São Paulo-based SP Ventures nears the closure of its third fund, AgVentures Fund III (AGV III), after raising $50 million from a group of global impact and agribusiness investors, as the venture capital firm capitalises on AI trends and technology to address the climate crisis.
As part of AGV III, the venture capital firm received investments from the Inter-American Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, sugar and ethanol producer Grupo Colorado, and Colombian agro-industrial Grupo Manuelita, according to a Feb. 10 press release. This follows a $8 million investment from the Soros Economic Development Fund made the previous week.
SP Ventures plans to raise $80 million for AGV III, which will support 20-22 agtech start-ups in ag biologicals, climate mitigation and resiliency, financial services, supply chain efficiency, and other sectors.
In 2025, SP Ventures started to rotate out of its legacy portfolio and make new investments in start-ups with AGV III, Francisco Jardim, co-founder and managing partner at the firm, told AgTechNavigator during a visit to the firm’s headquarters.
SP Ventures exited several companies in 2025, including its investment in Brazil-based drone inspection company Horus Smart Detections, making it a “watershed year” for the firm, he added.
“There is an old saying that fund three is the hardest one, and you separate the people who are going to make it in the business,” Jardim elaborated. “By fund three, you already have 7-9 years since you started investing in fund one. So, there is no way that you can fool people. You really have to show concrete results that you were able to invest in incredible entrepreneurs and build really interesting, incredible value-creating businesses for the whole value chain.”
Grupo Colorado dips toes into venture investing
One of SP Ventures’ new investors — Grupo Colorado — launched its corporate venture (CVC) arm Colorado Ventures last year, which made its first major investment with its deal with SP Ventures, Elias Samuel Mozambani Ospina, head of open innovation and corporate venturing at the CVC, told AgTechNavigator.
Colorado Ventures is prioritising investments in sustainable biofuel start-ups in 2026, but the SP Ventures investment allows it to have a presence in bio-inputs, precision agriculture, and robotics, Mozambani Ospina explained.
“We saw all the returns that they had until now. So, they are the best venture capital here in Brazil and Latin America as well for agribusiness. ... We did not see anyone that is bigger than them,” Mozambani Ospina elaborated.
3 factors changing agriculture, agtech investing in 2025
2025 was not only a transformational year for SP Ventures, but also for the agriculture industry as geopolitical, climate volatility, and technological disruptions hit the sector, Jardim noted.
AI is “one of the biggest technological shifts in the world,” and “is the most important technological transformation ... since the Industrial Revolution,” Jardim explained. SP Ventures evaluates how start-ups improve operations with AI, before investing in them, he added.
“We really want to see someone who sees AI as a core partner. ... We have also been very early adopters here at the company. We nominated a chief AI officer at the firm. We have brought an external consultant to help us start looking at our internal processes and see where we can build agents to improve velocity and quality of decision-making. So, we are also bringing it in internally to the fund manager,” Jardim elaborated.
Last year, “uncertainty and the complexity of managing an agribusiness operation became much higher because of climate volatility,” Jardim added. Brazil experienced a 460% increase in climate-related disasters since the 1990s, according to a report issued by multiple government agencies.
Geopolitics complicates Brazilian agriculture
The world is also navigating an increasingly complicated geopolitical situation, as the “rules of the world post-1945 — post-World War II — were basically thrown out the window,” Jardim noted. This comes as Brazil’s ag sector reaches new heights, including record exports in 2025, as AgTechNavigator reported.
“Brazilian agribusiness exports to over 160 countries; 80% of production is pretty much exported. So, it is highly dependent on external markets absorbing our product. Tariffs have a big impact. Currency volatilities have a big impact. Geopolitical shocks, such as wars and conflicts, have a big impact,” he emphasised.
A strong percentage of “Brazil’s labor force is in ag, directly or indirectly, and it is by far the most vulnerable segment to climate change. So, you cannot really talk about social impact and supporting and defending rural livelihoods without talking about ag tech,” he added.
