📢 NEW: LAVCA's 2021 Review of Tech Investment in Latin America
📢 Deals:New Rounds for olist, Wonder Brands, Beep Saúde, Hash, Nuvocargo, Chazki, Zapt, 1DOC3 📢 Funds:Oria Capital reaches final close (BRL500m); XP launches BRL2b natural resource-focused fund
📢 Investor Perspectives: Laura González-Estefani of TheVentureCity, Cristóbal Perdomo of Jaguar Ventures
#TOMORROW Join Silicon Valley Bank and LAVCA tomorrow, April 22 at 12pm EDT (9:00am PDT), for the launch of LAVCA’s Annual VC/Tech Report for Latin America. VC investment in 2020 surpassed USD4b for the second consecutive year, and key themes that emerged during the pandemic are spilling over to a busy start to 2021.
We will go over sectors of growth, key deals in the major markets, new unicorns, notable exits and M&A, and the rise of tech SPACS in LatAm with LAVCA VC Director Julie Ruvolo, followed by a panel discussion with Nico Szekasy of KASZEK, Eric Santos of RD, and Andy Tsao and Julia Figuereido of SVB. Register here.
LAVCA’s 2021 Review of Tech Investment in Latin America breaks down 2020 VC investment data, top deals, highlighted transactions, sector and country trends and most active investors, as well as key transactions and investment trends taking shape thus far in 2021.
LAVCA members can also download our accompanying LAVCA Data Pack for 2020 including fundraising and disclosed closings; exits, as well as disclosed transactions, sortable by stage, sector and HQ; stage analysis for the major markets and sector breakouts with year-over-year sector growth.
KEY TAKEAWAYS Latin American VC demonstrated profound resilience throughout 2020 with increased collaborative investing between local and global fund managers.
VC INVESTMENT for the region surpassed USD4b for the second consecutive year with a record 488 transactions.
TOP SECTORSFintech remained a dominant sector in 2020, followed by e-commerce and proptech. Healthtech and edtech also gained important traction throughout the pandemic (see our recent healthtech and edtech startup surveys).
EARLY-STAGE Record 2020 for total early-stage capital invested in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
DIVERSITY-FOCUSED VEHICLES emerged including Microsoft’s WE Ventures, Google for Startups’ Black Founders Fund & Nubank’s Semente Preta.
> Goldman Sachs Asset Management led a USD23m Series D extension for Brazilian e-commerce platform olist, with participation from Redpoint eventures.
SoftBank Latin America Fund led the BRL310m Series D in 2020 and a BRL190m round in 2019.
READ LAVCA’s interview with olist Founder and CEO Tiago Dalvi.
> ALLVP and Mountain Nazca led a USD20m seed round for Wonder Brands, a Mexico City-based e-commerce holding company looking to acquire independent brands currently selling in platforms such as Amazon and Mercado Libre, with participation from GFC, QED Investors and angels from Cornershop, Fair Play and Guiabolso. Wonder Brands was founded by Groupon alum Federico Malek and Goldman Sachs alum Nicolás González Luna.
Co-Founder Federico Malek on Wonder Brands’ capital allocation strategy and markets of interest: “Our model is capital intensive because it relies on inorganic growth through M&A transactions, and not because we are burning cash to scale our companies. In fact, our portfolio companies all have positive EBITDA but are somehow constrained on cash for working capital as they are experiencing very high growth rates. We are looking for companies with great products in categories with high fragmentation and gross margins such as Sports & Fitness, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden, Pets, Babies and Fashion.â€
> #HEALTHTECH Valor Capital Group led a USD20m Series B for Beep Saúde, a Brazilian at-home laboratory test and home care platform, with participation from Bradesco, Endeavor Catalyst and David Velez (Nubank), and follow-on from DNA Capital.
>QED Investors led a USD12m Series A for Nuvocargo, a Mexican freight transportation marketplace managing Mexico-US routes, with participation from FJ Labs, Clocktower, David Velez (Nubank), Michael Ronen (SoftBank), Karim Atiyeh (Ramp), Raymond Tonsing (Caffeinated Capital), Satya Patel (Homebrew) and Sebastian Castro (Kushki), and follow-on from ALLVP, MAYA Capital, Magma Partners, One Way Ventures and Ride Ventures.
>Stone led an undisclosed Series B for vhsys, a Brazilian financial and sales management platform for SMEs.
This is Stone’s first known investment activity after acquiringLinx in 2020 for BRL6.7b.
>#CVC Mexican VC Talipot Holdings led a USD7m Series A for Chazki, a Peruvian urban delivery platform, with participation from Chilean retailer Grupo Falabella.
Chazki partnered with Grupo Falabella to optimize delivery operations and acquired Chilean logistics startup TodoVa in 2020.
>Cometa (formerly Variv Capital) led a USD5m seed round for Simetrik, a Colombian B2B platform for automatic financial reconciliation , with follow-on from monashees, Global Founders Capital, Mercado Libre and Y Combinator.
monashees led an undisclosed round in 2019.
>KASZEK led a BRL16m seed round for Zapt, a Brazilian social commerce platform for group buying, with participation from General Catalyst, Y Combinator, Simon Last (Notion), Pierpaolo Barbieri (Ualá) and Daniel Correa (Kapitalo).
>Google for Startups Brasil selected eight new companies to join its Black Founders Fund:
AfroSaúde, a healhtech solutions platform for the afro-descendente community
Certdox, a credit approval optimization platform
Diaspora.Black, a travel platform focused on afro-descendente culture
Gestar, a maternity healthtech platform
Inventivos, an edtech platform for creatives
Prol Educa, an edtech platform focused on increasing private education accessibility
Trakto, a digital marketing platform
UnicaInstancia, a legaltech platform focused on conflict resolution between end consumers and utility companies
In 2020, Google for Startups launched the Brazilian Black Founders Fund, a BRL5m investment fund to finance 30 early-stage startups founded and run by afro-descendente entrepreneurs in Brazil.
>Positive Ventures acquired Brazilian neobank C6’s stake in Provi, a Brazilian financing platform for educational courses.
Global Founders Capital led a USD1.3m seed round for Provi in 2019.
> #HEALTHTECH MatterScale Ventures and Kayyak Ventures led a USD3m pre-Series A for 1DOC3, a Colombian pre-diagnosis telemedicine platform.
TheVentureCity led a USD2m seed investment in 2018.
During the onset of the C19 crisis, 1DOC3 launched an AI-assisted C19 risk assessment test donated to the Colombian government and partnered with Telefónica to provide virtual medical consultations to their workforce.
>Homebrew led a USD3m seed round for Nelo, a Mexico-based B2B zero-interest installment loan platform, with participation from Susa Ventures, Crossbeam, Rogue Capital and Unpopular Ventures. Nelo was founded by former Uber alumni Kyle Miller and Stephen Hebson.
>Kayak, Fen Ventures and family offices Olivo Capital and Nazar invested USD2.5m in Migrante, a Chilean consumer credit platform.
>Confrapar led a USD2m Series A for Flapper, a Brazilian on-demand private aviation platform, with participation from equity crowdfunding SMU and angel investor network Investidores.VC.
>#AGTECH #CVCBarn Investimentos, SP Ventures, Continental Grain Company and Provence Capital invested USD1.8m in Agrolend, a Brazilian unsecured credit platform for small crop farmers.
>Genesis Ventures led a USD1.4m seed round for Mudango, a Chilean logistics platform for residential and office relocations, with participation from FEN Ventures and Kalei Ventures.
>DOMO Invest invested BRL8m in Ramper, a Brazilian B2B sales prospecting platform, with follow-on from Smart Money Ventures.
> #CROSSBORDERTolaram Fintech, a Singapore-based communications and consumer goods conglomerate, invested BRL5.5m in ClickCash, a Brazilian personal credit platform.
> #CRYPTODraper Cygnus led a USD1m seed round for Lemon Cash, an Argentine crypto banking platform, with participation from Draper University Ventures and Tim Draper.
>Let’s Code, a Brazilian software developer training platform for multinationals, raised a BRL5m round from QMS Capital, the investment firm of former Credit Suisse senior executive Marcelo Kayath, and Cafonau, the investment arm of the Brazilian textile and shopping center holding company Jereissati Group.
> #HEALTHTECHIBD, Alexia Ventures, Norte Ventures and MG Tech Invest led a BRL3.2m round for NeuralMed, a Brazilian medical record analysis platform for hospitals.
>Ehtua Capital and Acrux Capital invested BRL3m in Manusis 4.0, a Brazilian industrial asset management platform.
> #INSURTECHDOMO Invest led a BRL1.5m round for Mutuus, a Brazilian digital insurance broker.
>Rupee, a Brazilian tax, accounting and payroll platform for SMEs, raised BRL1.5m from undisclosed investors.
>Elifegroup invested BRL1.4m in Fatura Simples, a Brazilian billing and invoice automation platform for SMEs.
>Bossa Nova Investimentos, Poli Angels and Esdanio Pereira (Randon) invested BRL1m in Certus Software, a Brazilian receivables prepayment platform for SMEs leveraging PIX, the Brazilian Central Bank’s new instant payment platform.
> #PROPTECHUS-based Village Capital made an undisclosed investment in Houm, a Chilean unsecured leasing platform for residential properties.
> #HEALTHTECH TheVentureCity invested USD100k in Condofy, a Brazilian condo management platform for landlords and homeowners.
Condofy joined TheVentureCity’s Growth Program in 2020.
> #CROWDFUNDINGGAV, a car share rental platform that pivoted to a peer-to-peer rental and fleet management platform, raised BRL750k through equity crowdfunding platform CapTable.
> #ANGEL GV Angels invested BRL2m in DragApp, a Brazilian workflow management platform for distributed teams.
> #ANGEL FinMatch, a Brazilian credit platform for microentrepreneurs working in the beauty industry, raised BRL250k from undisclosed angels.
> #EXIT Bossa Nova InvestimentosexitedSmartHint, a shopping recommendation service for e-commerce platforms, through a sale to retail conglomerate Magazine Luiza.
Bossa Nova also recently exited personal investment platform Kinvo through a sale to BTG Pactual, and supply chain management platform Smarket through a sale to Neogrid.
> Oria Capital reached a BRL500m final close for Oria Tech III.
Oria Tech III has already deployed ~40% of its capital in Gupy, an AI-powered recruiting platform, Knewin, a news and social media analytics platform, and Zenvia, a customer management and communications platform.
>XP is planning to launch a BRL2b natural resources-focused fund to invest in ESG-friendly land from Brazilian forests in partnership with local timber buyers.
> LAVCA welcomes new member Alexia Ventures, an early-stage and growth investor for software and AI-enabled technology companies emerging from Latin America. Founded amidst the pandemic, Alexia Ventures gathers a network of founders, thought leaders and partners who have worked together over the past 20 years.
Investment Focus: Sector agnostic. Deep interest in tech companies that leverage data-based business models such as AI, ML, business intelligence and big data, or software-enabled business models such as SaaS, Platform as a Service, and B2B marketplaces.
>Cristina Junqueira was appointed CEO of Nubank; David Velez will now lead the company’s international expansion.
Nubank was recently selected to Forbes’ 2021 list of the World’s Best Banks.
>Colombian grocery delivery startup Merqueomoved its HQ to Mexico City and launched ten-minute deliveries.
Merqueo’s new fast delivery product follows a broader trend in grocery delivery platforms across emerging markets such as Getir (Turkey), goPuff (USA), Flink (Germany), Gorillas (Germany), Weezy (UK) and Cajoo (France).
>Brazilian pet marketplace PetLovepartnered with Porto Seguro to develop PetLove’s pet insurance operations. PortoSeguro will receive a 13.5% stake in PetLove as part of the partnership. No cash proceeds were exchanged in the transaction.
>Nico Barawid of proptech Casaishares his experience moving to Mexico City and launching in Mexico.
Barawid: "The city has a burgeoning startup ecosystem, and its stats are especially promising for a company like ours that specializes in hospitality: Mexico has one of the largest hospitality markets in the world. In 2019 it was the 7th most visited country, and travel/hospitality make up a third of its GDP. The post-COVID world looks equally bright for Casai, as Mexico is one of the countries where tourism has recovered the fastest.â€
>João Leal of Brazilian edtech Ãrvoreshares his perspective on the challenges of implementing digital solutions in public education institutions after the C19 crisis.
Arvore participated in LAVCA’s 2021 Edtech Startup Survey alongside 31 other Latin American startups. View the full report here.
Not to be confused with Brazil-based immersive storytelling platform Arvore.
>OmniChat, a Brazilian chat-based customer service enterprise platform that leverages WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and SMS, was selected to participate in Endeavor Brasil’s Scale Up Program.
OmniChat raised a BRL20m Series A round led by KASZEK earlier this year, and was selected to participate in Facebook’s Commerce Accelerator in 2020.
>Latino culture publication Mitú reviews startups supporting the fight against gender violence in Latin America, featuring Háblame de Respeto (El Salvador), LadyDriver (Brazil), MediconfÃa (Colombia), Não Me Calo (Brazil), No Estoy Sola (Mexico) and Revolver (Mexico).
