LAVCA Data Insight

LAVCA recently published the 2023 Startup Directory & Ecosystem Insights. As shown in this year’s edition, the number of VC-backed startups in Latin America has doubled since 2021. 

Startups with HQs in Spanish-speaking Latin America account for 51% of all startups in the region. Chile and Colombia are among the highest-growing major markets.

We note that innovation is also extending beyond the region's main tech hubs (São Paulo, Mexico City, Santiago, Bogotá and Buenos Aires). 

The share of new VC-backed startups with HQs outside of the main tech hubs in 1H 2023 was 39%, up from 33% in 1H 2022. Emerging tech hubs include Rio de Janeiro, Florianópolis, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Lima, Monterrey, Medellín, Guadalajara, Montevideo, Porto Alegre, Recife, Quito, Córdoba and San José.

We just co-hosted with SVB a live review of this year’s Startup Directory findings. Watch the recording here. Thanks again to Christine Kenna (IGNIA Partners), Paulo Passoni (Valor Capital Group), Ben Savage (Clocktower) and Andy Tsao (SVB) for the conversation. 

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 Week 2023

Registration is now open for LAVCA Week 2023. LAVCA's annual flagship meeting will take place 10-14 October at the Conrad New York Downtown in New York City.

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

For inquiries, please contact lavcaweek@lavca.org. 

Deals

▸ JP Morgan increased its stake in Brazilian digital bank C6 from 40% to 46%. Terms have not been publicly disclosed.

• C6 raised ~USD260m at a reported ~USD2.3b valuation from 40 undisclosed investors in December 2020.

▸ Brazilian fintech Creditas is set to raise a USD70m+ Series F second extension from existing investors. 

• Andorra-based private bank Andbank led the USD50m Series F first extension in July 2022 at the same USD4.8b valuation as the USD260m Series F led by Fidelity Management in January 2022.

▸ Praso, a Brazil-based distribution platform for small retailers, raised a USD9.3m Series A led by Valor Capital Group and NFX and acquired the intellectual property of Floki, a Brazil-based restaurant management operation platform. 

▸ HRTECH | Venturance and Altis led a USD8m round for Talana, a Chilean employee recruiting, compensation and training platform. 

▸ AGTECH | Otter Capital led a USD7m Series A+ for Botanical Solutions, a Chilean biotech startup developing solutions for crop nurturing and maintenance, with participation from Chilean FOs Casanueva and Saval. 

▸ AGTECH | DXA Invest leda ~USD5.5m round for A de Agro, a Brazilian data analytics platform for agribusiness, with participation from Suno.

• BTG Pactual, SP Ventures and SVG Partners invested in July 2021.

▸ Grupo Valora led a USD5.5m round for Longevo, a US-based employee wellness platform.

• Longevo was founded by Venezuelan Andrés Moreno (Open English).

▸ Prestamype, a Peruvian working capital financing platform for SMEs, raised a USD5m pre-series A round from ALIVE, Inca Ventures, Oikocredit and AVP, with follow-on from Salkantay Ventures.

• Salkantay Ventures invested USD800k in May 2022; Prestamype secured USD2m in venture debt from IDB Lab in September 2022. 

▸ WOMEN-LED | EcoEnterprises led a ~USD4m round for Nuu, a Brazilian cassava-based foods startup. 

• Nuu was founded by Rafaela Gontijo Lenz. 

▸ Ulu Ventures and Blue Pointe Ventures led a USD3.7m seed round for Leadsales, a Mexican CRM for WhatsApp. 

• Ulu Ventures also led a USD400k pre-seed round in November 2022. 

▸ Lightspeed led a ~USD3m seed round for Cumbuca, a Brazilian expense-sharing platform.

▸ SECURITY | US-based VC SYN Ventures led a USD3m Series A for Metabase Q, a San Francisco-based cybersecurity workflow management platform for corporates in the Americas, with participation from GBM and angel John Watters (Mandiant). 

• GBM Ventures invested in January.

▸ WOMEN-LED | YC led a ~USD2.5m seed round for Vendah, a Brazilian women-focused social commerce platform, with participation from DOMO Invest and Goodwater Capital. 

• MAYA Capital led a ~USD1.6m round in March 2022
• Vendah was co-founded by Ilana Nasser.

▸ HEALTHTECH | Owl Ventures invested USD2.5m in Coala Saúde, a Brazilian school-based telehealth company.

▸ Marathon Ventures led a USD1.5m round for Maqui, a Colombia- and Mexico-based  outsourced fashion production management platform, with participation from Nido Ventures, Integra Group, Kupier and Noa Capital.

▸ BOLIVA | FACIA, a Bolivian community safety platform, raised a USD1m round from Acelera Ventures and other undisclosed investors. 

▸ Devolut, a Mexico-based B2B E-commerce returns logistics platform, raised a USD600k pre-seed round from Seedstars, FJ Labs, Far Out Ventures, Pareto Holdings and Forum Ventures. 

▸ AGTECH | Belgo Arames invested ~USD300k in Instabov, a Brazilian bovine monitoring system. 

▸ Lighthouse invested ~USD300k in Bebook, a Brazil-based hotel revenue management platform. 

▸ SECURITY | GBM Ventures, the CVC arm of Mexican trading platform Grupo Bursátil Mexicano (GBM), invested in Metabase Q, a Mexican cybersecurity protection platform for corporates in December 2022

• SoftBank agreed to invest up to USD150m in GBM in June 2021.

▸ Lucens Capital invested in Janis, an Argentina-based cloud-based omnichannel supply chain & order fulfillment SaaS provider. 

▸ HEALTHECH | The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invested USD85k in Munai, a Brazilian antibiotic usage protocol monitoring platform for hospitals.

▸ Cedro Capital invested in OOH My Media, a Brazilian advertising marketplace for physical marketers and exhibitors.

Startups & News

▸ M&A | Asaak, a Uganda-based smartphone financing company, acquired the Mexican operations of FlexClub, a car financing platform for Uber drivers, as part of its roadmap to expand into Latin America. 

• FlexClub raised a USD5m round in March 2021 from Endeavor Catalyst, CRE Venture Capital, Kindred Ventures, Launch Africa Ventures and Hlayisani Capital. 

▸ Google partnered with Nubank to launch Google Wallet in Colombia, a digital wallet enabling users to make contactless payments through their smartphones. 

▸ EXITS | Bloomberg reviews SoftBank’s latest exits from Pismo, Isaac, Avenue and Yaydoo in SoftBank Turns a Profit on First Sales of Latin America Stakes.

▸ Alex Wilhelm and Anna Heim of TechCrunch review the implications of the current market downturn and the latest fintech investment figures in banking penetration in Latin America.

People & Programs

▸ IDB Lab and the Climate Investment Fund launched EIT Climate-KIC, an initiative to support investors and startup companies working on carbon emission reduction strategies across 12 countries. Additional information here. 

▸ 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 13 September in São Paulo. Registration is now open. 

▸ Finnovista will host FINNOSUMMIT 2023 on 26-27 September 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.