DEALS
> SoftBank will invest US$1b in Colombian delivery app Rappi, split between SoftBank’s Vision Fund and the new SoftBank Innovation Fund. Rappi is the first disclosed investment from the US$5b Innovation Fund.
- Rappi reached unicorn status in 2018 with a ~US$200m investment led by DST Global, with participation from existing investors including Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz. Other investors include Delivery Hero, monashees, Redpoint eventures, Y Combinator, FundersClub, and Foundation Capital.
> General Atlantic and SoftBank made an undisclosed investment in Mexican payments startup Clip. Reuters reports a round near US$100m at a valuation near US$400m.
- General Atlantic invested previously in 2017. Other investors include Alta Ventures, American Express Ventures, Angel Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, Fondo de Fondos, General Atlantic, Sierra Ventures, and SV LatAm.
- Check out our interview with Co-Founder & CEO Adolfo Babatz in New York.
> Riverwood Capital led a US$50m Series C in Technisys, a digital software platform operating in Latin America, the US, and Canada.
> Brazilian credit marketplace FinanZero raised R$42m from Atlant Fonder, Dunross & Co, Vostok Emerging Finance and others. FinanZero was founded by CEO Olle Widén in 2016 with Webrock Ventures and Zentro Global Partners.
> e.Bricks Ventures made an undisclosed Series A investment in Bcredi, a Brazilian real estate credit fintech. Bcredi was founded in 2017 as the digital arm of Banco Barigui and spun out in 2018 under the leadership of Co-Founder & CEO Maria Teresa Fornea.
> Seaya Ventures led a US$4m investment in MUY Tech, a Colombian restaurant management platform. This is Seaya’s inaugural investment in Colombia.
- MUY co-founders José Calderón (CEO) and Miguel McAllister previously founded Domicilios.com and sold it to Delivery Hero in 2014.
> Astella Investimentos led a R$6.8m investment in JOTA, a data intelligence platform focused on Brazilian state institutions. This is the company’s first institutional financing.
- Co-Founder and CEO Marc Sangarné says JOTA’s clients are largely from the financial market, as well as large companies and law firms with institutional relationships.
> Portuguese VC Indico Capital Partners made its inaugural Brazil investment in
Zenklub, an online therapy and wellness platform.
> Chromo Invest led an undisclosed Series B investment in Fitpass, a Mexican fitness membership platform founded by Liza Schvartzman (CEO) and Karen González. #EXIT Previous investors Capital Deportivo and Soldiers Field Angels exited as part of the transaction.
> Wayra Colombia made its first investment of 2019 in Peiky, a Colombian sales management tool for social media platforms. Peiky is founded by Hernando Varón, Juan David Espinosa, and Ricardo Mendoza and is eyeing expansion to Perú and Mexico.
> Brazilian medical device startup brain4care (formerly Braincare) raised US$5m from Horácio Lafer Piva and other angel investors. Brain4care’s device for non-invasive cranial pressure monitoring recently received approval from Anvisa to commercialize in Brazil.
> Digital hiring platform Zolvers raised US$500k from IDB Lab. NXTP Labs invested previously.
- Zolvers is based in Argentina and run by Founder & CEO Cecilia Retegui.
- The marketplace to hire domestic workers also extends them credit through banking partnerships.
> #HEALTHTECH Verus Group and Brazilian angels invested R$800k in Fix it, a Brazilian company producing biodegradable and thermoformable plastic materials as an alternative to casts for joint immobilization. ACE invested previously.
- Co-Founder Felipe Neves says the raw material is derived from sugar cane, beet, and corn and bio-degrades within 45 days.
> Crabi, a pre-launch Mexican auto insurance startup, raised a US$1.3m seed round led by an undisclosed family office, with participation from Redwood Ventures and angels.
> Variv Capital and Austrian VC Speedinvest made an undisclosed investment in Bnext, a Spain-based marketplace for financial products. Bnext is planning expansion into Latin Americas.
> #CVC UK-based SuperAwesome, a digital media platform for kid-safe content, made an undisclosed investment in KidsCorp, an Argentine adtech platform for kids.
> #CVC Samsung will invest R$200k each in Hoobox, Fofuuu, Sinte Soft, Epistemic, Keep Smiling, Olivas, Alltism, RealVM, Birdie, NavegAM, Tarvos, and Indwise as part of its Creative Startups acceleration program.