Santander InnoVentures re-brands as Mouro Capital and gains US$400M for startups

Contxto – Santander InnoVentures, the investment arm of Spanish bank Santander, is undergoing some serious innovations of its own. 

On Friday (11), it announced that it’s re-branded into Mouro Capital. Furthermore, it’s not just a matter of name-changing. It’s also shaking up the way it will approach entrepreneurs and funding in general.

And to kick off the occasion, Santander also doubled its funding into Mouro which now has US$400 million to disperse.

Up until now, it’s invested in four fintechs from Latin America: Mexicans Klar and ePesos, as well as Brazilians a55 and Creditas. All of which will pass onto Mouro’s hands.

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Mouro Capital

The re-christened Mouro wants to put some healthy distance between itself and Santander. Proof enough is the fact that it 86-ed the bank’s name from its own.

Correspondingly, the VC will be run more independently. Though one can’t call it completely autonomous since the multinational bank is its only investor.

Anyway, some interesting changes are expected as a result of these developments.

For one, it says it will be more agile in making investment decisions. Moreover, the VC will stretch into other areas that aren’t apparently related to fintech solutions.

“Mouro will also explore the ‘boundaries’ of financial services, so you can expect to see Mouro invest from time to time in areas such as a proptech, mobility, logistics, edtech, etc.,” Manuel Silva Martínez, General Partner at Mouro told TechCrunch.

What’s up with corporate venture funds lately?

Santander and Mouro aren’t the only ones shifting their corporate venture funding gears.

Wayra—the accelerator program run by Spanish telecom company Telefónica—ceased to be last July. Now it is officially operating as a corporate venture fund. 

Meanwhile, Brazilian asset manager XP Inc. formally launched XP Ventures this month with US$1.5 billion ready to fund startups that directly align with its business strategy.

It appears that with an abundance of startups with potentially groundbreaking solutions, CVCs are shifting so as to not miss out on the action.

Related articles: Tech and startups from Mexico!

-ML