TLDR

​​​​​​📣 DATA | LAVCA tracks USD15b+ in VC investment for 2021.

📣 DEALS | New rounds for Creditas, Satellogic, Xepelin, Nexu, Laika, TerraMagna, Rei do Pitaco, Ubits, Calii, Inventa and a55.

📣 M&A | Colombian proptech Habi expands to Mexico; Mexican crypto platform Bitso expands to Portugal.

Preliminary VC Data

​​​​​

Latin America crossed USD15.3b in VC investment in 2021 according to LAVCA preliminary data 🚀. This is more than 3x the highest record in history (USD4.8b in FY 2019).

Press Pickup  🔥 Financial Times: Latin American VC investments triple record to pass $15bn in 2021 🔥 Bloomberg: Startup Funding Triples to Record USD15b in Latin America 🔥 El Financiero reviews the state of tech investment in the Mexican ecosystem in México, ¿Criadero de Unicornios? 🔥 Crunchbase: Here’s What’s Driving Latin America’s Rank as the World’s Fastest Growing Region For Venture Funding

☞ View LAVCA’s recent research & data outputs. Verified VC data will be released to LAVCA members in mid-February.

LAVCA Updates

LAVCA Board

LAVCA appointed three new Directors to its Board: Johanna G. Posada (Elevar Equity), Bruno Zaremba (Vinci Partners), and Tania Chocolat (CPP Investments).

“I am proud to welcome Johanna, Tania and Bruno to the Board. Johanna has been at the forefront of VC impact and innovation across Latin America and India for the last two decades, Tania is a proven leader in the direct equity investment space in our region, and Bruno has demonstrated his very deep knowledge of the Brazilian private equity space. They will all be best-in-class additions to the LAVCA Board.”

- LAVCA Chair, Nicolás Szekasy (KASZEK)

Deals

🦄 Fidelity Management led a USD260m Series F for Brazilian fintech Creditas at a reported USD4.8b valuation, with participation from Spanish investors Actyus and Greentrail Capital, and follow-on from KASZEK, QED Investors, VEF, SoftBank Vision Fund, SoftBank Latin America, Lightrock, Headline, Wellington Management and Sunley House Capital. 

• Lightrock led a USD255m Series E in December 2020 at a reported USD1.75b valuation; SoftBank led a USD231m round in 2019. 
• Creditas is already in talks for an IPO at a reported USD7-10b valuation, according to Valor Econômico.

▸ SPACETECH | Argentine spacetech Satellogic raised USD150m from Liberty Strategic Capital, the investment firm of former US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. 

• The investment adds to the USD100m PIPE led by SoftBank and Cantor Fitzgerald in July 2021 as part of Satellogic’s announced merger with CF Acquisition Corp V, a SPAC formed by Cantor Fitzgerald, to go public at a reported USD850m valuation.

▸ DEBT | Xepelin, a Chilean accounts receivable-based lending platform for SMEs, secured USD80m in debt from Community Investment Management. 

• Xepelin also secured USD200m in credit facilities in 2021; KASZEK led a USD30m round in August. 

▸ Nexu, a Mexican car financing platform, raised a USD50m Series A from Altos Ventures, Squareone Capital, Architect Capital, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Tresalia Capital, FJ Labs, Gilgamesh Ventures and Grupo Capital Empresarial (CAPEM), and follow-on from Wollef Ventures. 

▸ PETS | SoftBank led a USD48m Series B for Laika, a Colombian e-commerce platform for pet goods and services, with participation from Delivery Hero, JAM Fund and FJ Labs, and angels Carlos Garcia (Kavak), Emil Michael (Uber) and Pedro Garay (GBM). 

• Laika raised a USD12m Series A in June 2021 and a USD5m round in 2020 after participating in YC’s 2019 Summer Batch. 

▸ AGTECH |  SoftBank led a ~USD40m Series A for TerraMagna, a Brazilian agtech platform providing working capital for farmers, with participation from Shift Capital and Brazilian credit investor Milenio Capital, and follow on from Canary, The Yield Lab, MAYA Capital, ONEVC and Accion Venture Lab. 

