TLDR

📣 Meeting Updates | LAVCA Week 2022

📣 Research | LatAm Startup Directory & 2022 Mid-Year Trends in Tech

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📣 Healthtech | Rounds for: MEDU, Hygia Saúde, Omens, Keiron, doc-doc, Lincon

📣 Funds | StepStone Acquires USD80m Stake in Valor Capital Group’s Fund II; Salkantay Ventures Reaches USD26m Final Close; Shift Capital Reaches First Close

2022 LAVCA Week 

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LAVCA WEEK 2022 | Registration is open for LAVCA Week in New York, October 11-14 at the Conrad New York Downtown in New York City.

Program highlights:

• Keynote Speaker Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners
   
• Fireside Chat with Hans Tung of GGV and Eric Acher of monashees
   
• Fireside Chat with Martin Escobari, Co-President, Managing Director, and Head of General Atlantic Latin America and Cesar Carvalho, CEO of Gympass
   
• Innovation in Healthcare with Andre Florence of Alice, Andrea Campos of Yana, Isadora Kimura of Nilo Saude, Arturo Sanchez of Sofia, moderated by Priscila Rodrigues of Crescera Capital
   
• Helping Startups Fundraise Through a Crisis with Antonia Rojas of ALLVP, Alexander Busse of NXTP, Alejandro Diex Barroso of DILA Capital, Edson Rigonatti of Astella Investimentos and Pedro Sirotsky of Igah Ventures
   
• Re-Inventing Crypto in a Crisis with Antoine Colaço of Valor Capital Group, Federico Gomez Schumacher of PayPal and Renato Pereira of Mercado Libre, moderated by Anita Ramaswamy of TechCrunch
   
• Talent on the Move: Translating Track Records to New Ventures with Gregory Reider of Volpe Capital, Rodrigo Baer of Upload Ventures, Bianca Sassoon of 17Sigma and Gina Gothilff of Latitud, moderated by Adriana Tortajada of 1200VC
   

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

☞ REGISTER NOW

LAVCA 2022 Mid-Year Trends in Latin America

Selected Highlights

LAVCA 2022 Latin American Startup Directory

LAVCA’s seventh annual Latin American Startup Directory profiles 523 startups that raised USD1m+ in venture funding in 2021 and 1H 2022, during a time of record venture investment in the region. 

This year’s directory includes details of each company’s disclosed investors, sector, stage and headquarters. Building on historic metrics, the 2022 directory includes a measure for the increasing flow of capital to women-led startups, an analysis of funding for repeat founders and the participation of corporate investors in startup funding rounds. 

Key Highlights

​​​​       Gender Diversity | Nearly one-third of VC investment in Latin America went towards women-led startups in 1H 2022, a new record since LAVCA started tracking this metric in 2019. 

       CVC Participation | LAVCA recorded 125 corporates investing in disclosed rounds above USD1m in 2022 and 1H 2021, participating in 22% and 27% of those rounds in 2021 and H1 2022, respectively. 
 
LAVCA Members can download LAVCA’s 2022 Startup Directory including a full list of disclosed startup investments over USD1m for 2021 and 1H 2022, with additional details including each startup’s founders, as well as a full list of women-led startups (with names and titles), repeat founders, rounds with CVC participation and more.

LAVCA Members can also download LAVCA’s 2022 Mid-Year Industry Data & Analysis. 

Deals

▸ Prosus Ventures acquired a 33.3% stake of Brazilian last-mile delivery platform iFood from Just Eat for ~USD1.5b in cash and additional USD300m earnout. Prosus first invested in iFood through Movile in 2013. 

• MovilePay also announced a ~USD20m investment to extend credit to partner restaurants in iFood’s network. 
• READ LAVCA’s interview with Movile’s CEO Patrick Hruby on Movile’s vision for iFood

▸ IFC will invest up to ~USD50m in Trademaster, a Brazilian credit platform for small retailers.

• CVC Banco VC invested ~USD20m in 2021. 

▸ HEALTHTECH | Levita Magnetics, a Chilean developer of a minimally invasive Mangetic Survery technique, raised a USD26m Series C from a healthtech investment group managed by seasoned investor Evan Norton, with participation from MedTex Ventures, and follow-on from Invermaster and Carao Ventures. 

