Open Call for Submissions:

Top and Emerging Women Investors in Latin American Tech 

We are now accepting nominations for LAVCA's annual list of Top Women Investors and Emerging Women Investors in Latin American Tech.

Nominations are for senior-, mid- and junior-level female investment professionals deploying capital from a VC fund, and women angel investors investing in 3+ LatAm tech startups a year.

Nominations close Friday, 24 November. 

Funds

▸ BNDES made ~USD128m in total new commitments across six funds: Genoma IX of DNA Capital, Astella Journey V Feeder of Astella Investimentos, Antler Brasil I FIP Capital Semente of Antler Global, Brasil FIP Capital Semente of KPTL and Cedro Capital, Good Karma Fund of Good Karma Ventures and Noon FIP of Noon Capital. 

• BNDES can invest up to 25% of the target of each selected fund out of a ~USD290m program to support Brazilian-focused venture funds. 

▸ CVC | Visa Ventures launched a USD100m global fund to invest in startups developing generative AI tech and applications applied for e-commerce and payments. 

▸ Latitud Ventures, the VC arm of Latitud, reached a USD25m first close for its second flagship fund to invest in pre-seed startups operating in Latin America. 

▸ WOMEN-LED | Grupo Bimbo made an undisclosed commitment to Kamay Ventures, an Argentina-based fund managed by tech accelerator Overboost, to invest in up to 30 early-stage startups. 

• Kamay Ventures other corporate LPs include Coca-Cola and Arcor. 
• Kamay Ventures is led by Gabriela Ruggeri. 

▸ Endeavor Brasil reached a USD15m final close for Scale-Up Ventures II, its second flagship fund with an original USD12m target to invest in seed and Series A financing rounds of Brazilian startups within the Endeavor network. 

▸ DOMO Invest launched DOMO Seed 4, its fourth flagship fund with an undisclosed target to invest in early-stage startups in Brazil. 

• DOMO’s latest investments include Mission Brasil, Vendah, Voltbras, B2 List, Viddy, Já Vendeu.

▸ Fen Ventures and LarrainVial launched Activa-Fen Ventures Secondaries Fund, an equity fund with a USD20m target to acquire secondary stakes in Latin America- and US-based startups. 

▸ Chilean VC WeeBoost launched WeBoost Growth LatAm Fund, an early-stage and growth equity fund with a USD80m target to invest in Series A and Series B rounds across Latin America. 

• WeBoost portfolio includes Wheel the world, Wited and CoTalker. 

▸ Mexican advisory firm Miranda Partners and AMG Block VentureslaunchedMiranda Ventures, a Mexican media-for-equity fund to support startup founders with their investor relations, media and digital marketing strategies.

Deals

▸ General Atlantic led a USD200m Series B round for QI Tech, a Brazilian API-based credit issuance platform, with follow-on from US-based growth investor Across Capital. 

• QI Tech acquired Builders Bank, a Brazilian banking application developer, in June 2023. 
• GIC led a USD50m Series A in November 2021.
• QI Tech was the first Direct Credit Company (Sociedade de Credito Direto) approved by the Brazilian Central Bank. 
• QI Tech has been profitable since launch, according to TechCrunch. 
• This is the largest round raised by a Brazilian startup so far in 2023, according to LAVCA Data.

▸ US-based VC Morpheus Ventures led a USD40m Series C for Mexican challenger bank albo, with follow-on from NAZCA and Valar Ventures.

• albo just acquired delt.ai, a Mexico-based financial services platform for SMEs.
• albo raised a USD45m Series B in November 2020 and a USD7.4m Series A in January 2019. 

▸ Valor Capital Groupled a USD30m Series C for Gringo, a Brazilian car documentation management platform with follow-on from KASZEK, ONEVC, Vostok Emerging Finance, ICU Ventures and Actyus. 

• Gringo raised a ~USD38m Series B led by Vostok Emerging Finance in March 2022 and a USD8m round led by KASZEK in November 2021.

▸ SECURITY | Forgepoint Capital led a USD30m Series B for Lumu Technologies, a Colombian cybersecurity platform focused on data protection, with follow-on from BIP Ventures, Exceptional Capital and Simma Capital.

