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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

📢 Exit: monashees and KASZEK exit GetNinjas through BRL500m IPO

📢 New Rounds for CloudWalk, Hashdex, Sallve, a55, Sky.One, Pomelo, 180 Seguros, Houm

📢 Funds: Indicator Capital reaches BRL240m final close for IoT-focused fund

📢 SPAC: LIV Capital Acquisition announces merger with AgileThought

📢 Redpoint eventures partners with São Paulo’s B3 to launch a blockchain-based platform to simplify startup fundraising

EXIT

> #EXIT #IPO monashees and KASZEK exited GetNinjas, a Brazilian local service marketplace for home renovations, through a BRL500m IPO on the B3.

• Tiger Global led a BRL40m round in 2015; monashees and KASZEK led a BRL6m round in 2013; monashees first invested in 2011.
• Two other VC-backed startups recently listed on the B3: Brazilian marketplace Enjoei, which raised nearly BRL1b providing a partial exit for monashees and Bessemer Venture Partners; and Brazilian cashback platform Méliuz, which raised BRL629m, providing an exit for monashees, Lumia, Graph Ventures, Endeavor, FJ Labs and Social Capital.

DEALS

> #BLOCKCHAIN Coatue led a USD190m Series B for CloudWalk, a Brazilian blockchain-based POS platform for entrepreneurs and SMEs, with participation from DST Global and follow-on from Valor Capital Group, FIS and The Hive Brazil.

• This is the largest Series B for a Brazil-based company, according to LAVCA Data.

> Accial Capital led a USD35m round for a55, a Brazilian revenue-based lender focused on SMEs in Brazil and Mexico, with follow-on from E3 Negócios and Mouro Capital (formerly Santander Innoventures).

• #CVC Mouro Capital led a USD5m round and E3 Negocios invested an additional USD2m in 2020.

> #CRYPTO Valor Capital Group led a USD26m round for Hashdex, a Brazilian crypto investment and management platform, with participation from SoftBank, Igah Ventures, Globo Ventures, Canary and Coinbase Ventures.

• This is Coinbase Ventures' second known investment in Latin America after their participation in Bitso's USD62m Series B.

> Atlantico led a BRL110m Series B for Sallve, a Brazilian skincare e-commerce platform, with participation from Quartz, Endeavor Catalyst and Red Swan, and follow-on from KASZEK, Astella Investimentos, Canary and Waldencast Ventures.

• Canary invested previously in 2019.
• Sallve plans to go omnichannel by launching a brick-and-mortar store and introducing its products in pharmacies.

> monashees and Index Ventures led a USD9m seed round for Pomelo, a pre-launch Argentine payments infrastructure platform enabling fintechs to fast-track the launch of prepaid and credit cards, with participation from QED Investors, SciFi, Latitud, Future Positive, 20VC, Addition, FJ Labs, Angela Strange (a16z) and angels from Marqeta, Rappi, Auth0, Kavak, Loft and RecargaPay.

• CEO Gaston Irigoyen is a third-time founder with two prior exits, and is former CEO of Argentine fintech Naranja X.
• This is the second known investment from Index Ventures in the region after leading a USD19m Series A in Mexican digital health insurer Sofía in 2020.
  

> #CVC Bradesco’s Inovabra Ventures led a BRL45m round for Sky.One, a Brazilian ERP software developer and cloud service consultancy.

> #INSURTECH Canary, Dragoneer Investment Group and Rainfall Ventures led a USD8m seed round for 180 Seguros, a Brazilian consumer insurance provider for marketplaces and e-commerce platforms, with participation from 8VC, Quartz and Norte Ventures.

• This is the first known investment from California-based Rainfall Ventures in the region, according to LAVCA Data.

> #PROPTECH Houm, a Chilean home purchase and rental marketplace with operations in Chile, Mexico and Colombia, raised a USD8m round from Y Combinator, Goodwater Ventures, ONEVC and Vast VC, with follow-on from Alaya Capital.

• Village Capital invested in 2021; Fen Ventures, Magma Partners and Fondo Alerce invested USD1.3m in 2020.

> Union Square Ventures led a USD5.5m Series A for alt.bank, a Brazilian impact-driven neobank targeting underbanked consumers. alt.bank’s first product is a financial management app that can be used by the illiterate.