• Invermaster led a USD1m round in July 2019. 

▸ BNPL | Salesforce Ventures led a ~USD26m Series A for Brazilian credit platform Pagaleve, with participation from Endeavor Scale-Up Ventures, Entrée Capital, Founder Collective, OIF Ventures and Janeiro Energy. 

• DEBT The round also included an undisclosed venture debt commitment, per CEO Henrique Weaver.
• This is Salesforce Ventures’ first known investment in a Brazilian startup. 

▸ WEB3 | Algorand led a USD22m Series A for Koibanx, an Argentine blockchain-based fintech offering cash management and investment services for SMEs, with participation from Kalonia Venture Partners, Innogen Capital, Borderless Capital and G2 Momentum Capital, and angels Diego Gutierrez Zaldivar (IOV Labs) and Algorand founder Silvio Micali. 

• G2 Momentum Capital invested in November 2020; Innogen Capital invested in October 2020. 

▸ Pomelo, an Argentine payments infrastructure platform for fintechs launching prepaid cards and credit cards, raised a USD15m round with participation from Section 32, and follow-on monashees, SciFi and Index Ventures. 

• Tiger Global led a USD35m Series A in November 2021. 

▸ DEBT | Lima Bikes, a Peruvian motorbike lending platform for last-mile deliveries, raised USD15m in venture debt from an undisclosed investor. 
 

▸ HRTECH | Upload Ventures led a USD12m Series A for Plerk, a Mexican employee benefits platform, with participation from Magma Partners and MGV Capital.

• Plerk raised a USD1m pre-seed round in July 2021.

▸ AGTECH | E-ctare, a credit platform and digital wallet for rural producers in Brazil, raised ~USD10m through the issuance of a Certificado de Recebíveis do Agronegócio (CRA) managed by Brazilian insurance holding Conglomerado Alfa.

• Conglomerado Alfa announced an investment of up to ~USD120m over three years in E-ctare in March 2021. 

▸ monashees and KickStart Fund led a USD8.65m round for Moises, a Brazilian music production platform, with participation from Goodwater, Valutia, Norwest, Toba Capital and Alumni Ventures.

• Moises raised a USD1.6m round from Index Ventures, Kickstart Fund, Valutia and Verve Capital in 2021.

▸ NY-based Van Eck Associated led a USD8m seed round for Investo, a Brazilian ETF management platform. 
 

▸ Atlantico, MAYA Capital and Andreessen Horowitz led a USD7.5m seed round for Fudo, a Brazilian POS and restaurant management platform, with participation from Collaborative Fund, Goodwater and Latitud. 
 

▸ WOMEN LED | monashees and CRV led a USD6.7m pre-seed round for Latú, a Brazil-based business insurance platform focused on cyberattacks, lawsuits and property damage, with participation from ONEVC, Latitud and SVAngels. 

• Latu was founded by Colombian Paola Neira. 

▸ Angel Ventures led a USD6m bridge round for Capitalizarme, a Chilean real estate investment platform with participation from undisclosed Chilean FOs. 

• Aurus Capital led a USD1.4m round in August 2018. 

▸ CVC | SRM Ventures, the CVC arm of Brazilian asset manager SRM, invested ~USD4m in Broadfactor, a Brazilian short-term lending platform for SMEs. 
 

▸ HEALTHTECH | US-based MaC VC led a USD4m seed round for MEDU, a Mexican manufacturer of sustainable and reusable surgical medical wear for health professionals, with participation from Halcyon Fund. 

▸ AGTECH | Atarraya, a Mexican developer of aquaculture farming technology, raised a USD3.9m Series A from undisclosed angels.

▸ LEGALTECH | Qanlex, a Colomban credit platform for litigation financing, raised a USD3m round from Carao Ventures, FJ Labs, TheLegalTech Fund and Preface Ventures. 
 

▸ HEALTHTECH | Abu Dhabi- based AMAD Holdings invested ~USD3m in Hygia Saude, a Brazil- and Spain-based prophylactic health and surgery financing platform.
 

