In a story brought to our attention by LAVCA, Parallel18 Ventures, the follow-on fund of Puerto Rico’s Parallel18 accelerator, will co-invest US$150K in both Abartys Health and Quiena alongside other private funds. The fund comes from the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust and looks to invest in Parallel18 alumni, then liquify the investment to invest in other P18 startups.
The conditions for the investment include rules that require the startups to maintain a presence in Puerto Rico and to hire at least three locals for their operations in the next two years. Sebastian Vidal, Executive Director of Parallel18, claims that the follow-on fund will help retain the entrepreneurial talent brought in by the accelerator, as well as incentivizing further investment in startups based in Puerto Rico, since Parallel18 is a matching program.
The two startups that received investment participated in the Parallel18 accelerator last year. Abartys Health is a female-founded Puerto Rican insurtech startup that is working to reduce the US$750B annual loss in the US healthcare market by connecting patients, doctors, and insurance companies. Quiena Investments is an Argentine fintech startup that uses AI to analyze 50 years of stock market data and create an ideal portfolio for new investors, all of which is managed on the platform.
Learn more:
Parallel 18’s coverage on Medium.
Forbes coverage of Abartys Health
Argentine fintech, Quiena, raises US$750K to automate investment in Latin America