• US-based Panoramic Ventures led a USD8m round in August 2022.
• Lumu was founded by Colombian Ricardo Villadiego.

▸ QED Investors led a USD20m round for Finkargo, a Colombia-based import financing platform, with participation from NAZCA, and follow-on from Quona Capital, ONEVC, Flybridge and MAYA Capital. 

• Finkargo secured a USD75m structured credit line from Community Investment Management in November 2022; Quona Capital and MAYA Capital led a USD7.5m seed round in April of that same year. 

▸ Valor Capital Group led a USD20m Series B for Nexu, a Mexican car financing platform.

• Nexu raised a USD50m Series A in January 2022. 

▸ CLEANTECH | KASZEK led a USD16.5m round for Bia, a Colombian real-time energy consumption analytics platform for SMEs, with participation from Ewa Capital, WildSur, and follow-on from NAZCA.

• Canary led a USD6m pre-seed round in July 2022.

▸ US-based VC Haymaker Ventures led a USD15m Series A+ for Mundi, a Mexican lending platform financing imports/exports for SMEs, with participation from FJ Labs, Upper90, GMO Ventures, Colibri Ventures, Asymmetric Capital Partners, Mana Ventures, and follow-on from USV and Base10.

• USV led a USD16m Series A in February 2022; Base10 led a USD7.8m round in February 2021. 
• DEBT |Mundi secured a USD100m debt facility from SVB in December 2021; Base10 Partners led a USD7.8m round in February 2021. 

▸ KASZEK led a USD13m round for Cobre, a Colombian corporate treasury management platform.

• QED Investors and Atlantico led a USD14m Series A round in February 2022. 

▸ MINING | Kayyak Ventures led a USD10m round for TIMining, a Chilean intelligent mining platform, with participation from LarrainVial and the Luksic FO, and follow-on from Aurus Capital. 

• Aurus Capital and ChileGlobal Ventures invested USD3.8m in March 2020.

▸ CapSur led a USD10m round for The Coffee, a Brazilian self-serve coffee brand. 

• monashees led a USD7.5m round in January and a ~USD5.6m Series A in December 2020. 

▸ CROSSBORDER | Hypra invested USD10m in Trinetix, a Ukrainian B2B digital product manager to expand to Latin America.

▸ SRM Ventures invested ~USD9min Parcela Mais, a Brazilian financial services for healthcare platform.

▸ EDTECH | Rise Ventures led a ~USD8m round for Alicerce Educação, a Brazilian network of education centers to supplement students in the public school system living in city peripheries.

• Alicerce Educação raised a USD5m seed extension in May 2021; Wayra Hispam invested in 2020; Canary and Valor led a ~USD5m seed round in 2019.
  
  ➡️ READ LAVCA’s Deal Case Highlight on Canary’s investment in the company in 2020. 

▸ SRM Ventures invested ~USD7.7m in Drip, a Brazil-based Pix payment solution.

• YC invested 500k in September 2022.

▸ NY-based early stage VC Third Prime led a USD6.5m round for Finnerio, a Mexican API provider for enterprise account management, with participation Alaya Capital, Visa, Bancolombia Ventures, Plug and Play, Winklevoss Capital and Krealo, the CVC arm of Credicorp. 

• G2 Momentum Capital invested in June 2020.

▸ Divilo, a Spain-based financial services platform, raised a USD6.3m round to expand throughout Europe and into Latin America. 

▸ DEBT | Sempli, a Colombian lending platform for SMEs, raised a USD6m debt round from Citi. 

• CAF and Confama led an undisclosed round in March 2022; Sempli raised USD10m in October 2021 and USD8m in 2019. 

▸ PROPTECH | EXT Capital invested ~USD5.8m in CondoConta, a Brazilian banking platform for condominium management. 

• Igah Ventures invested ~USD2m in November 2021; Redpoint eventures led a ~USD1.3m seed round in March 2021. 

