Startup Investment Agreement Chile (Acuerdo de Inversión en Startup)

Startup Investment Agreement Chile (Acuerdo de Inversión en Startup) is a specialized corporate and commercial contract governed principally by Código de Comercio Article 424 — which regulates the Sociedad por Acciones (SpA), the most common corporate vehicle for Chilean startups — and Ley N° 20.190 of 2007 (commonly known as the Ley de Capital de Riesgo or MkII Law), which modernized the Chilean capital markets framework to facilitate venture capital (capital de riesgo) investment, including provisions enabling foreign investment in SpA structures and special rules for convertible instruments.

Código de Comercio Article 424 establishes that the SpA (Sociedad por Acciones) is a legal entity (persona jurídica) constituted by one or more persons (including a single shareholder — unipersonal) through a public deed (escritura pública) or a private deed (escritura privada autorizada ante notario) registered in the Conservador de Comercio and published in the Diario Oficial. The SpA is Chile's preferred startup vehicle because: it can be constituted by a single person; its estatutos (bylaws) can be freely customized to include preferred share classes (acciones preferentes), anti-dilution provisions (cláusulas antidilución), drag-along and tag-along rights (derechos de arrastre y acompañamiento), vesting schedules, and other venture-capital-standard governance mechanisms — none of which are available in the simpler Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (SRL) structure.

Ley N° 20.190 amended multiple Chilean statutes to facilitate the capital de riesgo ecosystem, including: permitting SpA estatutos to establish classes of shares with different economic and political rights (C.Com Article 432); enabling the issuance of convertible notes (pagarés convertibles) and instruments analogous to the SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) through contractual instruments under Código Civil Article 1545; and establishing a regulatory framework for venture capital funds (fondos de capital de riesgo) administered by the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) under Ley N° 20.712 (Ley de Administración de Fondos de Terceros).

The Chilean startup ecosystem — supported by CORFO (Corporación de Fomento de la Producción) through programs including Startup Chile, InnovaChile, and CORFO Invierte — generates significant deal flow for seed (semilla), Series A, and growth-stage investments. CORFO itself invests directly in startups through its CORFO Ventures program and co-invests alongside angel investors and venture capital funds through the FOGAIN (Fondo de Garantía para Inversiones) mechanism and the Red de Inversores Ángeles de CORFO. The Asociación Chilena de Venture Capital (ACVC) and the Asociación de Emprendedores de Chile (ASECH) represent the primary industry bodies supporting the investment ecosystem.

The CMF (Comisión para el Mercado Financiero) — established by Ley N° 21.000 and replacing the former Superintendencia de Valores y Seguros (SVS) — regulates securities offerings and may require registration if the startup's equity offering is made to more than a specified number of investors or constitutes a public offering (oferta pública) under Ley N° 18.045 (Ley de Mercado de Valores). Most early-stage startup investments in Chile are structured as private placements (colocaciones privadas) that fall outside the CMF's public offering registration requirements.

The Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII) administers tax incentives for angel investors under Ley N° 20.570 (Ley de Inversión Ángel), which provides a 35% tax credit on investments in innovative companies certified by CORFO, up to a maximum annual credit of UF 500 per investor. This incentive is a significant driver of the Chilean angel investment ecosystem and must be carefully structured in the acuerdo de inversión to preserve eligibility.

A Startup Investment Agreement Chile becomes necessary at every stage of a startup's capital-raising journey in Chile, from the initial angel round to Series A and growth capital raises. The acuerdo de inversión en startup formalizes the relationship between the startup and its investors, protecting both parties' rights under Chilean corporate law and the CMF's securities regulations.

Specific situations requiring an acuerdo de inversión en startup include: an angel investor (inversionista ángel) registered with CORFO's Red de Inversores Ángeles investing in an early-stage SpA seeking to qualify for the Ley N° 20.570 (Ley de Inversión Ángel) 35% tax credit; a CORFO-certified venture capital fund making a Series A investment in a SpA through the CORFO Invierte co-investment mechanism; a foreign investor — from Silicon Valley, Israel, or other startup hubs — investing in a Chilean SpA and requiring anti-dilution protections, information rights, and board observer rights consistent with international venture capital practice; a group of friends and family investors (amigos y familia) providing seed funding to a pre-revenue startup through a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) instrument documented under Chilean law; a strategic corporate investor (inversor corporativo estratégico) from a large Chilean company such as a subsidiary of Copec, CMPC, or Falabella taking a minority stake in a startup through a corporate venture capital (CVC) program; and InnovaChile or Startup Chile program alumni seeking to formalize convertible note investments from international accelerators and impact investors.

The Asociación Chilena de Venture Capital (ACVC) and the CORFO-backed investment ecosystem have standardized certain investment terms through model documents adapted from US and EU venture capital practice. However, Chilean law requires adaptation of internationally standard documents (US SAFE, Y Combinator SAFE, NVCA term sheets) to Chilean corporate law and SII/CMF requirements, making a properly localized acuerdo de inversión en startup essential.

