CMPC Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
CMPC Ventures is the corporate venture capital and innovation-fund arm of Empresas CMPC, one of the world's largest pulp and paper producers, headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Operating since 2020 with a dedicated US$100 million innovation fund, the unit's stated mission is "Acelerando el Biofuturo" (Accelerating the Bio-Future): connecting CMPC to disruptive technologies and startups that let the company diversify and complement its fiber- and forest-based value proposition. Unlike a pure financial CVC, CMPC Ventures explicitly ties investing to corporate strategy. Fund manager Bernardita Araya has described the unit's evolving mandate as closing the gap between initial investment and real industrial adoption inside CMPC's operating businesses — sourcing external innovation, but also building the internal pathways (business ownership, technical validation, procurement, and operating sponsors) needed to get that technology deployed at scale.
Sector Focus
CMPC Ventures organizes its mandate around five investment verticals tied directly to CMPC's core business: forest management and productivity, value-added technologies for CMPC's by-products, technologies that improve CMPC's competitiveness, new products derived from Kraft cellulose, and advanced bioproducts and wood-based solutions. In practice this spans biomaterials and biocatalysis (converting CO2 and biomass into fiber, textiles, and specialty chemicals), sustainable packaging (paper-based alternatives to plastic and glass), engineered wood and structural composites, and renewable-energy hardware built from wood (e.g., wind turbine towers).
Stage Focus
The firm targets "Series Seed+ to Series B, or wherever we see a strategic fit," per its own site, and explicitly also considers non-equity collaboration agreements or joint ventures with startups and research centers. It favors startups at intermediate-to-advanced development stages with disruptive, scalable technology and strong strategic alignment to CMPC, backed by teams capable of executing the next stages of growth.
Check Size
Observed check sizes are modest relative to the US$100M fund: a €2M (~$2.2M) direct investment in Modvion, and lead participation in Strong by Form's earlier seed round alongside a syndicate of climate and family-office investors. CMPC Ventures also participates as one of several investors in larger syndicated rounds (e.g., Pulpex's ~$75M Series D), suggesting per-deal exposure in the low single-digit millions with the ability to follow on. By mid-2024 the fund had deployed over US$20M across startups, projects, and alliances.
Lead Tendency
Mixed. CMPC Ventures led Strong by Form's original seed round and Modvion's direct investment, but joined as a syndicate participant (not lead) in Pulpex's Series D (led by the UK National Wealth Fund and Scottish National Investment Bank) and in Strong by Form's 2026 Series A first close (led by boisei investments).
Recent Activity
The fund has been active through 2025–2026: it invested in Silicon Valley biomaterials startup Rubi (announced July 2025), backed Pulpex's Series D to fund its first commercial paper-bottle plant near Glasgow (announced April 2025), and rejoined Strong by Form's €5.8M Series A first close in September 2026. Fund manager Bernardita Araya also spoke publicly in September 2026 about the fund's shift toward driving internal industrial adoption of portfolio technologies, not just sourcing them.
Portfolio Highlights
Publicly listed portfolio companies: Rubi (CO2-to-textile biocatalysis, Silicon Valley), Modvion (wood laminated-veneer wind turbine towers, Sweden), Strong by Form (Woodflow biomimetic wood-composite structural material, Spain/Chile), Pulpex (molded-pulp paper bottle technology, UK — investors include Diageo, PepsiCo, Unilever, Kraft Heinz), Nordic Bioproducts Group (Aalto University spinout, biomaterials/MCC technology, Finland — co-developing the Norratex textile fiber with CMPC), Boxia (B2B corrugated-packaging marketplace, Mexico — a company-builder spinout from CMPC Biopackaging), and Woamy (Aalto University spinout, biobased packaging foam replacing expanded polystyrene, Finland).
Team
- Bernardita Araya — Manager / Fund Manager, CMPC Ventures. PhD, University of Cambridge; 20+ years across startups, corporations, and venture capital. Leads investments, operations, and strategic relationships.
- Bibiana Rubini — Head of R&D and Bioeconomy, CMPC. Chemical engineer, MBA; 17 years in pulp and paper. Leads internal R&D and third-party collaborations, and technical evaluation of CMPC Ventures investments.
- Evelyn Von Bischhoffshausen — Investments & Portfolio Manager, based in Chile. 12+ years in venture capital and fund management; leads deal evaluation, negotiation, and portfolio monitoring.
- Viviana Hermosilla — Technical Director for Europe, based in Germany. PhD in pulp-and-paper technologies (KTH); coordinates technical relationships with European portfolio companies and new-deal evaluation.
- Anna Niittylä — Scout and Nordic Representative, heads the CMPC Ventures office in Finland; connects the fund to the Nordic and broader European innovation ecosystem.
- Geofrey González — Analyst and Internal Coordinator, based in Chile; leads internal relationships connecting Ventures with CMPC's business units and operations.
- Sebastián Díaz — Platforms and Investments Manager.
A separate Strategic Innovation Council (Consejo Estratégico de Innovación) — including CMPC CEO Francisco Ruiz Tagle and CMPC directors Bernardo Matte Izquierdo and Bernardo Larraín Matte — provides high-level guidance connecting Ventures to CMPC's broader innovation agenda.
Decision Process
Corporate structure with a dedicated investment/operations team (led by Bernardita Araya) handling sourcing, diligence, and portfolio management, and a Strategic Innovation Council of CMPC executives and directors providing oversight and strategic alignment checks.
Founder Preferences
CMPC Ventures favors exceptional, execution-capable teams building disruptive, scalable technology with a strong strategic fit to CMPC's fiber, forestry, and bio-based materials businesses — and, increasingly, founders willing to work closely with CMPC's internal operating teams on real-world pilots and industrial adoption, not just capital deployment.
Geographic Focus
Global, anchored by CMPC's own international footprint: Chile (HQ), the United States (Silicon Valley, via Rubi), Sweden (Modvion), Finland (Nordic Bioproducts Group, Woamy, and a dedicated Nordic office), the United Kingdom (Pulpex), Germany (a dedicated technical office for Europe), Spain (Strong by Form), and Mexico (Boxia). The fund also runs a Venture Client program with CMPC's Pulp and Paper operations for startups to pilot technology directly with the company.