SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Venture capital firm Kaszek raised $1 billion in two funds aimed at investing in Latin American companies, it said in a statement on Monday. The firm said its Kaszek Ventures V fund will invest $475 million in early-stage companies, while the rest would be deployed in later-stage portfolio companies through its Opportunity II fund. “The region hosts a robust and growing technology industry with more great startups emerging now than what we have ever seen before,” said Hernan Kazah, a co-founder of Kaszek, in the statement. Among Kaszek’s portfolio companies are Brazilian financial technology startups Nubank and Creditas and digital real estate broker QuintoAndar. Reporting by Carolina Mandl. Editing by Jane Merriman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.