▸ PROPTECH | Bancolombia invested USD3m in Home Capital, a Colombian residential marketplace. 

• Home Capital raised USD800k in 2021 from angels Santiago Botero (Finsocial), Carlos Raul Yepes (Bancolombia) and Sol Beatriz Arango (Nutresa), 

▸ IMPACT | Rise Ventures invested ~USD3m in Jeitto, a Brazilian microcredit platform for underserved consumers. 

▸ Addem Capital invested USD3m in Bien para Bien, a Mexican credit platform with lending secured through real estate collateral. 

▸ HEALTHTECH | Vox Capital led a ~USD2.5m round for Omens, a Brazilian telemedicine platform focused on men’s health, with participation from Green Rock, Aimores Investimentos and Incubate Fund. 

▸ Parceiro Ventures led a ~USD2m seed round for Magis5, a Brazilian sales and inventory management platform for SMEs selling on marketplaces, with participation from BossaNova Investimentos, Urga Angels and Hangar. 

▸ Edanbank, a Brazilian finance management and lending platform for corporates and SMEs, raised ~USD2m from undisclosed investors.

▸ IoT | Uali, an Argentine drone-based monitoring platform for energy facilities, raised a USD1.6m round with follow-on from Globant and others. 
 

▸ CVC | Brazilian telco service provider RTM invested ~USD1.5m in Lina, a Brazilian open banking platform.
 

▸ HEALTHTECH | Keiron, a Mexican patient management platform for healthcare centers, raised a USD1.5m round from LarrainVial Asset Management and Hero Capital. 

▸ G2A Investment Partners led a ~USD1.2m seed round for Stream Shop, a Brazilian live commerce platform. 

▸ Genesis Ventures and COREangels invested USD1.1m in TripYeah, a Chilean operations management platform for travel agencies.

▸ Bankme, a Brazilian platform structuring investment vehicles for startups and corporates, raised a ~USD1.1m round with participation from DOMO Invest, Bamboo Capital Partners, Apex Partners, and angel Aury Ronan (nuvini). 

▸ HEALTHTECH | Cardo Health invested USD1m in doc-doc, a Colombian telemedicine platform. 

▸ CRYPTO | Blumer, a Colombian social network that allows users to monetize their engagement through crypto payments, raised a USD1m pre-seed round from Stratum Investments. 

▸ DOMO Invest led a ~USD660k round for Fluid, a Brazilian enterprise API integrator, with participation from Urca Angels. 

▸ KPTL invested ~USD500k in Suri (formerly Chatbot Maker), a Brazilian conversational customer service platform. 

• KPTL invested ~USD300k in 2021. 

▸ Staged Ventures invested in Digibee, a Brazilian e-commerce digital integration manager for SMEs.

• Kinea Ventures and G2D led a USD25m Series A in February; SP Ventures led a ~USD2.7m venture debt round in August 2021. 
• WOMEN LED Staged Ventures is an early stage fund launched by Camila Farani of G2 Capital, Flavio Pripas of Redpoint eventures and Geraldo Neto of GAA Investments in June. 

▸ Citi Ventures invested in Belvo, a Mexican fintech providing a financial services API for mobile applications.

• Belvo raised a USD43m Series A in June 2021 and a USD10m seed round in 2020. 

▸ HEALTHTECH | Panvel Ventures, the CVC arm of Brazilian pharmaceutics holding Grupo Panvel, invested in Lincon, a Brazilian telemedicine platform focused on mental health. 

▸ AGTECH | SP Ventures and Barauna Investimentos invested in Agroadvance, a Brazilian education platform for agribusiness professionals. 

▸ WOMEN LED | Herself, a Brazilian underwear manufacturer for women’s menstrual cycles, raised an undisclosed pre-seed round with participation from Brazilian angel network Sororitê. 

• Herself was founded by Raíssa Assmann. 

Funds 

▸ StepStone Groupacquired a USD80m stake of Valor Capital Group’s Fund II through a secondary transaction. 

▸ IDB Invest made a USD10m commitmentto Valor Opportunity Fund II, Valor Capital Group’s second opportunity fund. 

