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Monsanto, Microsoft & Qualcomm to Invest in Brazil Agriculture Tech Startups

5 July 2016

(Fortune) U.S. biotech company Monsanto announced a partnership with Microsoft to invest in agricultural technology startups in Brazil via a new Brazilian investment fund. Qualcomm is also investing in the fund.

Qualcomm is also investing in the Brazilian investment fund, which is managed by Microsoft.

Monsanto will join a Brazilian investment fund with up to R$300m (US$92m), managed by Microsoft, evaluating ideas for new digital tools to be applied to agricultural production in the country, executives said.

Selected ideas will receive initial funding of up to R$1.5m (US$459k) for early development. Project owners will have the option to pay back the investment after three years or convert the money into equity.

“We want to foster new startups in the agricultural sector. There is a vast area for research and development,” Rodrigo Santos, head of Monsanto in Latin America, told reporters on the sidelines of the Global Agribusiness Forum (GAF 2016).

Technology company Qualcomm is also investing in the fund.