Latitud Research
Investment Thesis
Latitud is a Latin America-focused pre-seed venture fund that describes its mission as bridging LatAm talent to Silicon Valley. Its homepage line is "We write first checks for LatAm founders building good sh*t everywhere." The firm came out of a founder community and fellowship started by Brian Requarth, who sold VivaReal and wished he had had a founder community when building it. Latitud pairs an early check with hands-on help from founders who have built and funded global companies, access to a strong LatAm founder network, and introductions to leading US funds.
Stage Focus
Latitud comes in very early: ideation, pre-seed and the first institutional check. Its fellowship targets "pre-founders" in the blank-document stage, and the fund describes itself as a pre-seed fund backing emerging founders across Latin America. Portfolio companies such as Pomelo and BHub cite Latitud as their first check at pre-seed. The firm has also supported companies through seed, Series A and in some cases Series B, mostly through introductions and follow-on support.
Check Size
The Latitud SF Fellowship gives each selected pre-founder a $62.5K Ideation Check on a SAFE for 2.5% equity, with eight founders per cohort (about $500K total). Third-party profiles (Crunchbase) put the typical pre-seed check around $250K. These are secondary figures and carry lower confidence than the fellowship terms published on the firm's site.
Lead Tendency
Public evidence points to a first-check, often co-investing role: Latitud appears in syndicates alongside funds such as 500 Startups, Kaszek, Monashees and Y Combinator-linked investors. Lead tendency is left unknown because there is no clear published statement.
Recent Activity
The 2026 fellowship cycle opened applications on June 13, 2026 and closed them August 6, 2026, with final results on September 21 and San Francisco Week planned for November 2 to 6, 2026. The previous cohort reportedly raised more than $3M after the program. PitchBook lists Kapso as a recent Latitud investment (August 2026). Fund size is not published on the site; third-party sources report a small fund in the tens of millions, which could not be verified, so AUM is left empty.
Portfolio Highlights
The portfolio page lists about 105 companies across fintech, infrastructure, SaaS, AI and dev infra, B2B, consumer and credit, proptech, marketplaces, healthtech, stablecoins and web3, HR, SMB software, logistics, agtech and foodtech, insurtech, cybersecurity, climate and mobility, and edtech. Standouts include Pomelo, Stark Bank, Xepelin, Yuno, Kanastra, Nixtla, Tapi, BHub, Belo, Fudo, Treble.ai, Finkargo, Hyperplane and Kapso. Fellowship alumni and mentors named on the site include Tractian, Conta Simples, Vammo, OnTop, Melonn, R2 Capital and Osana.
Team
- Brian Requarth: Co-founder and CEO of Latitud; founder of VivaReal (sold)
- Gina Gotthilf: Co-founder; former VP Marketing at Duolingo
- Yuri Danilchenko: Co-founder; former CTO and CPO at Escale, Vemos and UNEAR
- Felipe Lamounier: listed as Partner on the homepage testimonial strip; also founder of Hyperplane
Andreessen Horowitz (Angela Strange and Gabriel Vasquez) announced an investment in Latitud in March 2022.
Decision Process
The fellowship runs a structured application and interview process: applications, interview invites, final results, then an in-person San Francisco week. Decision-making for fund investments is not documented publicly, so the process is left unspecified.
Founder Preferences
Latitud wants founders who have a clear vision, are ready to start as soon as the money hits the bank, and want a hands-on partner rather than just a check. It favors LatAm-born or LatAm-focused builders, including those at the idea stage without a company yet. Founders cite Latitud as unusually supportive, co-founder-like in product and fundraising help.
Geographic Focus
Latin America, primarily Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, with a bridge to the San Francisco Bay Area through the SF fellowship week. The firm is São Paulo-based with presence in Mexico City and San Francisco.