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Editor's Note: The LatAm Venture Bulletin is produced by LAVCA’s VC team, Julie Ruvolo and Carlos Ramos de la Vega. Carlos is set to take over as Editor of the newsletter in the near future — get ready to see his name in your inbox!

TLDR

📢 Exits & Listings: Uber acquires Cornershop; dLocal lists on the NASDAQ; Etsy acquires Elo7

📢 New Rounds for EBANX, Gympass, Konfio, Habi, Memed, Betterfly, LivUp, Solfácil, kubo.financiero, Treinta

📢 Funds: Peruvian Production Ministry (PRODUCE) and COFIDE launch fund of funds; Carao Ventures reaches first close for USD35m Central America fund

📢 Startups: Descomplica acquires UniAmerica; Banco BS2 acquires WEEL; Anitta joins Nubank Board of Directors; Satellogic partners with SpaceX

EXITS

> #EXIT ALLVP exited Chilean grocery delivery platform Cornershop through a sale to Uber, at a reported ~USD3b+ valuation, after acquiring a USD250m majority stake in 2019.

• This exit represents a 5x fund return for ALLVP; ALLVP first invested in 2015 and led the USD6.7m Series A in 2016.
• Previous investors include Accel, Jackson Square Ventures, Creandum, Capital Mazapil and Endeavor Catalyst.
• VIEW LAVCA's Unicorn Leaderboard for the latest list of LatAm unicorns.

> #IPO dLocal, a Uruguay-based cross-border payment platform, raised USD617.7m in its IPO on the NASDAQ at a reported USD6.1b valuation.

• Alkeon Capital led a USD150m round earlier this year with participation from BOND, D1 Capital Partners and Tiger Global at a reported USD5b valuation; General Atlantic led a USD200m round in 2020.

> #EXIT monashees, Accel Partners and Insight Partners exited Elo7, a Brazilian handmade products marketplace, through a USD217m all-cash sale to US-based marketplace Etsy.

• Elo7 raised a USD11m round led by Insight Partners in 2014 and an undisclosed round from Accel Partners and monashees in 2011.
• Etsy CEO Josh Silverman: “This transaction will establish a foothold for us in Latin America, an underpenetrated e-commerce region where Etsy currently does not have a meaningful customer base.”

> #EXIT Crescera Capital completed an exit from Afya Limited, a Brazilian medical education group, through a public share sale of its remaining 25% stake to Bertelsmann, a German digital media investment company.

• Crescera partially exited Afya through a share offering on the NASDAQ in 2020 after the edtech went public earlier that year.
• Notable Afya acquisitions include: PEBMED, a Brazilian clinical diagnostics software platform for medical professionals, and iClinic, a Brazilian electronic health record provider.

DEALS

> Advent International led a USD400m round for EBANX, a Brazilian cross-border payments platform, and announced an additional USD30m commitment for the company’s planned IPO.

• This is the first time that all four of Advent’s funds, Latin American Private Equity, Global Private Equity, Advent Tech and Sunley House Capital, have participated in the same investment.
• João Del Valle was appointed CEO earlier this year; former CEO Alphonse Voigt was named Executive Chairman after nine years of leading the company.

> #HEALTHTECH Gympass, a Brazilian B2B gym membership platform with global operations, raised a USD220m Series E from SoftBank, General Atlantic, KASZEK, Valor Capital Group and Moore Strategic Ventures, at a reported USD2.2b valuation.

• Gympass raised USD300m in 2019 at a reported USD1b valuation.
• Gympass launched Gympass em casa, a virtual platform offering online classes and nutrition and wellness services during the C19 crisis in 2020.
• VIEW LAVCA’s Unicorn Leaderboard for the latest list of LatAm unicorns.

> Lightrock led a USD125m Series E for Konfio, a Mexican lending platform for SMEs.

• #DEBT Konfio secured a USD60m credit line from Goldman Sachs earlier this year; SoftBank, KASZEK, QED Investors and Vostok Emerging Finance invested USD100m in 2019. Previous investors include Jaguar Ventures, Quona Capital and IFC.

> #PROPTECH SoftBank led a USD100m Series B for Habi, a Colombian middle-class residential real estate platform leveraging the iBuyer business model, with follow-on from Inspired Capital, Tiger Global, Homebrew and 8VC.

