SUBMIT YOUR PITCH

B2B or B2C early-stage tech startups primarily focused in Japan, Korea or LATAM or startups with at least one Japanese, Korean or LATAM founder with 10%+ equity. We strongly prefer pre-seed with a MVP, POC or product launched (no need of revenue), but we can do seed from time to time. We don't invest at Series A or later.

We are sector agnostic but we do not invest in biotech, B2C hardware or startups with large consultive (non-automated) or offline components. At least one co-founder must be technical and one must speak fluent english (preferably the CEO).

We found out through our decades of experience as global entrepreneurs and investors, that English fluency is extremely important to build not only local champions but global companies.

If at least one of the founders can not read or communicate well in English they'll probably be behind competitors in terms of product development, accessing great mentors, fundraising and hiring great people.

Founders who are not fluent in English yet but are dedicated to improve their skills in the next 12 months are encouraged to contact us.

Because at the early-stage phase, a technical co-founder may lower costs in developing your product and iterate faster, exponentially increasing your chances of success. It doesn't make sense to invest in a tech startup without a co-founder who understands about tech.

We can make an exception for this requirement in selected cases where a startup has exceptional co-founders and shows great traction.

The optimal setup is between 2-4 co-founders but more important than the number of co-founders is their history working together. We want to see complementary teammates who have been in the trenches in good or bad times.

A co-founder is someone owning 10%+ in equity and working full-time.

Not necessarily. We do not think revenue is a good metric for success at this stage. Having a scalable product that customers love and have them coming back is more important.

We do not invest in ideas unless the founder has a previous track record. We want entrepreneurs who know how to execute and have a product launched with customers.

So far all our investments are in an offshore holding (Delaware, Singapore, UK or Cayman) using the standard YC SAFE or British ASA, which are quick, protect the founders and let entrepreneurs focus on what matters the most: creating a great company. We also require a pro-rata side letter so we can keep our percentage intact by investing more in follow-on rounds.

We negotiate only the amount of money we'll invest (up to $1M, average $400K) and the valuation cap (or discount).

For a few reasons:

1. If you really want to go global, the next round of smart money investors will require you to create an offshore entity, so you want to be ready for them. The sooner the better for your startup.

2. If we help bring great angels or other smart money investors to the same round we invest, they'll most likely invest only in Delaware, Cayman, UK or Singapore holdings.

If you don't have an offshore entity yet, that's ok. The process of incorporating a company abroad is quick and cheap. We recommend doing a "full flip" only after raising a certain amount of money as it is more expensive and time consuming.

1. We have been entrepreneurs ourselves, therefore we understand and respect what you're going through and appreciate your efforts in building a startup;

2. We do not interfere in your business and are very low touch and do not take board seats. You know better than us how to be successful in your industry. However, we are always available to brainstorm, advise and introduce good mentors upon your request and if there is a fit for both sides;

3. We've seen thousands of pitches and startups in the last decade. Although we can not predict with accuracy what will work in your case, we definitely can share what we've seen that does not work when building a global company from your country, saving you time, money and emotional distress;

4. We have an extensive network of entrepreneurs and tech executives not only in LATAM, but also in North America (Silicon Valley), Europe and Asia;

5. We are super transparent, quick to decide and want to add value to your company even if we don't invest. We believe in the "pay it forward" Silicon Valley mindset;

6. We trust the founders to make the right decisions but we may not agree with everything founders do. We're founder focused, we can be friends later.

First, read the entire FAQ and make sure your startup fits our investment criteria. Then you can reach us by clicking on this link. Be brief and straight to the point as we get too many inbound requests.

On Fund I, we have invested in 18 companies from November 2021 to January 2025, mostly focused on Brazil. Clarke Energia has been acquired by Energisa (BVMF: ENGI11), Kuppi by Yooga and at Ursula we had a secondary exit.

13 companies are currently alive and 10 of them have raised money from America VCs in the pre-seed and seed stages from firms such as A16Z, Goodwater, FJ Labs, Hustle Fund, Silence Capital, Betaworks and Rally Cap. Other 15 funds from LATAM and the rest of the world followed our rounds as well, such as Exit North Ventures, OneVC, Seedstars International, Norte, Kortex, Magma Partners and others.

We do not like to hype companies or investments, we care about great outcomes for founders and our investors.

Some of our partners have lived and have practical experience doing business in the USA, China, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea and Japan. China and the USA are too competitive and mature as Venture Capital markets, so we focused our energy in the other countries. Niu Ventures has a cultural understanding on how they work plus we have a solid network in all of them.

Despite the differences in culture, language and ways of doing business, early stage first time founders from these regions face the same challenges:

1. They generally do not have a strong network in other countries;

2. They are not aware on how the global VC game works;

3. Their storytelling does not work for audiences outside their countries.

We believe the world is becoming more multipolar and there should be better bridges between these countries and also from them to Silicon Valley.