• ONEVC led a USD2.7m round in December 2020; The Yield Lab invested ~USD400k in 2019 in its first known investment in a Brazilian startup. 

▸ GAMING |  D1 Capital led a ~USD36m Series A for Rei do Pitaco, a Brazilian fantasy sports and gaming platform, with participation from Left Lane Capital and Globo Ventures, and follow-on from KASZEK and Bullpen Capital. 

• This is the second known investment from KASZEK and Bullpen Capital in a Latin America-based gaming startup, after their participation in the USD13.2m round for Mexico-based startup Draftea earlier this month. 

▸ HRTECH |  Riverwood Capital led a USD25m Series B for Ubits, a Colombian corporate training platform with operations in Colombia and Mexico.

• US-based edtech VC Owl Ventures invested USD5m in June 2021 in its first known investment in a Latin America-based startup, according to LAVCA Data. 

▸ Dalus Capital and JAM Fund led a USD22.5m Series A for Calii, a Mexican grocery delivery platform connecting producers with end customers through a microfulfillment model, with participation from Base10 Partners, Forerunner Ventures, Streamlined Ventures and YC. 

▸ monashees and Andreessen Horowitz led a USD20m Series A for Inventa, a Brazilian marketplace connecting regional wholesalers with local retailers, with participation from Founders Fund, Tiger Global, Greylock, Greenoaks Capital and angels Hans Tung (GGV) and Carlos Garcia (Kavak), and follow-on from NXTP, ONEVC, MAYA Capital, Pear VC and Alter Global. 

• Inventa raised a ~USD6m seed round in November 2021. 

▸ CVC |  Movile led a ~USD16.3m Series B for a55, a Brazilian revenue-based lender and payment integration platform focused on SMEs in Brazil and Mexico, with follow-on from Mouro Capital. 

• Accial Capital led a USD35m round in May 2021; Mouro Capital led a USD5m round in 2020. 

▸ AGTECH | Valor Capital Group led a ~USD16m Series Afor Agrolend, a Brazilian unsecured credit platform for small crop farmers, with follow-on from SP Ventures, Barn Investimentos, Provence Ventures and Continental Grain Company. 

• Agrolend also raised ~USD8m in debt through a FIDC (Fundo de Investimentos em Direitos Creditorios) from Itaú Asset, Verde Asset and Augme.
• Agrolend raised a USD1.8m seed round in April 2021. 

▸ DILA Capital and Kayyak Ventures led a USD15m Series A for Fairplay, a Mexican revenue-based financing platform for D2C e-commerce brands and marketplaces, with participation from Elevar Equity and Speedinvest. 

• DEBT | Fairplay also secured USD20m in debt financing from Architect Capital.

▸ NFT |  POAP, an Argentine NFT platform for commemorating events and special gatherings, raised USD10m from Libertus Capital, Archetype, Sapphire Sport and Delphi Capital.

▸ PROPTECH | US-based proptech Blueground led a ~USD8m Series A for Tabas, a Brazilian short-term apartment rental marketplace, with participation from Echo Capital. 

• DEBT | Tabas also raised ~USD8m in debt through a Certificado de Recebíveis Imobiliário (CRI). 

▸ Anttecipe, a Brazilian financing platform for labor lawsuits won in court by company employees, raised a ~USD6m round from undisclosed investors.

▸ Canary and KASZEK led a USD5.7m round for Sooper, a Brazilian civil construction marketplace connecting regional suppliers with local retailers.

• monashees led a USD14.5m round in October 2020. 

▸ AGTECH | Astella Investimentos led a ~USD4.6m seed round for Gavea, a Brazilian blockchain-based commodity trading platform, with participation from 2TM Ventures, the CVC fund of 2TM, Mercado Bitcoin’s parent company, and an undisclosed FO. 

