Angel Ventures seeks to strengthen corporate venturing in the region

Angel Ventures, the VC firm that specializes in early-stage investments, announced the acquisition of Coonector.

This Mexican company links corporations with startups in LatAm to “accelerate innovation and establish relationships of collaboration and investment,” according to the press release. The amount of the transaction was not revealed.

By adding Coonector’s expertise, Angel Ventures seeks to double on its corporate venturing efforts in the region. This strategy allows corporations to invest in startups to leverage their agility and ability to adapt to the market’s quick changes.

For Angel Ventures, this relationship is a path towards growing their investment deal flow across different industries.

In its first year of operations, Coonector was able to link more ton 80 Latin American startups with companies the size of AB InBev and Claro Colombia.

According to the company, 8 out of 10 linked startups match the criteria that corporations are seeking.

Latam, well-positioned for successful corporate venturing

The regional ecosystem seems to be prepared for growth in corporate venturing. More than 180 subsidiaries of 107 corporations in LatAm are doing some type of corporate venturing initiative, according to a report by IESE, Wayra de Telefonica, and CORFO.

Some of the most successful corporate venturing relationships in the region could appear in the fintech sector. The need to stay relevant facing technological disruption has made traditional financial institutions eager to work with developers and startups.

However, the need to link big corporations with startups appears across industries. Some of the ones that could benefit from disruptive innovation are health, food, and retail.