Angel Ventures expands to Austin and incorporates new Partners to AV Latin US Fund III  

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angel ventures
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Angel Ventures, AV (www.angelventures.vc), a leading early-stage  venture capital firm focused on high growth potential investments, announces the launch of its  Austin, TX, office and the onboarding of new Partners Elisa Sepulveda and Marcelo de la Garza. 

This goes in hand with the signing of the first LP commitments to its third fund with a target size of  $120 million. The fund will focus on investing in Latin American and US-Hispanic/Latino-owned  startups, with a particular emphasis on fintech, foodtech, retailtech, proptech, and mobility  opportunities. The fund is expected to commence operations during the second half of 2023. 

According to Crunchbase, less than 2.0% of venture-backed startups have Latinx founders, despite  Latinx entrepreneurs starting businesses three times faster than any other ethnic group (Aspen  Institute). As it has done during its fifteen years in business, Angel Ventures is committed to  supporting and investing in this underrepresented group of entrepreneurs and is excited to help them grow and scale their businesses. 

After two successful funds in Latin America, the natural progression is for Angel Ventures to expand  its footprint to the US Latino market. To assist in its operations, Angel Ventures has set up a local  office in Austin which will power AV’s strong network and together with its proven track record in  Latin America will position the fund ahead of other VC managers for successful, risk-adjusted  returns. Additionally, the Company expects to leverage nearshoring capabilities that can help  founders increase sales with connections to the biggest companies in Latin America and become  more cost efficient by utilizing Latin American talent and resources.  

As part of Angel Ventures’ expansion, the Firm is onboarding two Partners that have expansive  experience in nearshoring, early-stage investments and company development. 

Elisa Sepulveda is a community builder and operational leader living in Austin, Texas who believes  that entrepreneurship can lift up underserved communities through employment and education.  Elisa previously worked as an entrepreneur-in-residence for MATH Venture Partners, a Midwest  venture capital firm. She also sits on the board for DivInc, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing  minority entrepreneurs. Previously, Elisa was the Managing Director of Founder Institute Austin, an  early-stage accelerator program, where she helped launch 70 companies during her 5-year tenure.  

Marcelo de la Garza is Co-Founder of Gesta Labs, an innovation studio that builds end-to-end  Industry 4.0 solutions for Industrial clients. With vast experience in digital transformation in the  industrial sector. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, he started a Family Office, Auria Capital,  together with his family to professionalize the investments and disinvestment decisions of the  family’s businesses and he has been an active angel investor for 10 years with over 30 investments  and serves as board member of Nuevo Leon 4.0 and Auria Capital.

“The Angel Ventures team has a unique opportunity to become a premiere venture firm for Latinos  given our experience in LATAM. Our team brings experiences from across the globe and together,  we will demonstrate how cross border relationships with LATAM build the strongest US companies  led by Latinos that build wealth for individuals and communities alike both sides of the border”

Elisa Sepulveda, AV

The fund’s investment strategy will be to invest in companies with a strong founding team, a clear  market opportunity, and the potential to achieve significant growth. The team at Angel Ventures  brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table, having worked with a wide range of  startups and entrepreneurs over the last fifteen years. 

“This is a once in a lifetime window of opportunity to merge the best of two regions (Latam/US) by  eliminating borders and letting innovative ideas, talent and capital flow freely in order to support  the growth of amazing Startups that will generate large amounts of wealth not only economically  but also impacting many people’s lives.”  

Marcelo de la Garza

“AV has always been a collective of people making informed decisions based on specific expertise  to maximize returns for our investors. We are extremely proud and happy to be able to attract  talent like Elisa and Marcelo to the team to fuel the growth of our firm”, said Managing Partners  Camilo Kejner and Hernán Fernández. 

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