A legally effective Startup Investment Agreement Chile under Código de Comercio Article 424 and Ley N° 20.190 must contain the following essential elements to create enforceable investor rights, comply with CMF regulations, optimize SII tax treatment, and protect both founders (fundadores) and investors under Chilean corporate law:

Party Identification (Identificación de las Partes): Full legal name or razón social of the investor(s) (inversionistas) and the startup company (empresa receptora de la inversión) — typically a SpA — with RUT numbers (SII), registered addresses, founding date (fecha de constitución), Conservador de Comercio registration number (número de inscripción en el CBR), and Diario Oficial publication date. The startup's current shareholders (accionistas actuales) and their respective shareholdings (porcentajes accionarios) before the investment should be identified in a pre-money capitalization table (tabla de capitalización pre-money).

Investment Structure (Estructura de la Inversión): The legal form of the investment, which may be: (a) Direct equity (inversión directa en capital) — issuance of new shares (acciones) in the SpA in exchange for the investment amount; (b) Convertible note (pagaré convertible) — a loan that converts to equity upon a specified triggering event (e.g., a qualifying financing round — ronda de financiamiento calificada); (c) SAFE instrument (Acuerdo Simple para Capital Futuro — adapted from Y Combinator's SAFE for Chilean law); or (d) a combination structure. For CORFO's Ley de Inversión Ángel (Ley N° 20.570) tax credit, the investment must be in the form of a direct equity acquisition in a CORFO-certified innovative company (empresa innovadora certificada por CORFO).

Valuation and Investment Amount (Valoración e Importe de la Inversión): The pre-money valuation (valoración pre-money) of the startup agreed between the parties, expressed in CLP or UF; the total investment amount (monto total de la inversión); the resulting post-money valuation (valoración post-money); and the equity percentage to be held by the investor upon completion (porcentaje accionario del inversionista). For convertible instruments, the valuation cap (tope de valoración) and discount rate (tasa de descuento) governing conversion must be specified.

Share Class and Rights (Clase de Acciones y Derechos): The characteristics of the shares or equity rights to be issued, including: whether the investor receives preferred shares (acciones preferentes) with priority economic rights or ordinary shares (acciones ordinarias); liquidation preference (preferencia de liquidación) — typically 1x non-participating or 1x participating in Chilean startup practice; anti-dilution protection (protección antidilución) — either weighted average (promedio ponderado) or full ratchet (trinquete completo); dividend preference (preferencia de dividendos) if applicable; and conversion rights (derechos de conversión) for preferred to ordinary shares. All share class rights must be reflected in the SpA's estatutos (bylaws) amended through a notarized public deed and registered with the Conservador de Comercio.

Founder Vesting (Vesting de Fundadores): A vesting schedule (calendario de consolidación) for founder shares, typically four years with a one-year cliff (acantilado de un año), under which founders' shares are subject to repurchase by the company at nominal value if the founder leaves before completing the vesting schedule. In Chilean law, vesting is implemented through a share buyback option (opción de recompra) documented in the SpA estatutos and a shareholders' agreement (pacto de accionistas) under C.Com Article 424, as Chilean company law does not have a native vesting mechanism separate from contractual structures.

Governance Rights (Derechos de Gobierno Corporativo): The investor's rights regarding the startup's governance, including: board representation (representación en el directorio or junta de accionistas) — Chilean SpAs may operate without a formal board (directorio), but the acuerdo de inversión should specify investor appointment rights; information rights (derechos de información) — right to receive monthly financial statements, annual audited accounts, and quarterly KPI reports; approval rights (derechos de aprobación o veto) over major decisions — issuance of new shares, sale of substantially all assets, changes to the estatutos, incurrence of debt above a specified threshold, and related-party transactions; and board observer rights (derechos de observador) if the investor does not have a board seat.

Pre-Emptive Rights (Derechos de Preferencia): The investor's right to participate pro-rata in future financing rounds (rondas de financiamiento futuras) to maintain their ownership percentage, subject to a reasonable exercise period (typically fifteen to thirty days). In Chilean SpA law, pre-emptive rights (derecho preferente de suscripción) are automatically provided by C.Com Article 446 unless waived by the estatutos — the acuerdo de inversión should confirm or expand these rights beyond the statutory minimum.

SII Tax Optimization (Optimización Tributaria SII): The contract should address the availability of the Ley N° 20.570 (Ley de Inversión Ángel) 35% tax credit for qualifying angel investors, the conditions for CORFO certification of the startup as an empresa innovadora, and the SII documentation requirements for claiming the credit. Forms-legal.com provides this template as educational guidance — a Chilean abogado specializing in venture capital and a contador auditor should review the final investment documents to confirm SII and CMF compliance.

Exit Rights (Derechos de Salida): Drag-along rights (derechos de arrastre) — the majority shareholders' right to compel minority shareholders to join in a sale of the company; tag-along rights (derechos de acompañamiento) — the minority investor's right to participate in any sale by majority shareholders on the same terms; right of first refusal (derecho de primera negativa) on share transfers; and IPO cooperation obligations (obligaciones de cooperación en OPI) if the startup targets a listing on the Bolsa de Valores de Santiago (BVS) or a foreign exchange. These exit mechanisms must be carefully implemented in the SpA estatutos to be enforceable against all shareholders under Chilean corporate law. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.