Investor Profile: Magma Partners — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Magma Partners funding is the pre-seed door many Latin American founders wish they had knocked on earlier: a Santiago-headquartered early-stage venture capital firm that, in its own team's words, has backed 125+ startups with $80M+ to help founders solve Latin America's biggest problems. Founded in 2014 by Nathan Lustig and Francisco Sáenz, Magma says plainly that it would love to be your first investor — and if it missed you at pre-seed, it can back you all the way to Series A.

Magma Partners' thesis: a generalist fund with a fintech heart

Magma describes itself as a generalist fund backing Latin America's top entrepreneurs building scalable technology businesses in big markets — but it is best known for fintech, insurtech and marketplaces. The firm invests at pre-seed, seed and Series A, with a stated preference for being the first investor on the cap table. Most of its capital goes into Spanish-speaking Latin America, with a smaller allocation to early-stage Brazil-based companies; it also backs companies based in Latin America, doing business there, expanding there imminently — and even Latin American immigrants and US Latins with teams in the region. Historically the firm wrote $50,000–$100,000 seed cheques, with larger follow-on commitments, though the precise entry cheque today is best confirmed with the team.

Fund size, portfolio and partners

The firm's Fund III, announced in 2020, was publicly stated at $50 million — the firm's largest to date at the time, following a $15 million fund in 2018 — with IDB Lab, the innovation laboratory of the IDB Group, as its first institutional investor contributing $4 million, alongside Chilean, Colombian and Mexican family offices and angel investors across Latin America and the US. The portfolio spans the region's fintech and marketplace champions: Kushki, Billpocket, Nuvocargo, HelloGuru, Bexi and Albo are among the widely cited names. The team — co-founded by Nathan Lustig and Francisco Sáenz, with Diego Philippi also among the founders — comprises experienced entrepreneurs and early employees from Silicon Valley and Latin America, operating from offices across Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina and the United States.

Credits, perks and founder support

Magma's pitch to founders is hands-on support from a team that has operated on both sides of the table in Silicon Valley and Latin America, with a deep bench across the region's ecosystems. There is no publicly stated cloud-credits or perks programme from the firm itself.

How to apply for funding from Magma Partners

Magma gives founders a specific instruction on its Contact page: if you are an entrepreneur seeking financing — or simply want feedback on your business — create a Magma Memo rather than using the general inquiry form. That memo is the firm's stated application route, so prepare a crisp, structured write-up of the problem, product, market, team and traction before you submit.