• Inspired Capital led a USD10m Series A in 2020; Tiger Global led a USD5.5m seed round in 2019.
• This round is the largest known Series B for a Colombian startup, according to LAVCA Data.

> #HEALTHTECH DNA Capital led a ~USD60m round for Memed, a Brazilian provider of digital drug prescriptions, to expand its services from prescriptions to drug fulfillment.

• DNA Capital invested through a vehicle structured to participate in the round with capital from undisclosed family offices and sovereign wealth funds.
• DNA Capital led a USD4.5m Series B earlier this year; previous investors include Redpoint eventures, monashees, Qualcomm Ventures and accelerator 21212.
  

 
> #INSURTECH #IMPACT Betterfly (formerly Burn to Give), a Chilean certified B-Corp insurtech providing life insurance for employees of SMEs and incentivizing policyholder’s wellbeing with subsidized coverage, raised a USD60m Series B from DST Global, QED investors, Valor Capital Group, Endeavor Catalyst and SoftBank Latin America Fund.

• QED Investors led a USD17.5m Series A in January; Grupo Prisma, Albatross Capital and Katapult Impact invested in 2020.
• Betterfly is one of a handful of known B-Corp startups in the region, including eduK, Cumplo, Escala Educacion, Sempli, and TriCiclos.
  

> Riverwood Capital led a USD50m round for ShipHero, a NY-based warehouse and logistics management platform for e-commerce brands.

> #FOODTECH Lofoten Capital led a ~USD36m Series D for LivUp, a Brazilian D2C frozen meal delivery platform, with participation from Cadonau, and angels Milton Seligman and Ricardo Rolim (Ambev), Christian Egan (Itau), Rob Citrone (Discovery Capital), Luiz Otavio Campos (Onyx Equity Management), and follow-on from KASZEK and ThornTree Capital.

• LivUp will be replacing its 14 dark kitchen locations with proprietary distribution centers as part of its expansion plans.

> #CLEANTECH QED Investors led a USD30m Series B for Solfácil, a Brazilian solar energy financing platform, with follow-on from Valor Capital Group.

• Valor invested USD4m in 2020.

 

> IDB Invest, Blue Like an Orange and Mexico Ventures led a USD27.5m round in kubo.financiero, a Mexican peer-to-peer lending platform, with participation from Dalus Capital, and follow-on from Bamboo Finance and KuE Capital.

• kubo.financiero raised a USD7.5m Series A in 2016. Previous investors include Endeavor Catalyst, Alta Ventures, Capital Invent, Vander Capital Partners and Wayra.
• kubo was the first peer-to-peer lending platform to receive regulatory approval from the Mexican Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV) in 2015.
  

> NY-based hedge fund Luxor Capital led a USD14.3m seed round for Treinta, a Colombia-based sales and inventory management platform for SMEs, with participation from Goodwater Capital, Y Combinator, First Check Ventures, Outbound Ventures, Soma Capital, FJ Labs, Commerce VC, Rhombuz VC, Acacia Venture Capital, TwentyTwo Ventures, and angel investors Varsha Rao (Nurx) and Raffael Johnen (Auxmoney).

> monashees led a USD5m round for Loopi, a Brazilian live commerce platform with an e-commerce marketplace and an infinite video reel similar in style to TikTok, with participation from Canary, ONEVC and Global Founders Capital.

> Redpoint eventures and HDI invested USD4.5m in Accountfy, a Brazilian B2B financial planning platform, to expand its operations to the US.

• Redpoint eventures and HDI Seguros led a USD6.5m Series A in 2020.

> Valor Capital Group led a ~USD4m Series A for Franq, a Brazilian personal finance marketplace connecting personal bankers with consumers.

> #CVC Btomorrow Ventures, the CVC arm of British American Tobacco, Capital Lab and Invest Tech led a ~USD3.4m Series A for Uello, a Brazilian express freight platform for corporate retailers and e-commerce brands.

• This is Btomorrow Ventures’ first known investment in a Latin American startup, according to LAVCA Data.
• Uello clients’ include Enjoei, Renner, Mmartan, Polishop and Arezzo.

> #GOVTECH Zaphira FIP invested ~USD3m in Camerite, a Brazilian video monitoring platform for local governments.

