Deals

▸ General Atlantic led a USD190m Series C for Klar, a Mexican personal finance management and lending platform, with participation from Santander Group, Grupo Formula, Grupo Televisa and follow-on from Prosus, Quona Capital, Mouro Capital and IFC.

• Victory Park Capital provided a USD100m credit facility to Klar in 2023; General Atlantic led a USD70m round in June 2022. 

▸ CloudWalk, a Brazilian POS and blockchain-based payments platform for entrepreneurs and SME, raised ~USD570m through a FIDC (Fundo de Investimentos em Direitos Creditorios).

• CloudWalk raised USD444m in December 2024; Coatue led a USD150m Series C in November 2021 and a USD190m Series B in May 2021. 

▸ Welli, a Colombian lending platform for medical treatments, raised a USD25m Series A from undisclosed investors.

▸ Ribbit Capital led a ~USD16.8m round for Justos Seguros, a Brazil-based monthly car insurance platform, with participation from KASZEK, Endeavor Catalyst and Scale-Up Ventures.

• Ribbit Capital led a USD35.8m Series A in October 2021.

▸ Costanoa Ventures led a USD12m round for Tensec, a US-based cross-border payments platform, with participation from Ignia Partners, Montage Ventures, Renegade Partners, Quiet Capital, WillowTree Investments, Cambrian VC and Endeavor Scale Up Ventures.

▸ NVA Capital and Vectis invested ~USD9m in UY3, an Uruguayan decentralized credit platform. 

▸ HEALTHTECH | Plenna, a Mexican telemedicine platform for women's health, raised a USD6m Series A with participation from Dalus Capital, New Ventures, Capital Mazapil, and angel Karla Berman. 

• Canary led a USD845k round in April 2022. 

▸ Cathay Latam led a ~USD3.1m round for BackChannel, a Brazilian e-commerce platform for fashion retailers interested in purchasing excess inventory.

▸ DEX, a Brazilian events and food service fintech, raised ~USD1.8m from Grupo Loc. 

▸ FOODTECH | CBKK invested ~USD1.5m in Mágio, a Brazil-based sustainable chocolate startup.

▸ Kolab Ventures and Highline Beta led a USD1m pre-seed round for Lounn, a Mexico-based digital credit marketplace for SMEs. 

▸ FOODTECH | Future Cow, a Brazil-based alternative milk startup, raised ~USD900k from Anjos do Brasil, FEA Angels, FAPESP and Embrapii. 

▸ HRTECH | Comunitive, a Brazilian employee engagement platform, raised ~USD220k from Bossa Invest, Stamina VC and undisclosed angels. 

▸ HRTECH | DOMO.VC led a ~USD70k round for Kipon, a Brazilian employee management platform. 

▸ Corteva Catalyst invested in Symbiomics, a Brazilian startup focused on genetic sequencing and gene editing of microorganisms.

▸ Crestone invested in trii, a Colombian brokerage platform enabling retail investors to invest in public markets in Colombia, Peru and Chile.

• trii raised USD3m in November 2022.

▸ Cloud9 Capital invested in Auvo Tecnologia, a Brazilian field team management platform. 

▸ TRAVELTECH | Just Travel, a Brazilian digital tourism platform, raised an undisclosed round from Bossa Invest, Sai do Papel and 040 Ventures.

▸ ANGEL | URCA Angels led an undisclosed round for Mercado de Recebíveis, a Brazilian card receivables startup.

Funds

▸ Kiara Capital reached a USD15m first close for Kiara I, its inaugural fund, with a USD40m target to invest in B2B fintechs in the US and Latin America. 

▸ Lotux VC reached an undisclosed final close for its second fund to invest in pre-seed startups in fintech, insurance, logistics, ecommerce, education and healthtech in Spanish-speaking Latin America. 

• Lotux’s portfolio includes Hilos, XOUL, Clivi, Vivanta and Reworth, among others. 

▸ CVC | Grupo Marista, a Brazilian education and philanthropy organization, launched Rosey Ventures, a ~USD6m CVC fund to invest in early-stage healthtech and edtech startups in Brazil. 

▸ Chilean VC Weboost launched its second flagship fund with commitments from undisclosed Japanese investors.

• Weboost’s investments include Xpendit, Sodtrack, Wited and Wheel the World among others.

M&As and Exits

▸ M&A | Tapi, an Argentina-based payments processor, acquired the operations for bill payments, gift cards and cash transactions of Mexico-based Arcus, a subsidiary of Mastercard.

• The deal gives Tapi access to retail locations in Mexico, including OXXO, Chedraui and 7-Eleven.

• Tapi raised a USD22m Series A led by KASZEK in July 2024. 
• Mastercard acquired Arcus in 2021. 

▸ UK-based fintech Revolut will acquire Banco Cetelem, a BNP Paribas-owned bank in Argentina to launch operations in the country.

News

▸ DILA, Dalus, Cometa, Nazca, EMX and Fondo de Fondos partnered with the Mexican Ministry of Economy to award the Hecho en Mexico recognition to 100 startups. 

• Hecho in Mexico is a recognition aimed at highlighting high-quality local businesses that have the potential to compete globally. 
• Companies awarded include Bitso, Clip, Clara, Kavak, Stori, Nowports, Plata, as well as many local early-stage startups. 

▸ Cobre, a Colombia-based corporate treasury management platform, partnered with Cabify to enable instant payouts for its driver partners in Colombia. 

• Cobre raised a USD35m Series B led by Oak HC/FT in September 2024.

▸ AI | Americas Quarterly reviews the latest updates on AI regulation across Latin America in Regulating AI on Latin America’s Terms.

"AI systems trained on English-language or Global North data often miss Latin American realities. Regulation should mandate diversity in training data and support open-source alternatives rooted in regional contexts while unlocking their own local datasets. Many governments still lack the technical teams to audit, evaluate, or enforce AI rules. Investments in AI literacy, especially among public servants, are essential."

▸ CROSSBORDER | Chinese tech giants are shifting focus to Brazil amid rising US tariffs and regulatory pressures at home.

• Most recently, Chinese tech delivery giant Meituan entered Brazil under its international brand, Keeta, with a planned ~USD1b investment over the next five years.
• Local household names are becoming more competitive by partnering globally. iFood just announced a key partnership with Uber, allowing users to book rides directly through the app. 

▸ CROSSBORDER | Russian investors and founders Oleg Tinkov (Tinkoff) and Michael Calvey (Baring Ventures) are actively supporting Plata, a Mexico-based digital bank recently valued at USD1.5b, on its expansion through Latin America.

• Plata just raised a USD160m Series A led by NY investment manager Kora.
• Calvey: “Mexico has proved itself to be a practical destination for relocation, with visa-free entry for Russians and relatively smooth work permit processes. Plata is now seeking a licence in Colombia, with plans to expand further across the region.”

People & Programs

▸ Hi Ventures partnered with AWS and XALDIGITAL to launch State of AI, the firm’s annual flagship survey to gain insights from founders, investors and corporates on what is driving innovation in the space throughout the region. You can now access the 5-minute survey and visit last year’s edition.

▸ Overboost, a Latin American innovation studio, launched SPEED, a venture program aimed at linking regional corporates with startups to drive open innovation.

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.