Nucleus Emerging Markets Ventures

Jayesh Punater, the founder and CEO, leads investment decisions alongside founding partners Frank Sica and Neil Agarwal. Punater is an experienced fintech entrepreneur and strategist who advises multiple boards including Mission OG. Frank Sica brings institutional private equity experience from his roles at Soros Fund Management and Tailwind Capital.

The firm sources deals through its founding team's extensive networks in fintech and venture capital, as well as through its local presence in Mexico City. Partner Jan Hogewoning has lived in Mexico since 2018, and operating partner Patrick Morselli's prior experience launching Uber in Brazil and Mexico provides direct relationships with local startup ecosystems.

No. Nucleus EMV combines a fintech studio and venture investment platform, meaning it places operating partners directly inside portfolio companies to provide finance, technology, and growth advisory services. This makes the firm more operationally intensive than a typical venture capital fund that primarily provides capital and board oversight.

Based on available public information, Nucleus EMV makes direct equity investments into early-stage companies rather than committing capital to other funds as a limited partner. The firm's model emphasizes direct operational involvement with founders, which aligns with direct investing rather than a fund-of-funds approach.

The firm targets early-stage companies, spanning seed, startup, and growth phases. It focuses on fintech solutions for underserved populations in Latin America. The firm's strategy sections on its website reference funding and scaling founders from the earliest stages through expansion.

The firm's primary focus is fintech, targeting companies building payments, lending, insurtech, and embedded finance solutions for Latin America's large unbanked population. It also selectively invests in enterprise software, proptech, and consumer technology ventures that digitize large underserved markets in the region.

Yes. Partner Jan Hogewoning has resided in Mexico City since 2018 and the firm lists Mexico City as an operational base. Founding partner Neil Agarwal previously lived in Brazil, and operating partner Patrick Morselli helped launch Uber's operations in both Brazil and Mexico, giving the firm direct, in-region experience.