Kaszek Ventures

Hernán Kazah and Nicolás Szekasy spent over a decade building MercadoLibre from a Buenos Aires startup into a publicly traded company now worth more than $50B. They lived through the operational challenges of scaling a technology business in Latin America — logistics fragmentation, payment infrastructure gaps, and limited local venture capital. This experience informs Kaszek's preference for founders tackling structural inefficiencies in the region, particularly in fintech, logistics, and digital commerce. The firm's pattern-recognition advantage is concentrated in marketplace and platform models.

Kaszek invests from seed through pre-IPO. The firm's flagship vehicles are early-stage-oriented, with heavy concentration at seed and Series A. Parallel growth-stage funds allow Kaszek to lead or co-lead larger rounds for its highest-conviction portfolio companies, often investing $20M to $60M in single growth rounds. The firm does not operate a separate late-stage fund brand — all capital is managed under the Kaszek umbrella.

The firm's co-founders are among the most networked operators in Latin American technology. Kazah and Szekasy's MercadoLibre tenure gives them direct relationships with many of the region's most successful founders and early employees, who in turn refer emerging entrepreneurs to Kaszek. The firm maintains a reputation for being a first-call investor for serial founders spinning out of Nubank, MercadoLibre, Rappi, and other regional unicorns.

Brazil is Kaszek's largest and most active market by deal count and capital deployed. Mexico is the second most significant geography, followed by Argentina and Colombia. The firm evaluates select opportunities in Chile, Peru, and Uruguay. Kaszek does not invest outside Latin America — its mandate is deliberately constrained to Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking markets.

Kaszek deploys nearly all its capital through direct equity investments in operating companies. The firm is not a fund-of-funds and does not invest as a limited partner in other venture firms. It occasionally co-invests alongside global multi-stage managers in large growth rounds, particularly when a portfolio company requires follow-on capital exceeding Kaszek's pro-rata capacity.

All investment committee decisions are made by the co-founder managing partners, Hernán Kazah and Nicolás Szekasy. The firm has a flat partnership structure with no publicly disclosed junior partners authorized to approve investments independently.

No. Kaszek Ventures is an independent venture capital firm. MercadoLibre does not hold an ownership stake in Kaszek, and Kaszek does not invest MercadoLibre's balance-sheet capital. The connection is purely historical — both founders are former MercadoLibre executives who built the company before launching their own firm.