▸ WOMEN-LED | Yara Growth Ventures led a USD4pm pre-Series A for Verqor, a Mexican lending and wholesale marketplace for rural producers, with participation from Accion Venture Lab and GLOCAL, and follow-on from SP Ventures and Amplifica Capital. 

• Verqor also secured USD3.5m in debt from Addem Capital. 
• SP Ventures led a USD2.5m round for Verqor in June 2022.
  Verqor was co-founded by Valentina Rogacheva. 

▸ WOMEN-LED | Cencosud Ventures led a USD4m round for Vopero, an Uruguay-based clothing resale marketplace, with follow-on from Mexican retail holding Grupo Axo. 

• Vopero raised a USD7.5m round from Grupo Axo and ThredUP in October 2021.
• Vopero was co-founded by Maggie Ferber. 

▸ Screen One invested in USD3.5m Series A for Neverend Entertainment, a Chilean audiovisual production and distribution company.

▸ CRYPTO | Galapagos Capital led a ~USD2.5m round for Liqi, a Brazilian tokenization platform for corporates, with follow-on from Kinea Ventures and Honey Island. 

• Liqi raised ~USD5.5m in January 2022.

▸ NY-based VC 2048 Ventures led a USD2m round for Wareclouds, a Chilean ecommerce fulfillment platform, with follow-on from ChileGlobal Ventures. 

• ChileGlobal Ventures led a USD1.2m seed round in October 2022.

▸ CVC | Btomorrow Ventures, the CVC arm of British American Tobacco, made an undisclosed investment at a ~USD25 pre-money valuation in Mais Mu, a Brazilian D2C healthy snack and supplements brand. 

▸ ABSeed led a ~USD2m round for Vaas, a Brazilian financial fraud detection startup, with participation from Fuse Capital and Honey Island Capital. 

▸ DEBT | Laqus (formerly Mark 2 Market) raised ~USD2m in venture debt from Namari Capital. 

▸ CVC | MSW Capital, the CVC arm of Banco do Brasil, led a USD1.9m round for Tidewise, a Brazilian robotics manufacturer and marine site mapping platform for the naval industry, with participation from Embraer, BB Seguros, Baterias Moura and AgeRio. 

▸ Brazilian stock exchange B3 invested USD1.9m in MBOCHIP, a Brazilian low-latency programmable chip manufacturer for financial market algorithms. 

▸ PROPTECH | RBS Ventures, the CVC arm of Brazilian media group RBS, invested ~USD1.8m in equity and media in the merger of VPort and Maguen, two Brazilian virtual concierge systems for condominiums. 

▸ IoT | Monuv, a Brazilian computer vision platform for security camera networks, raised a ~USD1.7m bridge round from Indicator Capital and Invest Tech. 

• Indicator Capital invested ~USD800k in June 2023 through its ~USD48m IoT-dedicated fund. 

▸ HEALTHTECH | Valor Capital Group led a ~USD1.6m pre-seed round for Sanii, a Brazil-based cognitive health startup, with participation from GreenRock and Norte Ventures. 

▸ AGTECH | SiloReal, an Argentine traceability startup for grain and crops, raised a USD1.5m round from undisclosed investors. 

▸ Astella Investimentos led a USD1.2m pre-seed round for Purple Metrics, a Brazilian branding measurement software, with participation from Raio Capital and 040 Ventures.

▸ Terracotta Ventures and ABSeed led a ~USD1.2m seed round for Arqgen, a Brazilian AI-based architecture modeling software, with participation from BR Angels and Smart Money Ventures.

▸ Teker, a Colombian platform for accessing healthcare specialists, raised a USD1m pre-seed round.

▸ Invexor led a USD750k round for Edipro, a Chile-based condominium management platform.

• Chilean accelerator Magical invested USD125k in November 2022

▸ HRTECH | Smart Money Ventures led a ~USD700k seed round for Bondy, a Brazilian human resources automation platform, with participation from Investidores.vc and Incubate Fund.

▸ CRYPTO | BRLA Digital, a Brazilian crypto payments platform, raised a ~USD600k round from Philippines-based crypto exchange Coins and angel Rodrigo Benez (SimpliPay).

