Kaszek Ventures was founded in 2011 by Hernán Kazah and Nicolás Szekasy, two former MercadoLibre executives who left the company after Szekasy led its 2007 Nasdaq IPO as CFO. The firm's name is literally a combination of their two surnames, and their pitch to Latin American founders is built on a rare credibility: they'd already built and taken public the region's largest technology company before backing anyone else's. That track record helped Kaszek become the largest early-stage venture firm in Latin America, raising more than $2 billion across seven funds since its $95 million debut vehicle, and backing more than 120 startups including Nubank, QuintoAndar, Kavak, Creditas, and Bitso - nine of which have reached unicorn status.
Nubank's 2021 NYSE IPO - Kaszek was an early backer of the Brazilian neobank, which reached a market capitalization of roughly $67 billion by 2026