:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bloomberglinea/44THIUGTSJGRZGVCKBWE3K2ZBE.jpg "Rubens Barrichello in the Stock Pro Series race in 2019: former Formula 1 driver now invests in startups - Photo: Duda Bairros/Vicar/Flickr")
Bloomberg Línea — Former Formula 1 driver and current Stock Car Brazil champion Rubens Barrichello have become an investor in the startup market. Barrichello became a partner in FTRM Group, a holding company that owns several companies, including Futurum Capital.
The company is a global venture developer specializing in the creation, development, and investment of early-stage startups. Futurum Capital has invested in more than 20 startups and has operations in Brazil, the United States, Europe, and the Arab Emirates.
Barrichello’s entry into FTRM’s partner ranks comes at a time of downturn in the startup market, with the value of venture capital investments falling as investors are more averse to riskier assets.
This means he may be entering a time when assets are more attractive, unlike the euphoric times when there is an overvaluation of startups. On the other hand, there is a risk that the downturn will extend longer in the sector.
From January to November, Brazilian startups raised US$ 4.48 billion in venture capital contributions, less than half of the record US$ 9.8 billion invested in Brazil in 2021. The data are from the Distrito platform.
The former Formula 1 driver is not the first Brazilian athlete to enter as a partner in venture capital investment firms this year. In June, three-time world surfing champion Gabriel Medina joined Ricardo Laureano Siqueira and family office Carpa to launch Kauai Ventures.
Barrichello is one of the investors in FTRM Group’s ongoing fourth round of funding, coordinated for GRT Partners, which is expected to close in early 2023. The company is in its third investment round and currently has 28 companies under its umbrella, including Agroforte, Zeph, Red Unit, Typcal, STRM, Spaceflix, NSI, and Core360.
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