry. DFJ and other firms have been increasing their investments into clean technology lately. Advent International and Intel Capital have both launched regional funds or initiatives there.
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About the Author, Matt Marshall
Matt launched VentureBeat in September of 2006, with the realization that no one else was covering the entrepreneurial and tech innovation scene with the velocity or depth that he was. Prior to founding VentureBeat, he covered venture capital for the San Jose Mercury News from 2001 to 2006. In 2002, Matt was awarded "Journalist of the Year" by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to working at the Merc, he was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Bonn, Germany from 1995 to 1998, and a writer for the Washington Post in 1994. Matt holds a PhD in Government and an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University. In addition to VentureBeat, Matt is also the Executive Producer of DEMO, the leading launchpad event for emerging technologies.












