May 12, 2021

May, 2021 – The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), Indicator Capital and Qualcomm Ventures LLC announced today the launch of the Indicator 2 IoT FIP venture capital fund, which raised R$ 240 million. This fund is focused on early-stage investments and the first to be specialized on the Internet of Things (IoT) and Connectivity in Latin America. The fund has seven major investors: in addition to the creators of the notice, BNDES and Qualcomm Ventures, funds were raised from Banco do Brasil, Multilaser, Motorola, Lenovo and Telefônica, among other institutional and corporate investors.

Aimed at startups that develop services and products related to IoT and Connectivity, the fund boosts the Brazilian IoT Plan, accelerating technology development for strategic sectors for the country, such as agriculture, health, industry 4.0, smart cities and mobility. With this funding, Indicator Capital becomes the largest Brazilian venture capital manager in Latin America specialized in IoT.

According to Thomas Bittar, one of Indicator’s three founding partners, “the closure of the product was disputed and we were unable to accommodate all investors. That’s why we prioritize the most strategic ones to help us accelerate the formation of the national IoT ecosystem. Our goal was to launch a fund with at least R$ 120 million, but the demand allowed us to close the funding process with twice the original value,” he added.

The fund is the result of a joint initiative of BNDES and Qualcomm Ventures, the investment branch of Qualcomm Incorporated, a global leader in state-of-the-art wireless technologies, which in December 2019 launched a public call notice to select a manager to structure the newly created investment fund. Together, BNDES and Qualcomm Ventures made an initial contribution of R$ 85 million.

According to Bruno Laskowsky, Director of Equity, Capital Markets and Indirect Credit at BNDES, “the success of the fundraising process shows how the allocation of public resources can be enhanced by the partnership with private investors to foster strategic sectors for the country such as the IoT ecosystem.”

“As a global leader in wireless technology innovation, Qualcomm plays an important role in the development and implementation of 5G worldwide, and has created a robust ecosystem of innovations that should enable very positive transformations in the way we live and how companies operate. The Internet of Things is key in this strategy and Qualcomm Ventures is proud to be an anchor investor in the Fund, one that will support startups that are developing transformative solutions for the advancement of IoT in Latin America,” says Carlos Kokron, Vice President, Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and Executive Director, Qualcomm Ventures Americas.

With a duration of 10 years, the fund will invest in up to 30 companies at early stage (Series A), through contributions of, on average, R$ 10 million. “We intend to make seven investments by the end of 2021, playing a leading role in IoT in Latin America. We are working very hard to put Brazil permanently on the global map of the Internet of Things, alongside technology-leading countries,” adds Derek Bittar, founding partner of Indicator Capital.

The Brazilian IoT Plan was elaborated from the study “Internet of Things: An action plan for Brazil”*, in an initiative led by BNDES and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). Its objective is to accelerate the implementation of the Internet of Things as an essential tool for the sustainable development of Brazilian society, transforming people’s lives. According to the study, its positive impact on the Brazilian economy is expected to be US$ 200 billion by 2025.

“From Silicon Valley, we monitor key technology trends, maintaining relationships with industry leaders and helping Brazilian startups to internationalize their business at the right time. We apply our proprietary methodology Building Value Together®, contributing significantly to the development of startups. This is why we believe that, from these investments, large Brazilian technology players will be born in the next 5 to 10 years,” added Fabio de Paula, founding partner of Indicator.

About BNDES - Founded in 1952 and currently linked to the Ministry of Economy, BNDES is the main instrument of the Federal Government to promote long-term investments in the Brazilian economy.  BNDES’s actions focus on the socioenvironmental and economic impact in Brazil. BNDES offers special conditions for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, as well as social investment lines, directed at education and health, family agriculture, sanitation and urban transport.  In crisis situations, BNDES acts in an anticyclical manner and assists in the formulation of solutions for the resumption of economic growth.

Through BNDESPAR, its wholly owned subsidiary, BNDES is one of the main investors in Seed Capital Funds and Venture Capital of Brazil. Currently, there are 39 investment funds in BNDES’s portfolio, with R$ 3.13 billion of committed capital, which leverage R$ 17.1 billion from other investors.

About Qualcomm Ventures - As a venture capital investment group of Qualcomm Incorporated, a global leader in next-generation wireless technologies, Qualcomm Ventures has been making strategic investments in technology companies with the potential to dramatically transform the world since the year 2000. As a global investor, Qualcomm Ventures is focused on building the connections responsible for the future of mobile devices. For more information, visit:  www.qualcommventures.com.

About Indicator Capital - Founded in 2014, Indicator Capital is a Brazilian manager of early-stage venture capital, headquartered in São Paulo and present in the Silicon Valley. The company formed by Derek Lundgren Bittar, Fabio Iunis de Paula and Thomas Lundgren Bittar, it acts to promote the convergence between the dreams of entrepreneurs and the financial return for investors, tropicalizing the best North American practices for national startups.

Indicator Capital specializes in catalyzing digital transformation into corporations by investing in highly scalable and profitable technology-based businesses. “Building Value Together®” is a proprietary initiative developed by Indicator Capital that guides all its activities, acting actively and collaboratively with the invested companies and providing all the support during the complete life cycle, from the initial investment, through the growth curve until the exit process. To this end, the three partners have complementary skills and competences, bringing decades of experience to support entrepreneurs. Indicator’s portfolio has more than 10 startups, including iugu, ARVORE, TEVEC and successful companies that left, such as Social Miner.

Since its creation, Indicators seeks to be recognized as an “Investor for Good,” generating a positive and lasting impact for society. Therefore, its partners support brilliant entrepreneurs and disruptive technological businesses, and follow guidelines aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to materialize the concept of #Tech4Good, also reinforced by the certification of the company in system B.

Click here to see the study “Internet of Things: an Action Plan for Brazil”: