1H 2023 VC Trends in Latin America

TOMORROW: ​​Following the upcoming launch of LAVCA’s 1H 2023 VC Data & 2023 Startup Directory, LAVCA and SVB look forward to hosting an online discussion on VC/Tech Mid-Year Trends for Latin America tomorrow at 11 am ET. 

We’ll go over current investment dynamics by stage, the role of growth capital and corporate investment, as well as fundraising for women-led startups and serial founders, followed by a panel discussion with Paulo Passoni of Valor Capital Group, Adriana Saman of Clocktower, and Christine Kenna of IGNIA Partners moderated by Andy Tsao of SVB.

2023 LAVCA Startup Directory & Ecosystem Insights

LAVCA’s 2023 Startup Directory & Ecosystem Insights profiles 501 startups that raised USD1m+ in venture funding across 544 transactions in 2022 and 1H 2023, during a time of global market adjustments within the venture industry. 

This edition of the directory is the most comprehensive to date and includes:

• A list of 501 startups that raised at least USD1m in VC funding across 544 transactions in 2022-1H 2023. The list includes data on each startup’s sector, tech vertical, founders and investors, as well as financial details for each disclosed transaction.   
• Updated statistics on capital deployed in women-led startups and startups led by repeat founders, as well as CVC co-investment participation. 
• NEW: A list of the most active investors by stage (seed, early-stage and late-stage) and type (fund managers, CVCs and family offices).  
• NEW: Analysis of VC funding by the number of distinct startups and HQ city, including new insights into the growth of emerging tech hubs.
• NEW: Analysis of co-investments and the share of portfolio overlap among 25 select Latin America-focused tech investors.

LAVCA Members can log in to download the 2023 Startup Directory & Ecosystem Insights Excel file and request custom data cuts by contacting LAVCA’s Director of Research Emanuel Hernandez at ehernandez@lavca.org. Non-members can purchase access to the data. 

LAVCA also just published the 2023 Mid-Year Industry Data & Analysis with insights across asset classes. LAVCA Members can log in to download the report. Non-members can purchase access to the data. 

LAVCA Week 2023

LAVCA WEEK 2023 | Registration is open for LAVCA will host LAVCA Week in New York, October 11-14 at the Conrad New York Downtown in New York City.

Registration is open to LAVCA Members, qualified institutional investors and non-member private capital investors, subject to approval. 

LAVCA Members have access to special early bird rates through this Wednesday, 31 August 2023.

For inquiries, please contact lavcaweek@lavca.org. 

Startups

▸ EXIT | Brazil Venture Capital, KPTL and Wayra exited Cinnecta, a Brazilian customer behavior and loyalty company, through a sale to Brazilian fintech Matera. 

• Kinea Investimentos invested ~USD20m in Matera in  February 2020.

▸ M&A | Howdy, a US-based talent management platform, acquired GeekHunter, a Brazilian software engineer talent acquisition platform. 

• Greycroft and Obvious Ventures led a USD5m Series A in January. 
• GeekHunter raised ~USD400k from BossaNova Investimentos, 42K Investimentos, Gavea Angels and Hangar 8 in October 2019. 

▸ M&A | BTG Pactual acquired Magnetis, a Brazilian personal finance management platform, for an undisclosed amount. 

• Redpoint eventures led a USD11m Series B for Magnetis in August 2020; monashees and Vostok Emerging Finance invested ~USD3.5m in 2018.

Deals

▸ DEBT | meutudo, a Brazilian consumer credit platform, raised ~USD400m in debt through a FIDC (Fundo de Investimentos em Direitos Creditorios) from BTG Pactual.

• meutudo raised ~USD400m through a FIDC from Goldman Sachs in June 2021; DOMO invested ~USD600k in 2020.

▸ DEBT | Victory Park Capital provided a USD100m credit facility to Klar, a Mexican personal finance management and lending platform.

• General Atlantic led a USD70m round for Klar in June 2022 and a USD70m Series B in July 2021; Prosus Ventures led a USD15m Series A in October 2020. 
• ▸ DEBT | Klar raised an additional USD20m in venture debt from WTI in June 2022. 

▸ EQT Growth led a USD85m Series F for Gympass, a Brazilian corporate wellness platform, with participation from Neuberger Berman at a USD2.4b valuation.

• General Atlantic and Moore Strategic Ventures also increased their stakes through a secondary transaction; Bicycle also participated, representing its first known investment from its flagship fund, per Bloomberg. 
• Gympass raised a USD220m Series E in 2021 at a USD2.2b valuation. 
• Gympass currently operates in six markets outside of LatAm, including the US, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Italy and the UK. 

▸ Tiger Global led USD61m Series B for Nomad, a Brazilian fintech offering US checking accounts for Brazilian residents, with follow-on from monashees, Stripes, Spark Capital, Propel Ventures, Globo Ventures and Abstract.

• Stripes led a USD32m Series A+ for Nomad at a reported USD200m valuation in May 2022; monashees and Spark Capital led a USD20m Series A in August 2021; monashees led a ~USD6m earlier in 2021. 
• Nomad was founded by iFood co-founder Patrick Sigrist.  

▸ Valor Capital Group led a ~USD40m Series A for Principia, a Brazilian cash flow management platform for private universities, with participation from FJ Labs, Spectra Investimentos, ARC Capital and Supera.

• M&A Principia acquired Provi, a Brazilian payment checkout and financing platform for online courses, as part of the transaction.

▸ NAZCA and IDB Invest led USD15.5m Series A for Wonder Brands, a Mexico-based e-commerce holding company.

• ALLVP and NAZCA led a USD20mseed round for Wonder Brands in March 2021.

▸ URUGUAY | Factory HQ led a USD5m pre-seed round for BrainLogic AI, a Uruguayan e-commerce solutions startup developing an AI-based personal assistant named Zapia.

▸ INSURTECH | Equitas VC and Lanx Capital invest in undisclosed Series A for fitinsur, a Brazilian B2B insurance product management platform.

▸ Vertical Venture Partners and Haven Ventures led a USD4.1m round for Autolab, a Colombian car maintenance platform, with participation from Interplay and follow-on from Bullpen Capital, Proeza Ventures and Polymath Ventures.

• Bullpen Capital led a USD6.5m seed round for Autolab in March 2022; Autolab raised USD525k in February 2018.
• Autolab was incubated at Polymath Ventures. 

▸ HEALTHTECH | Mitfokus, a Brazilian fiscal and accounting platform for healthcare institutions, raised an undisclosed extension from BossaNova Investimentos.

• Mitfokus raised an undisclosed round from BossaNova Investimentos and others in September 2022.
• Mitfokus was incubated at Eretz.bio, the innovation arm of Albert Einstein Hospital. 

▸ CVC | Eneva, a Brazilian integrated energy company, invested ~USD900k in Voltta, a Brazilian electric mobility startup.

▸ CVC | Citi invested in Rextie, a Peruvian currency exchange platform.

• Grupo RPP, a Peruvian media conglomerate, invested USD1.4m in Rextie in April 2022.

▸ CLEANTECH | Greenapsis, a Mexican manufacturer of energy monitoring and savings equipment, raised ~USD540k via crowdfunding. 

• MGM Innova Capital made an undisclosed investment in 2022.

▸ CVC | Lotus ICT, a Brazilian business automation services company, invested ~USD250k in Myio, a Brazilian B2B automation solutions startup. 

▸ HRTECH | Poli Angels and Balance Ventures invested in Connectabil, a Brazil-based recruiting automation platform. 

• Anjos do Brasil and 1289 Capital invested USD150k in May 2021.

Funds

▸ Scale-Up Ventures, the Brazil-focused growth equity arm of Endeavor, reached a USD15m final close for its second flagship fund. Scale-Up Ventures Fund II had a USD12m target originally.

• Scale-Up Ventures’ latest investments include Brandlovrs, Portão 3, Mecanizou and Aprova Digital.

▸ WOMEN LED | Nido Ventures, a US- and Mexico-based VC, reached a USD7m final close for its debut fund to invest in early-stage startups with cross-border operations in Spanish-speaking Latin America. 

• Nido Ventures was founded by Maria Gutierrez Peñalozaand Ana Carolina Mexia. 

▸ Latitud launched its second flagship fund with a USD40m target to invest in early-stage startups across Latin America. 

• Latitud reached a USD13m final close for its first fund in 2022.
• Latitud has participated in 120+ deals since inception; latest public investments include Kanastra, Silverguard, Cometa and VaaS.

▸ AGTECH | Pampa Start, an Argentina-based early-stage agtech VC, launched its second fund with a USD5m target. 

• Pampa Start Fund I investments include AgriAcordo, Circular, Nippy, SIMMA and GenGanar.

People & Programs

▸ Huawei CloudlaunchedSpark Accelerator, a Chile-based accelerator program focused on startups operating in  Chile, Mexico, Colombia and Peru that use public cloud infrastructure technology. Register by August 31. 

▸ Cubo Network will host Cubo Itaú for Investors: A Bridge to the Future of Venture Capital, an in-person session to connect institutional LPs and emerging fund managers in Latin America on September 13 in São Paulo. Registration is now open.

▸ AWS will host AWS Summit Mexico City on August 30, an in-person cloud-focused networking event for startups and investors.Registration is now open. 

▸ Finnovista will host FINNOSUMMIT 2023 on September 26 and 27 in Mexico City. Registration is now open.

Global Tech

▸ Sign up for GPCA’s Global Tech Brief, a monthly newsletter that covers tech activity in Asia, Latin America, Africa, CEE and the Middle East. 

LAVCA is now part of GPCA, the Global Private Capital Association, and will continue to operate as a parallel membership organization with its own dedicated team and board.