• This is the first known investment from Union Square Ventures in the region, according to LAVCA Data.
• alt.bank was founded by Brad Liebmann, former CEO of UK-based insurance provider Simply Business, which sold for USD490m to US-based insurance company Travelers in 2017.
• alt.bank partnered with Brazilian healthtech Dr.Consulta to provide ~USD8 telemedicine consultations at a discount through a prepaid account.

 
> #DEBT SP Ventures, through its Brazil Venture Debt Fund, invested BRL13.5m in SoluBio, a Brazilian agtech enabling in-farm production of pesticides.

• SP Ventures launched its BRL140m Brazil Venture Debt Fund in 2019 with a commitment from BNDES. 

> #HEALTHTECH WE Ventures, Microsoft’s BRL50m fund focused on backing women-led startups in Brazil, invested BRL4.7m in Magnamed, a Brazilian manufacturer of lung ventilators.

• KTPL and Vox Capital invested previously.

> DOMO Invest, Bossa Nova Investimentos, G2 Capital, BR Angels and EquityRio invested BRL1.5m in CustomerX, a Brazilian CRM platform.

• CustomerX’s clients include Exact Sales, PetLove and Locaweb.

> #IoT #CROWFUNDING Novidá, a Brazilian employee productivity monitoring platform for the logistics, construction and manufacturing sectors, raised BRL875k through equity crowdfunding platform EqSeed.

> #INSURTECH Canary led an undisclosed round for Zipia, a Brazilian consumer insurance marketplace for insurance brokers, with participation from 500 and angels Flavio Dias (Via Varejo) and Andre Farber (Grupo Boticário).

> #PROPTECH Iporanga Ventures and angels invested in eCondos, a Brazilian condo management platform.

> #EDTECH Arco Educação invested in Tera, a data science and digital marketing upskilling platform.

• Arco acquired Brazilian edtech Me Salva! in 2020.

 

> Brazilian computer manufacturer Positivo Tecnologia invested in EuNerd, a Brazilian on-demand tech support platform for telcos, retail and healthcare companies.

• EuNerd participated in Google for Startups Brazil 2020 cohort. 

> #ANGEL Drizip, a Chilean peer-to-peer car rental platform, raised USD700k from undisclosed angels. Drizip launched operations in Mexico earlier this year.

> #AGTECH GVAngels and Harvard Angels invested BRL1.5m in GamerSafer, a US-based cybersecurity and identity authentication platform for gaming communities. GamerSafer was founded by Brazilian Rodrigo Tamellini, formerly of Intel.

> #ANGEL Anjos do Brasil led a BRL800k pre-seed round for Baduk, a Brazilian microcredit platform for entrepreneurs.

FUNDS

> #IoT Indicator Capital reached a BRL240m final close for Indicator 2 IoT, its second fund and first to focus on IoT solutions for agribusiness, healthtech, smart cities and manufacturing. The fund had an original target of BRL160m.

• BNDES and Qualcomm Ventures each made BRL40m anchor investments; other LPs include Banco do Brasil, Motorola/Lenovo, Multilaser and Telefônica Vivo.

> #SPAC LIV Capital Acquisition, a SPAC formed by LIV Capital, will merge with AgileThought, a Miami-based enterprise software consulting firm.

• LIV Capital Acquisition filed for a USD60m IPO on the NASDAQ in 2019.
• Nexxus Capital invested in 2015 and followed-on in 2019; Credit Suisse Asset Management Mexico invested previously.
  

> Honey Island Capital, a seed investment firm run by EBANX founders Alphonse Voigt, Joao Del Valle and Wagner Ruiz, announced the launch of its third fund with a BRL70m target.

• Honey Island Capital recently participated in a BRL20m Series A for OmniChat and invested in Celero in 2020.

> Ecuadorian accelerator IMPAQTO launched IMPAQTO Capital Fund I, a revenue-based financing vehicle to invest in early-stage startups in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia in agribusiness and food supply, health and wellness, education, employment and cleantech.

> #CVC Brazilian investment management Downwind Group launched a BRL20m fund to invest in startups developing remote collaboration solutions and cloud technology.

