Chile's Grupo Arcano to invest $100m in Australian start-ups
Chilean private equity firm Grupo Arcano plans to invest up to $100 million over the next two years in Australian start-ups.
The firm's founder told the Australian Financial Review that investments will focus on companies developing technology for healthcare, energy production, e-learning and agriculture.
Grupo Arcano has already made its first investment, committing $1.5 million to Future Solar Technologies. The company, based in New South Wales, is developing a new form of solar cell technology that can be produced cheaply and applied to a variety of surfaces.
Grupo Arcano was founded in Chile in 2001 by Alberto Chang-Rajii, one of the first investors in Google. Since then it has opened offices in Santiago, Miami Beach, London and Sydney. It currently manages about $1.8 billion in assets.
The firm backs companies in a variety of sectors, including finance, healthcare, and technology. Last year it acquired undisclosed stakes in US-based payment processing platform Square and messaging app Snapchat. It also supports a number of regional enterprises in Latin America.
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