The investment in Traive marks the first direct investment of BASF Venture Capital in South America.

BASF Venture Capital GmbH (BVC), the corporate venture company of BASF SE (ETR: BAS), has announced its first investment in South America. BVC will lead a $10 million investment round in Traive™, a Brazilian financial services provider that is developing a technology infrastructure for financial services and AI for credit risk analysis and portfolio management. (BASF)

Founded in 2018 as a research project out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Traive connects agricultural value chains to the financial market with the help of artificial intelligence.

The importance of the agricultural sector in the Brazilian economy cannot be understated. In 2022, the agricultural sector will account for 27.4% of Brazil’s gross domestic product, while the number of start-ups in the agricultural sector surged by 40% in 2021 compared to 2019 to a total of 1574.

The Traive™ financial platform digitizes the entire path of agricultural credit – from the farmer’s demand to the financial market – and reduces the effort involved in obtaining and managing loans through its proprietary technology and AI that generates an immediate risk assessment.

Markus Solibieda, Managing Director of BASF Venture Capital GmbH, commented on the investments: “We are proud of our first direct investment in South America. It underlines our mission to foster new business models and innovation to meet today’s challenges in the chemical industry as well as in increasingly complex agriculture.”

“Our technology platform has the potential to fundamentally change the way credit and risk are measured, monitored and commercialized in the agricultural industry. The commitment of BASF Venture Capital and the combination of institutional and strategic investors in this round gives us a tailwind,” said Fabricio Pezente, co-founder and CEO of Traive™.

In November 2021, Traive™ raised a $17 million Series A round, one of the largest-ever fundings closed in Brazil for ag-related fintech. The round was led by SP Ventures — which also led Traive’s 2020 pre-series A round — and Astella. Tiger Global Management, Bread and Butter Ventures, Minerva VC, Syngenta Group Ventures, Serasa Experian VC, YellowRockets.vc, and CSN Inova Ventures also participated.

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