> #INSURTECH Angel Ventures Mexico led a USD2m seed round for Zenda.la, a Mexican fintech providing low-cost health and auto insurance alternatives for young professionals, with participation from K50 Capital, Clout Capital, Magma Partners, G2 Momentum Capital and Lotux VC.

• Angel Ventures and G2 Momentum Capital invested in 2020.

> #CVC #AGTECH SP Ventures and ADM Venture Capital, the CVC arm of Grupo Rendimiento, led a USD1.2m round for GoFlux, a Brazilian freight network for agricultural products.

> #HEALTHTECH Carao Ventures led a USD1m round extension for Huli, a Costa Rican patient care automation platform for medical professionals.

• Carao led a USD2.5m pre-Series A round in 2019; Innogen Capital Ventures invested previously.

> #IOT Indicator Capital invested ~USD800k in Monuv, a Brazilian computer vision platform for security cameras networks.

• Indicator invested in Monuv through its new IoT-dedicated vehicle with a recent ~USD48m final close.

> #HEALTHTECH DOMO Invest and Bossa Nova Investimentos led a ~USD600k round for RadarFit, a Brazilian gamified personal training and nutrition platform, with participation from G2 Capital.

• RadarFit was one of the 36 healthtech startups participating in LAVCA’s 2021 Healthtech Survey.

 

> #CROSS-BORDER #HRTECH Localized, a US-based recruiting platform connecting candidates in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with international career opportunities, raised a USD2.2m seed round from Angel Ventures Mexico, Trend Forward Capital, One Planet VC, Next Wave Impact, Bisk Ventures, and US News Digital Ventures.

FUNDS

> The Peruvian Ministry of Production (PRODUCE) and COFIDE launched the Fondo de Capital para Emprendimientos Innovadores (FCEI), a ~USD18m fund of funds targeting investments in Pacific Alliance-based VC fund managers.

• The FCEI can commit up to 49% or ~USD5.15m of the VC fund’s fundraising target.

> Carao Ventures reached a first close for Carao Ventures Fund I, a USD35m vehicle to invest in early-stage startups in Central America, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, with an opportunistic focus on Argentina and Chile.

> #AGTECH #FOODTECH Chilean PE and VC firm Südlich Capital launched Colonos I, a VC vehicle with a USD21m target to invest in Chilean early-stage aquaculture, agriculture and energy startups.

> #SPAC L Catterton launched a USD200m SPAC led by Managing Partner Dirk Donath to acquire a Latin American high-growth consumer company.

NEW MEMBER

> LAVCA welcomes the Victorian Government Trade and Investment Office for Latin America, one of twenty-three offices of the State of Victoria facilitating investment opportunities from Latin America into the Australian State of Victoria by engaging with fast-growing, globally-oriented Latin American-based companies that are looking to expand into Asia-Pacific.

• Investment Focus: Growth-stage tech companies looking to expand internationally, including but not limited to data & analytics, SaaS, smart mobility, cleantech, climate-tech, mining-tech, agtech, e-commerce and fintech.
• Preferred Geos: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
• Year Founded: 2017
• Key Contacts: Pablo Schatz (Investment Director, Latin America), Natalia Gorroño (A/g Head of Post, Latin America)

> LAVCA publishes an annual directory of VC/Tech members, with profiles on 75+ firms active in Latin America.

🆕 GLOBAL TECH

> EMPEA, the global industry association for private capital investment in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Middle East, announced it is now the Global Private Capital Association (GPCA).

VISIT the website. 
READ the press release. 

SIGN UP for GPCA’s Global Tech Brief, formerly the VC Cache. Edited by LAVCA Manager of Venture Capital Julie Ruvolo, this bi-weekly newsletter covers cross-border tech transactions in Asia, Latin America, Africa, CEE and the Middle East.

VIEW the archive of previous editions and sign up here.

NEWS

> Pinterest opened its first engineering hub in Latin America in Mexico City.

•  The hub will also host Pinterest’s second office in the region, after opening the São Paulo office in 2014.

 

> AWS partnered with iFood to launch a cloud management skills certification program for 3k+ unemployed Brazilians.

> #CRYPTO The first Brazilian Bitcoin ETF began trading in the B3 last week.

• The Brazilian Securities Commission approved the new financial instrument in March.