▸ Kayyak Ventures led a USD3.7m round for AgendaPro, a Chilean operations management and booking platform for salons and health clinics, with participation from FEN Ventures, TMT Investments, Cathexis Ventures, SCM Advisors and angel James Park (Fitbit). 

▸ LAST MILE | Canary and MAYA Capital led a USD3.6bm pre-seed round for Nana Delivery, a Brazilian last-mile delivery platform operating through a dark store distribution network, with participation from UK-based VC Presight. 

▸  BNPL |  Fen Ventures led a USD2.3m round for Wibond, an Argentine BNPL platform for e-commerce stores, with participation from Newtopia, Latitud, Kalei Ventures, Incutex and First Check Ventures, and angel Marc Randolph (Netflix). 

▸ CVC | Partyou, a Brazilian financial management platform for student associations, raised ~USD2m from Banco Bradesco’s Inovabra Ventures and US-based VC Asterisk Partners. 

▸ Iporanga Ventures led a ~USD709k round for Compra Rapida, a Brazilian one-stop checkout platform for e-commerce stores, with participation from Verve Capital and YC. 

▸ LEGALTECH | EasyJur, a Brazilian software development platform for law firms, raised ~USD700k from BossaNova Investimentos, Investidores VC, Gavea Angels and Anjos do Brasil. 

• EasyJur was one of six startups selected to join Google’s Black Founders Fund in 2020. 

▸ BossaNova Investimentos led a ~USD200k round for Bud, a Brazilian company project management platform. 

▸ AGTECH | US-based agtech fund Trailhead Capital invested in Luxor Agro, a Brazilian developer of climate change-first agricultural practices.

▸ CVC | Twitter invested in Aleph Group, a Miami- and Argentina-based content broker for social media platforms. 

• Mercado Libre acquired a 1.25% stake in August 2021; CVC Capital invested previously. 

▸ LatinLeap invested in Vozy, a Colombian audio-based customer service management platform with operations in Mexico and Colombia. 

• Vozy raised USD800k from ArkFund, 10X and others in October 2020. 

▸ Vesti, a Brazilian clothing marketplace connecting manufacturers with retailers, raised an undisclosed amount from Aimorés Investimentos, Smart Money Ventures and Equity Rio.

🦄 View LAVCA’s Unicorn Leaderboard
for the latest list of LatAm unicorns. 
 

Exits / M&A

▸  EXIT | Cedro Capital exited Kanttum, a Brazilian teacher training platform, through a sale to Patio, the business unit of Brazilian education conglomerate Grupo Eleva. 

▸  M&A | Habi, a Colombian middle-class residential real estate platform leveraging the iBuyer business model, acquired OKOL, the parent company of Mexican proptech Propiedades.com, and Tu Canton, a Mexican residential real estate broker. 

• SoftBank led a USD100m Series B for Habi in July 2021 in the largest known Series B for a Colombian startup; Inspired Capital led a US10m Series A in 2020. 

▸ M&A | 2TM, the parent company of Brazil crypto startup Mercado Bitcoin, acquired a controlling stake in CritpoLoja, a Portugal-based crypto trading platform.

▸ M&A | Celcoin, a Brazilian open finance infrastructure developer for fintechs targeting the underbanked, acquired Galaxy Pay, a Brazilian API for recurring payments with PIX, the open banking and payments platform launched by Brazil’s Central Bank in 2020. 

• Celcoin raised ~USD11m led by Torq Ventures in July 2021.

Startups

▸ Mozper, a Mexico-based financial education platform for children, launches operations in Brazil tomorrow. 

• Mozper raised a USD3.55m round in December 2020. 

▸ Startups eye soccer teams for sponsorship: Bitso announced a sponsorship agreement with Mexico’s team ahead of the World Cup, while Rappi announced a partnership with Colombia’s. 

• These partnerships come after Kavak’s sponsorship of Mexico’s national team in November 2021. 

