Chilean car-sharing startup Awto announces $6m capital raise

The capital injection includes a 10% participation by Zurich Chile Asset Management AGF in shares issued by the company Karsharing SpA, which marks Zurich Chile AGF’s first venture capital investment.

The investment round will allow the Chilean company, which was founded in 2016, to expand operations into Brazil and Colombia.

“This round of capital allows us to continue improving our value proposition for our users, who will be able to access a wider range of vehicles for different uses, both B2C and B2B, supported by a robust and versatile technological platform,”  Francisco Loehnert, Awto’s general manager, said.

Additionally, the proceeds of the round will strengthen its technological platform and operations, in addition to consolidating its operations in Chile by adding and diversifying the fleet of vehicles and services available in the application.

Zurich Chile Asset Management AGF was advised on the investment by law firm Honorato Delaveau.

The transaction involved the due diligence of the target company, the negotiation of the share subscription agreement and the shareholders' agreement, the firm said.

The firm also assisted with the drafting and negotiation of the corporate documents related to the capital increase for this round of financing of Awto,” the law firm said.

The firm’s team was led by partner Sebastián Delpiano, with associates Nicolás García, Andrea Alarcón and Ignacio Ruiz-Tagle.