▸ EDTECH | Fundo Amazônia Ventures invested ~USD300k in Esporte Educa, a Brazilian education platform for full-time athletes.

▸ Kontigo, a Peruvian digital wallet service, raised USD200k from Founders Inc. and Buildspace. 

▸ CLEANTECH | Irani Ventures invested ~USD180k in Mush, a Brazilian biodegradable products startup.

▸ HEALTHTECH | Zenit, a Brazilian healthcare content platform, raised ~USD260k from Oikos, Spalla Partners and crowdfunding platform Captable. 

▸ Ventiur invested ~USD100k in Payer, a Brazilian payments platform.

▸ Raio Capital invested in Doji, a UK-based e-commerce marketplace for second-hand products.

• Canary led a ~USD3m seed round in June 2021.
• Doji was founded by Brazilian Fernando Montera Filho. 

▸ DEBT | R5, a Colombian credit provider and financial education platform focused on the underbanked, raised an undisclosed debt round from Lendable. 

• GFC led a USD7m round for R5 in May 2022; Accion invested in April 2020. 

▸ Colektia, a Chile-based enterprise debt collection platform, raised an undisclosed equity and debt round from undisclosed funds. 

•  Angel Ventures and NAZCA led a USD4.2m Series A in February 2021. 

▸ HRTECH | Google for Startups invested in Vixting, a Brazilian employee medical treatment platform for work-related health concerns. 

▸ Ventiur Smart Capital invested ~USD58k in ESG Now, a Brazilian sustainability indicator management platform. 

▸ AGTECH | Good Karma Partners invested in Rumin8, an Australian bovine food supplement company to expand into Brazil. 

▸ BIOTECH | Eurofarma Ventures invested in Gen-t Science, a Brazilian gene bank startup. 

▸ Amarena and golfer Joaquín Niemann invested in Zapping, a Chile-based media and entertainment platform. 

▸ Grupo Escocia invested in Rideshop.cl, a Chile-based online marketplace for outdoor sports. 

▸ ANGEL | Ábaco Capital, a Salvadoran fintech, raised a USD500k pre-seed round from angel investors.

▸ ANGEL | Patrimore, a Chilean personal finance management platform, raised USD400k from angels including Francisco Ackermann (Finup) and Matías Spagui (MercadoPago), among others.

Startup News and M&A

▸ M&A | Conexa Saúde, a Brazilian telemedicine marketplace, merged with Zenklub, a Brazilian online therapy and wellness platform. 

• Goldman Sachs Asset Management led a ~USD40m round for Conexa in June 2022 after a ~USD8m Series B led by General Atlantic and Igah Ventures in July 2020; Indico Partners led a ~USD3.3m round for Zenklub in May 2020.
• Conexa CEO Guilherme Weigert joined us on stage during LAVCA Week 2023. 

▸ M&A | Flat.mx, a Mexican proptech focused on residential real estate, acquired Hipoteca Genial, a Mexican mortgage credit advisor.

• UK-based VC Anthemis and 500 led a USD20m Series A for Flat.mx in September 2021.
• DEBT | Arc Labs made a USD25m debt investment in 2020; ALLVP led a USD4.5m pre-seed round in 2019. 

▸ M&A | Galgo (formerly known as Migrante), a Chilean car and motorbike lending platform for gig workers, acquired Crediorbe, a Chilean motorbike credit provider. 

• Kayyak Ventures led a USD30m Series A for Migrante in April 2022; Migrante secured a USD80m debt facility as part of that round. 

▸ M&A | Payface, a Brazilian POS facial recognition payment platform, acquired SmileGo, a biometric-based payment platform for private label card issuers. 

• Payface raised a ~USD3m Series A+ from Fintech Revolution in July after BTG Pactual led an undisclosed Series A in June 2022.

▸ M&A |Bricksave, a UK-based real estate crowdfunding platform acquired Macondo, a Colombian real estate access platform. 

• Bricksave raised a USD1.4m Series A to expand operations from Argentina to Brazil in August 2019.

▸ 23S Capital acquired a 10% stake in Vitru Educação, a Brazilian publicly listed online private education platform. 