▸ PROPTECH | Andres Sarrazola of Ayenda Rooms, a Colombian budget hotel chain, shares his journey in an interview with 500 Global in How Andres Sarrazola is Turning Ayenda into One of the Biggest Budget Hotel Chains in Latin America:

“In the beginning, it was really tough convincing hotel owners to let us put the Ayenda name on their buildings. They’d ask how many hotels we owned and we’d tell them none […] Some trips can be replaced by a video call, but we’re going after the business traveler who absolutely needs to be there in person” 

▸ Pierpaolo Barbieri of Argentine fintech Ualá for the Financial Times: Digital services are the new growth model Latin America urgently needs

• SoftBank and Tencent led Ualá's USD350m Series D in August 2021 at a USSD2.45b valuation.

▸ CLIMATE | Azeem Azhar of Exponential View interviewed Diego Saez Gil of Pachama, a marketplace for carbon offset projects, on balancing trustworthiness and effectiveness in a carbon offset marketplace. 

• Pachama partnered with Mercado Libre last March to lead Mercado Libre’s Regenera America, a USD8m initiative to support two forest restoration projects implemented by the Nature Conservancy and the Institute for Ecological Research in Brazil.

News

▸ Citi announced the upcoming sale of its Mexico’s consumer banking business. 

• President López Obrador signaled Mexican businessmen Carlos Slim, Ricardo Salinas Pliego and Carlos Hank Gonzalez as potential buyers. 
• Citi is the third largest bank in Mexico, according to Corporate Finance Institute. 

▸ CRYPTO | Almost a quarter of SMEs across nine countries plan to accept digital currencies as a form of payment in 2022, according to a survey conducted by Visa in Brazil, United States, Singapore, Canada, Germany, Ireland and Russia.

• CoinTelegraph reviews the development of the Brazilian crypto ecosystem in 2021 in 2021: A year of mass adoption for cryptocurrencies in Brazil. 

▸ The Brazilian National Immigration Council just launched a program to grant one-year residence visas for digital nomads with no formal employment registered in the country. 

▸ Rest of World reviews the state of tech talent in Latin America in “It’s a bloodbath”: U.S. companies are pillaging Latin America’s tech talent:

“An American company was offering [a senior front-end developer] $15,000 per month to work for them [...] we cannot compete with that.”

▸ Crunchbase: Here’s What’s Driving Latin America’s Rank As The World’s Fastest-Growing Region For Venture Funding.

▸ INFLATION | Venezuela just ended a four-year period of hyperinflation as the US dollar becomes the preferred currency in circulation. 

People & Programs

LAVCA WEEK | Save the date for LAVCA Week 2022, taking place in person on October 12-14 at the Conrad New York Downtown in New York City.

The 2022 conference will convene LAVCA’s unparalleled network of private capital investors from across Latin America, the US, Asia and other global markets for a highly interactive experience, including networking and discussions on the latest trends in private equity, venture capital and other private capital strategies. 

▸ Martin Escobari of General Atlantic was appointed to Endeavor Global’s Board of Directors. 

▸ WOMEN-LED | Claudia features eight Brazilian women investors in Latin America including Lucia Antonini Ribeiro of EB Capital, Marcella Ceva of WE Ventures, Monica Saggioro and Lara Lemann of MAYA Capital, Izabell Gallera of Canary and Carolina Strobel of Redpoint eventures.

• View LAVCA’s 2021 list of Top Women Investors in Latin America Tech. 

▸ LAVCA is looking for a full-time Latin America Research Analyst. Interested candidates are welcome to apply.

▸ Capria Ventures is looking for a Global Portfolio Value Creation Fellow and a Global Investment Fellow to expand its team.

▸ QED Investors is looking for a Principal to join its investment team based out of São Paulo. Interested candidates are welcome to apply.

▸ 500 Global is looking for an Associate to join its investment team remotely. Interested candidates are welcome to apply.

Global Tech

☞ Sign up for GPCA’sGlobal Tech Brief. Edited by LAVCA’s Julie Ruvolo, this bi-weekly newsletter 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.