▸ Salkantay Ventures announced a USD26m final close for Salkantay Exponential Fund. 

• Salkantay invests in early stage startups in the Andean region with a focus on education, economic inclusion and sustainability.
• Select companies from Salkantay’s portfolio include Ubits, Slang, Aprende, uDocz, Torre, Talently, Migrante, Minu, Prestamype, Cometa, Aptuno, Kilimo
• Salkantay Exponential Fund is the largest known VC fund recorded in Peru, according to LAVCA Research.

▸ Shift Capital announced an undisclosed first close for Alpha I, its first flagship fund to provide growth financing to tech-enabled companies in Brazil. 

▸ Igah Ventures launched its fourth flagship fund with a US150m target to invest in startups raising Series A through Series C rounds. 

• Igah Ventures expects to announce a USD80m first close by the end of the year. 

▸ Fuse CapitallaunchedFuse II, the firm’s second flagship fund with a USD50m target to invest in digital crypto tokens.

Startup M&A

▸ SPAC Mexican fintech Covalto (formerly Credijusto), merged with LIV Capital Acquisition Corp II, a SPAC listed in the NASDAQ by LIV Capital at a ~USD547m valuation. 

• Ten other Latin America-focused SPACs are yet to announce a merger, according to LAVCA Research: Itiquira Acquisition Corp., LDH Growth I, Valor Latitude Acquisition, DILA Capital Acquisition, XPAC Acquisition, MELI Kaszek Pioneer Corp., Crescera Capital Acquisition, APx Acquisition Corp I, LatAmGrowth SPAC, and Patria Latin American Opportunity Acquisition Corp.

▸ M&A Mexican short-term rental platform Casai mergedwith Nomah, the short-term rental platform of Brazilian proptech Loft. 

• The merger included an undisclosed investment from Andreessen Horowitz, monashees and Loft. 
• Loft acquried TrueHome (Mexico) and CredPago (Brazil) in April and raised a USD100m Series D+ led by Baillie Gifford in April 2021. 

▸ M&A Brazilian home goods e-commerce startup MadeiraMadeiraacquiredCasatema, a Brazilian children’s furniture retailer. 

• MadeiraMadeira raised a USD190m Series Ein January 2021 led by SoftBank and Dynamo.

▸ PROPTECH Chilean proptech Buydepalaunchedoperations in Mexico. 

• Buydepa raised an undisclosed venture debt roundfrom BTG Pactual earlier this year.

▸ Chilean startups NotCo (foodtech), Betterfly (insurtech) and Houm (proptech) announced additional company restructurings.

People & Programs

▸ Congratulations to the five Mexican startups selected to participate in YC’s latest batch: Moving Lake, Pulppo, Rio, Trebu and Weltio. A sixth Mexican startup is yet to be announced.

▸ Congratulations to the 10 startups selected to participate is the 16th batch of 500Somos Lucha: AVIONETA, Bluerabbit, confiabogado.com, SoyHabitue, Gloset, Lineup, Osyva, Qentaz, Sapiens Medicus and scouterMx

▸ Congratulations to the six startups selected to participate in the seventh edition of Endeavor’s ScaleUp program: Elevva, Stamm, Klimber, Winclap, Wibond and Simplestate.

▸ Grupo Bimbo, a Mexican manufacturer and distributor of baked goods, launched Bimbo Open Door, an accelerator program focused on tech-enabled bakery and snack manufacturers.

▸ Bayer Mexico launched its second Digital Health Bootcamp for early stage healthtech startups. Interested founders are welcome to apply. 

▸ DEEPTECH | PetrobraslaunchedPetrobras Programa Petrobras Conexões para Inovação, the fourth edition of its program to invest ~USD4m in deeptech startups in Brazil. Applications are now open.

Global Tech

▸ SIGN UP for the Global Tech Brief. Edited by LAVCA Senior Advisor Julie Ruvolo, this bi-weekly newsletter published by the Global Private Capital Association (GPCA) covers VC investments, fundraising activity and tech news and policy updates across Asia, Latin America, Africa, Central & Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

LAVCA is now part of GPCA and will continue to operate as a parallel membership organization with its own dedicated team and board.