 

> #HEALTHTECH Leap, KPMG’s innovation arm, partnered with Distrito and Instituto Ronald McDonald to launch Hack4Good, a medical platform for early cancer diagnosis in Brazilian children and teenagers.

> TechCrunch: Like the US, a two-tier venture capital market is emerging in Latin America.

> Juan José Relmucao of Rest of World reviews the impact of Argentine tech program Conectar Igualdad on the local music landscape in In Argentina, cheap government-issued netbooks sparked a musical renaissance.

> WSJ: A COVID-19 Silver Lining in Latin America: Millions of New Bank Accounts.

• “The pandemic has pummeled Latin America and plunged many people into poverty. But the finance sector has reaped an unexpected windfall: Tens of millions in Latin America have opened banking accounts for the first time to store the emergency cash that governments handed out.”

STARTUPS

> #M&A #EDTECH Brazilian edtech Descomplica acquired UniAmerica, a Brazilian university center, to strengthen its post-graduate program offering.

• Descomplica raised USD84.5m in a round led by Invus Opportunities and SoftBank earlier this year, in the largest known round for a Latin American edtech startup, according to LAVCA Data.
• Descomplica received university accreditation for Faculdade Descomplica, a distance education platform it launched in 2020 for undergraduate and graduate coursework.

> #M&A Banco BS2, a Brazilian digital bank, acquired WEEL, an Israel- and Brazil-based cash flow management platform for SMEs.

• WEEL raised a ~USD16m round led by BV (formerly Banco Votorantim) in 2020; Franklin Templeton invested USD30m, and monashees and Mindset Ventures invested USD6m in 2019.

> Brazilian singer Anitta was appointed to Nubank’s Board of Directors.

• Nubank also announced the first three investments made through Semente Preta, its ~USD200k fund targeting investments in Brazilian afro-descendente founders: {Parças}, a Brazilian coding bootcamp, OnlineOS, a Brazilian customer relationship management platform and TeamHub, a Brazilian company culture monitoring platform.

> #SPACETECH Argentine spacetech Satellogic partnered with SpaceX to launch four optical observation satellites into orbit.

> Mexican car resale marketplace Kavak announced a ~USD400m investment in its Mexican operations to process 40k cars every six months and recruit 500 professionals.

> Colombian grocery delivery startup Merqueo launched Merqueo Ultra in Colombia, a fifteen-minute delivery service backed with a USD1m investment from its own balance sheet.

• Merqueo launched ten-minute deliveries in Mexico earlier this year.

 

> Argentine ecommerce platform Tiendanube partnered with Rappi to enable one-click purchases through Rappy Pay for its users.

> Luis Rubén Chavez of Mexican consumer lending platform Yotepresto shares his company’s approach to product design for a peer-to-peer finance marketplace.

PEOPLE & PROGRAMS

> KASZEK is looking for Analysts and Associates for its São Paulo office. Interested candidates are welcome to apply.

> Movile appointed Rafael Lauand as Head of Strategy & New Ventures. Rafael is the former Head of Business Development at iFood and Co-founder of Brazilian proptech LAR.app.

> SoftBank partnered with Miami Dade College, University of Miami and Florida International University to launch Softbank Operator School, a semester-long program for tech and VC operators. Registration is now open.

> The Financial Times hosted a conversation with Francisco Álvarez-Demalde of Riverwood Capital, Mariano Gomide de Faria of VTEX and Carolina Samsing of Nubox to discuss the current momentum of the LatAm tech ecosystem. A session recording is now available.

> Wayra Brasil and Telefónica Vivo launched an antifraud- and cybsersecurity-focused challenge for startups developing solutions for B2B e-commerce solutions. Applications close July 11.

> InverTUR will host the Turtech LatAm Investment Forum 2021 on July 13-14 with discussions between fund managers, CVCs and public sector entities to explore tech-enabled opportunities in the tourism industry. IDB Lab and Wayra will be among the participants sharing their in-region experience. Registration is now open.

> LAVCA, in collaboration with the Global Private Capital Association (formerly EMPEA), will host a virtual training on Cultivating LP Relationships in the Pandemic Era on July 14. Register here.

> #SAVETHEDATE LAVCA Week is scheduled for September 20-23, 2021. Stay tuned...

The LatAm Venture Bulletin is the VC/tech newsletter and content platform of
The Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America.

Have news we should include? Please email news@lavca.org.