> #EXIT #M&A Movile’s Wavy was acquired by Sinch AB, a Swedish customer engagement platform, for R$355m and ~1.5m shares of Sinch.
> #M&A The clock is ticking on the Cornershop/Uber deal. Six months after it was announced, regulators in Mexico are still arguing over who has jurisdiction on the deal, which should expire in July.
- Co-founder Daniel Undurraga says business is up and they can barely handle the demand. “The ecosystem is outraged. Let's see if after more than six months of doing nothing, COFECE and IFT deign to do something before the deal expires.”
> #DELIVERY Colombian grocery delivery startup Merqueo will take over Movistar Arena in Bogotá as its distribution center during the coronavirus crisis to respond to the rising demand.
- CEO Miguel McAllister says demand has grown 3x since the quarantine started in Colombia and Mexico.
- McAllister previously sold Domicilios to Delivery Hero, and also co-founded MUY Tech, a Colombian restaurant management platform.
> #DELIVERY Rappi and Cornershop are partnering with taxi drivers in Chile to support last-mile delivery during the pandemic.
> #DELIVERY Mexican grocery delivery startup Jüsto partnered with Mexican transport app Urbvan to deliver Jüsto orders with Urbvan’s fleet. Jüsto also launched a phone hotline for older people to call in orders.
> #DELIVERY Colombian meal kit startup Foody launched a campaign to donate meals to people vulnerable to COVID-19.
> #HEALTH Colombian healthtech 1DOC3 launched an AI-assisted COVID-19 risk assessment test which was donated to the government of Colombia. 117k people have self-diagnosed in the first few weeks.
- 1DOC3 also partnered with Telefonica and others to provide virtual medical consultations to their workforce entirely covered by their employer.
- CEO Javier Cardona shares: "Our main goal is to contain, reduce and avoid in person medical visits as much as possible.”
> Loft and Decorati partnered on a R$5m fund to support construction workers out of work during the crisis.
> Argentine fintech Ualá is giving borrowers an extra 30 days to make payments. CEO Founder Pierpaolo Barbieri: "The only way to overcome COVID-19’s impact is if we all do our share. That way, we’ll get through together."
> Truora, a Colombian fraud detection startup providing instant background checks, launched a new system of identity verification for employees of companies that are still required to work and travel during the COVID-19 quarantine.
> CitySense, a Chilean open platform to develop smart city solutions rolled out an application called Datmob for authorities to monitor movement in quarantine zones.
> Whyline’s “virtual line” software is helping avoid crowds in one of Brazil’s private hospital groups, and rolling out partnerships in Argentina. CEO Michael Twersky: “We're working with the city of Buenos Aires as part of their emergency response plan to curb the spread of the contagion by opening up virtual queues and appointments. And we're doing the same thing for Banco Macro.”
> Omie, a Brazilian cloud management platform, redesigned its go-to-market strategy in response to the rising economic toll from the pandemic.
> Suflex, a new Brazilian provider of management software for restaurants, partnered with fintechs and tech companies to connect restaurant and bar owners with potential sources of credit.
> Gympass reduced its global workforce by about 30% in response to disruptions from the pandemic. Brazil CEO Leandro Caldeira was promoted to COO of Latin America.
> FT: Nubank shakes up Brazil’s banking bureaucracy.
> Brazilian edtech Descomplica has received university accreditation and is offering undergrad coursework.
> STARTUPS: How are you responding to the coronavirus pandemic? Share your updates by filling out this form.
> Check out LAVCA’s directory of 331 Latin American startups with at least US$1m in VC funding, verified by LAVCA (as of end-2018), our Unicorn Leaderboard, and our Inaugural Survey of Latin American Startups.