DEALS
> CargoX has received an undisclosed amount of investment from Valor Capital, Lumia Capital and Agility Logistics to disrupt
the cargo shipment market in Brazil, alongside Uber co-founder Oscar Salazar and Hans Hickler, former CEO of DHL Express USA (also an investor in Mandaê). CargoX offers quotes to transport closed cargo through a network of 100,000 verified truck drivers at a 30% freight discount, seeking efficiencies through route optimization and bundling smaller shipments. They plan to secure R$100M (US$25m) in financing by the end of 2017.
> Agtech startup Tbit has announced
its first institutional funding, a R$4M (US$1M) Series A with Inseed Investimentos. Tbit offers grain and seed analysis technology to the four largest multinational agribusinesses with operations in Brazil, and has grown about 230% per year since entering the market in 2012, according to founder Igor Chalfoun. Chalfoun says Tbit’s GroundEye grain and seed analysis product is four times faster than the common testing means for corn and soybeans. Tbit will use the new capital to begin applying its products to biotech precision agriculture and livestock segments.
> Grocery shopping service Cornershop
has raised a US$6.7M Series A from ALLVP, with Jackson Square Ventures, Accel and Endeavor Catalyst. Cornershop is operating in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and in Santiago and Valparaiso in Chile. This is Accel’s first investment in Mexico.
> Colombian startup LentesPlus has raised US$1M from InQlab and Stella Maris to consolidate online contact lens sales in Colombia, Mexico and Chile. In Brazil, Lema21 merged
with eÓtica to offer prescription lenses last year.
> GuiaBolso, a personal financial management platform based in São Paulo, has raised a US$4M Series C with the IFC, Ribbit Capital, KaszeK Ventures and QED Investors. The IFC is also considering
a US$5M investment in ComparaOnline, a Chilean insurance comparison site also backed by Ribbit and KaszeK.
> Brazilian ecommerce startup Trocafone has raised R$20M (US$5M) from Swiss investment bank Sallfort. Previous investors include Wayra, Grupo Telefônica, 500 Startups, Lumia Capital, Quasar Ventures and NXTP. Trocafone closed 2015 with R$40M (US$10M) in sales of 50K “semi-used” devices.
> Brazilian medical diagnostics firm Adavium
has announced a US$21M Series C with CVF LLC and existing investors Venrock, Aberdare Ventures, and Arboretum Ventures. Adavium has also acquired Alka Tecnologia and Hemogram Industria e Comercio to become the largest Brazilian medical equipment and diagnostics company. Claudia Goulart, former GE Healthcare CEO for Latin America, has joined the company as COO and President of Diagnostics.
> Uber competitor Cabify
has raised a US$120M Series C, led by Japanese web giant Rakuten, to continue expansion through Latin America.