Baidu, the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, announced that it is the lead investor in a new USD $60 million Brazil-based investment fund named Easterly Ventures.
Easterly Ventures will focus on providing funding, technology, local traffic and industry expertise for Brazilian tech startups, with the goal of building a robust mobile service ecosystem in Latin America. It plans to invest in as many as 15 Brazilian startup companies during its investment period, with the first investment slated for late 2016.
Baidu claims that its international mobile apps now have a combined 300 million monthly active users worldwide, with 27 million in Brazil. Its mobile advertising platform DU Ad Platform receives over 150 million ad requests in Brazil on a daily basis.
Yan Di, General Manager of Baidu Brasil and President of the Brazilian O2O Association
We strongly believe that Easterly Ventures will be a winner in Brazil's talent-rich market, applying learnings from China to build out the mobile ecosystem here. Brazil's economy is expected to rebound in the year ahead. There is absolutely no better time to enter this market.