>SIGN UP for EMPEA’s bi-weekly newsletter. Edited by LAVCA Director of Venture Capital Julie Ruvolo, this newsletter covers cross-border tech transactions and innovations with cross-border applications in a rapidly changing world. Geographies include Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Central & Eastern Europe.
The penalty can be increased if the action is committed against children, teenagers, the elderly or against women based on gender discrimination.
>#POLICY The Mexican government approved a new legislation requiring telecommunication companies to collect fingerprint and eye biometric information from their users to create a national registry managed by the Federal Telecommunications Institute.
>Mercado Libre announced a USD1.1b investment in its Mexican warehousing and credit operations.
> Banco Itaúpartnered with Rappi to expand distribution of its personal banking products in Chile.
>Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, donated BRL5.5m to Corona no Paredão, a program managed by NGO Gerando Falcões, to support Brazilian families in extreme poverty with a BRL150 monthly stipend during the ongoing C19 crisis.
Gerando Falcões is a Brazilian non-profit focused on fostering entrepreneurial skills among financially vulnerable Brazilians. Supporters include Maya Capital, Jorge Paulo Lemmann, Elie Horn and Guilherme Benchimol of XP.
Google donated BRL12m to several Brazilian initiatives developing direct solutions against C19, including Potência Feminina, Conexão Educativa, SaferNet, ProtegeBR, ISA.bot and Mapa da Saúde Mental.
Fernando Lelo de Larrea of ALLVP: “You can’t go any further unless you have liquidity events and you distribute money, and the SPACs will bring that liquidity.â€
> Brazilian media conglomerate Grupo Globo and Google Cloud announced a seven-year partnership in which Globo will fully shift its media production and content distribution to the cloud.
>Congratulations to Nico Szekasy of KASZEK, Micky Malka of Ribbit Capital and Santi Subotovsky of Emergence Capital for their inclusion in Forbes 2021 Midas List.
>Laura González-Estefani of TheVentureCityshares her experience in operating in Silicon Valley and trends to look out for in 2021:
“I am a Hispanic woman immigrant in the U.S., in my 40s, and mother of three, so I check all the boxes to scare investors and founders in Silicon Valley [...] We are very excited about tech that makes cities more liveable, mobility being one, green energy another. Also, at-home health monitoring is something that fascinates us, we believe there is so much more you can do for your everyday health than just go to a doctor. We believe that by monitoring how our body is affected by our lifestyle can make us have a better quality of life. Also the fact that we are finally learning to take care of our mental health is another super interesting spaceâ€
>Cristóbal Perdomo of Jaguar Venturesshares his experience co-founding a VC fund, the exit landscape in the region and the current entrepreneurial mindset in Latin America.
“For a long time the perspective in Latin America for entrepreneurship was a corporate job substitute. You wanted to start a company because you couldn’t find a job. Now you see more visionary founders, thinking more about the vision and less about when they are going to exit.â€
>Angela Strange and Matthieu Hafemeister of Andreessen Horowitz review the current fintech opportunity in Latin America in Latin America’s Fintech Boom.
>#GPEC Registration is now open for the 22nd annual Global Private Equity Conference (GPEC) on 17-20 May 2021. Join IFC and EMPEA for the world’s largest convening of private investors in a highly interactive virtual gathering to learn the latest industry trends and connect with its prominent voices. Featured sessions include:
Julian Cheng (Warburg Pincus) and JP Gan (INCE Capital) on backing Chinese tech
Chang Wen Lai (Ninja Van) on the future of delivery in Southeast Asia
Cem Sertoglu (Earlybird) on the sale of Peak Games to Zynga
Eric Acher (monashees) on Brazilian VC’s breakout moment
Judith Li (Lilly Asia Ventures) on biomedical VC
Actis and other leading GPs on the Global Tech Infrastructure Opportunity
General Atlantic’s Bill Ford interviews global entrepreneurs Byju Raveendran of India’s Byju’s and Ricardo Weder of Mexico’s Jüsto
>ProChilelaunched a program to connect Chilean startups looking for international expansion with companies in Mexico, Colombia and Peru.
>Wharton's FinTech Conference is taking place digitally April 22-23. Join Ivonne Cuello, LAVCA's CEO, on a panel about scaling in Latin America, challenges and opportunities. Register here.
>AMEXCAP will host Cumbre de Capital Privado 2021 on April 27 and 28. Details here. LAVCA members are eligible for member discount by logging into their account. Get the discount code here. >PECAP will host the Peru Venture Capital Conference on June 22-24. Registration is now open. If you are a startup CEO apply to the Pitch Competition.