• 23S Capital is a USD700m fund launched by Temasek and Banco Votorantim in 2022 to invest in late-stage Brazilian startups. 

▸ Incode, an SF-based authentication platform with operations in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, will expand its footprint in the region with the opening of an office in Brazil.

• Incode raised a USD220m round in December 2021 from SoftBank, JP Morgan Technology Ventures, Coinbase Ventures and General Atlantic; DILA Capital led a USD10m round in December 2019. 

▸ Digital banks and card issuers are focusing their efforts on launching high-yield savings accounts for Mexican users: Mexico-based Stori launched a new deposit and savings account with a 15% APR, while Argentine-based Ualá partnered with Mexican retail company Soriana to launch cash deposits in Mexico and a 12%-annual-yield account. 

▸ CROSSBORDER | Daniela Dib of Rest of World reviews the challenges for an African mobility startup operating in Latin America after an unusual acquisition in How a Ugandan startup wound up in Mexico.

News

▸ CRYPTO | Sergio Massa, Argentina’s Minister of Finance, announced plans to launch Moneda Digital Argentina, a national digital currency to reduce the use of cash and promote economic stability. 

▸ Nubank was granted a ~USD115m credit line increase by the IFC to its lending facility in Colombia. 

• Nubank also just set a Guinness World Record for executing the first transaction at 20 meters underwater near the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico. 
• Nubank: “La tecnología nos permite que ya sea una realidad que las personas pueden tener el control de sus finanzas en cada momento sin importar el lugar, incluso a 20 metros bajo el mar.”

▸ ENVIRONMENT | Mercado Libre invested an additional ~USD8.4m in Regenera América, a conservation initiative focused on financing biomass regeneration and reforestation projects in Brazil. 

• Mercado Libre committed an initial ~USD12m investment into Regenera in 2021.

People & Programs

▸ Congrats to the Latin American tech-enabled companies and startups selected for Rest of World’s West vs. Rest list of tech companies outside of Silicon Valley building a successful global footprint: Nubank, Bitso, Cornershop by Uber and Mercado Libre. 

▸ Congrats to the 11 startups selected to participate in Platanus Ventures’ 23-2 batch that presented during Demo Day: Perhaps, Morfy, Sendmage, Autentiz, Pullpo, Tu Mejor Amigo, Blar, Teambit, Winston, Manifest and Wizybot. 

▸ Congrats to the 10 startups selected to participate in the accelerator program of Krealo, the CVC arm of Credicorp, in partnership with Seedstars: Depay, uils, PasanaQ, Relief, Escarlata, Kuadra, Agéndalo, Exelan, Kambia and FORTS.

▸ WOMEN-LED | 30N Ventures appointed Paula Giraldo, former Partner at Adobe Capital and Deetken Impact, as its newest Partner.

▸ Capria Ventures is looking for a Senior Investment Analyst to join its team based in Mexico City or São Paulo. Interested candidates are welcome to apply. 

• Capria is also looking for an Investment Fellow to join its team in Brazil. Candidates can apply here.

▸ NXTP Ventures is looking for an Associate or Senior Associate to join its team out of its São Paulo office. Interested candidates are welcome to apply. 

▸ Alaya Capital appointed Principal Bruno Pérez as its first investor based out of Mexico. 

▸ Partners for Growth will host ESG Strategies for Tomorrow’s Business, a webinar on 9 November at 12 pm ET in partnership with Steward Redqueen to discuss the current strategies and implementation of ESG practices for high-growth technology companies. Registration is now open. 

▸ Finnovista partnered with Visa to launch Fintech Radar Argentina, a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of Argentina-based companies since 2021.

▸ URUGUAY | Uruguay Innovation Hub is looking to finance an international accelerator looking to expand its presence, operating and investing capabilities to Uruguay. Interested organizations are welcome to apply before 20 November.

▸ LAVCA's Director or Research Emanuel Hernandez will speak on the panel 'Una mirada a la evolución del VC enLatam y lo que viene' during Peru Venture Capital Conference 2023, taking place on 29-30 November in Lima. 

▸ 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.

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.