ACE Ventures

What ACE Ventures does

ACE Ventures is a Brazilian early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2012 and headquartered in São Paulo's Vila Leopoldina district. The firm invests in exceptional entrepreneurs building transformative businesses, deploying capital alongside active mentorship, methodology, and operational support intended to convert technical founders into CEOs. Its stated investment scope spans fintech, healthtech, agritech, e-commerce, martech, retail-tech, and AI-enabled solutions, with historical portfolio companies including Motorista PX, Speedio, PackID, Talent Academy, and Melhor Envio (the last reported as exited). The firm is led by founders Pedro Waengertner and Mike Ajnsztajn and operates a public-facing ecosystem comprising a venture capital arm, accelerator-style programs and events, a blog, the Growthaholics newsletter, and a podcast focused on entrepreneurship and innovation.

ACE's business model is that of a traditional early-stage venture capital firm: it raises capital from limited partners, invests in startups at pre-seed through Series A stages, and earns returns through management fees and carried interest on exits. In 2025, ACE shifted its strategy by adopting a FIP (Fundo de Investimento em Participações) structure and launching a R$50 million fund to invest across Latin America, positioning itself as a more institutional asset manager. Recent disclosed activity includes co-investments in Twiggy ($600K pre-seed, 2025), Sinpex (€10M Series A, 2026), and Deskfy ($375K pre-seed, 2026), typically alongside co-investors such as Bossa Invest, BlackFin Capital Partners, FUNSES, WOW Aceleradora, TX Ventures, and the AWS Impact Accelerator. Distribution relies heavily on earned media (Exame, Neofeed, Startupi, Startups.com.br) and owned content channels rather than traditional paid acquisition, which is consistent with a deal-sourcing-led go-to-market in the Brazilian startup ecosystem.

The firm has 101–250 reported employees, which is unusually large for a VC manager of a R$50M fund and likely reflects staff involved in programs, content, and community operations rather than investment professionals alone. No revenue, AUM growth, or realized IRR figures are disclosed, and the firm's public website counters show zero investments and zero exits, which conflicts with the named portfolio and the reported exit of Melhor Envio, indicating either under-maintained public metrics or limited realized outcomes to date.

Name

ACE Ventures

Legal name

ACE Ventures

Website

https://goace.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

ACE Ventures is a Brazilian early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2012 that invests in exceptional entrepreneurs across fintech, healthtech, agritech, and retail-tech, recently launching a R$50 million LATAM fund under a FIP structure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Early-Stage Investment

NAICS

Other Financial Vehicles (525990), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM), Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital) (BPAHADAG)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Early-stage funding
• Startup investment
• Portfolio management
• Growth capital

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ACE Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that deploys capital into Brazilian and LATAM startups at the idea/seed stage, providing investment alongside hands-on mentorship, business methodology, and strategic guidance. The firm also operates supporting ecosystem initiatives including the Growthaholics newsletter, blog, podcast, and founder development programs. In 2025, ACE Ventures transitioned to a FIP structure and launched a R$50 million fund targeting investments across Latin America.

Product overview

ACE Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Brazil that invests in exceptional entrepreneurs developing transformative businesses. The firm offers investment services, portfolio management, and accelerator programs including the Growthaholics newsletter, blog content, and various startup programs and events. Rather than operating a technology product, ACE Ventures functions as an investor supporting startups in sectors including fintech, health tech, agritech, e-commerce, martech, retail-tech, and AI-powered solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Growthaholics: Newsletter focused on entrepreneurship, innovation, and business future.

Products and services

• ACE Ventures Early-Stage Venture Capital Investment
• ACE Ventures R$50 Million LATAM Fund (FIP structure)

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio company grew 50x in revenue
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SEBRAEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEBRAE's Capital Empreendedor program connected ACE Ventures with portfolio company Motorista PX, facilitating the investment relationship.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Valor Capital Group: US-Brazil cross-border venture capital firm investing in early-to-growth stage Brazilian and US companies. Comparable in cross-border ambition to ACE's new LATAM-focused fund, but with a broader mandate and longer history.
• Kaszek Ventures: Largest LATAM-focused venture capital firm; broader incumbent competitor. While at a much larger AUM scale, Kaszek competes with ACE for the same early-stage founders across Brazil and Argentina and represents the institutional benchmark for the asset class.
• Monashees: Brazilian venture capital firm with a long track record of seed and Series A investments across LATAM. Comparable to ACE in stage and geography but with materially larger fund sizes and broader portfolio reach.

Direct peers

• Bossanova Investimentos: Brazilian micro-VC focused on early-stage Brazilian startups. Directly comparable to ACE in check size, stage, and sector breadth, with a similar emphasis on founder development.
• Canary: Brazilian pre-seed and seed investor; very similar stage focus to ACE Ventures. Targets early-stage Brazilian founders and is a natural comparator for deal sourcing and round participation.
• WOW Aceleradora: Brazilian early-stage accelerator that co-led Twiggy's pre-seed round with ACE Ventures. Operates at the same pre-seed/seed stage with comparable check sizes and a focus on Brazilian founders.
• Domo Invest: Brazilian early-stage VC that invests across multiple sectors at pre-seed and seed, similar to ACE. Competes for the same Brazilian founder pool and rounds in the same check-size band.
• Bossa Invest: Brazilian early-stage investor focused on pre-seed and seed rounds; directly comparable to ACE in stage, geography, and check size. Bossa Invest co-invested alongside ACE in both Twiggy and Deskfy, confirming they operate in the same deal universe.

Regional players

• FUNSES: Brazilian investor focused on early-stage and impact-driven startups; led Twiggy's pre-seed alongside ACE. Operates in a similar early-stage band but with a distinct regional/state focus.
• TX Ventures: European fintech-focused venture firm that co-invested in Sinpex's Series A alongside ACE. Comparable in role as a sector-focused syndicate partner rather than a direct head-to-head competitor in Brazil.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments178 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ACE Ventures