> #CROSS-BORDER Mindset Ventures reached a USD52m close for its third fund to invest in US- and Israel-based B2B software companies looking to expand to Latin America.

> The local government of the Brazilian state Espirito Santo launched a search process for a local GP to manage a BRL250m VC fund focused on early-stage startups in the state.

• The source of capital commitments will primarily be royalties and distributions from public participation in the energy sector.

STARTUPS

> #FOODTECH Chilean footech NotCo reached an agreement with US-based grocer Sprouts Farmers Market to launch NotMilk in 200 stores nationwide.

> #AGTECH #IMPACT Brazilian crop monitoring platform Agrosmart partnered with Sustainable Carbon, a consultancy focused on carbon footprint reduction, and Argentine Fundación Espacio Eco to launch a carbon credit certification platform for agribusiness.

• Bradesco’s Inovabra Ventures and Positivo’s CVC arm led a BRL22m Series A in Agrosmart in 2019; SP Ventures, Desenvolve SP, Baita, Embrapa and Cedro Capital invested previously.

> #CROSS-BORDER Rosa Jiménez Cano of El Español reviews the journey of Meru, a Mexican wholesale e-commerce platform connecting SMEs in Latin America with suppliers in China. Mountain Nazca just led a USD2.3m pre-seed round.

• Meru recently launched a warehouse facility in Ningbo, China.

> Check out LAVCA’s 2020 directory of 126 Latin American startups with at least USD1m in VC funding, verified by LAVCA (as of end-2019), our Unicorn Leaderboard, and our Inaugural Survey of Latin American Startups.

🆕 GLOBAL TECH

> SIGN UP for EMPEA’s Global 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 Middle East.

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NEWS

> #BLOCKCHAIN São Paulo’s B3 exchange partnered with Redpoint eventures and UK-based fintech Globacap to launch a blockchain-based platform to simplify startup fundraising in Brazil.

• Ribbon, a Brazilian platform backed by Redpoint eventures that lets users convert ad dollars to donations to nonprofits, raised USD100k during a pilot test.

> After initial delays, the Brazilian Central Bank authorized WhatsApp to rollout payments.

• The authorization comes after the Central Bank’s active support for launching PIX, its own instant payment system, in November 2020.

> Colombian VC Latin Leap partnered with Singapore-based edtech accelerator EduSpaze to support the expansion of Asian edtech startups in Latin America.

> #CVC Wayra partnered with the Peruvian Production Ministry, Innovate Perú and the IDB to issue a study on the current state of CVC.

• The report includes case studies on the initiative and strategies from Peruvian CVCs Cementos Pacasmayo, Edventures, Krealo and Nexa Resources.

> Snapchat will launch operations in Mexico.

• Former Lime Country Manager Ana Daniela Portillo will head the local office.

> La Nación reviews the development of the tech ecosystem in Brazil in Cómo Brasil se convirtió en la tierra prometida de los unicornios.

> #POLICY Bloomberg: Backlash to Colombia Tax Reform Shows It’s Too Soon for Austerity.

INVESTORS

> Federico Antoni of ALLVP shares his perspective on the current pace of investment and fundraising activity in Latin America in Don’t let the fire burn you out.

• “I’m writing this post after talking to exhausted founders around me. Their long faces silently ask if there’s something wrong with them and their companies. I try to cheer them up as I control my own anxiety. It’s not the first time tech hype rocks Latin America. The last time feels like yesterday.”

> Marcello Gonçalves of DOMO Invest shares his view on the state of the Brazilian tech ecosystem during C19 and the growth acceleration in industries like remote collaboration.

> #CROSS-BORDER Stefan Kratuwald of Latin Leap shares his view on the potential collaboration opportunities between the tech ecosystems in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

• “La clave es promover puentes entre ambas regiones: conectar a América Latina con Deep Techs Asiáticas que respondan a las necesidades de transformación de industrias tradicionales o el surgimiento de nuevas industrias, cuidando los espacios ya abordados por los emprendedores locales con una amplia participación en los modelos B2C.”

PEOPLE & PROGRAMS

> Wayra Hispam is looking for a Head of Portfolio for Colombia, México, Argentina, Peru and Chile. Candidates with a minimum of two years of experience in VC or PE are welcome to apply.

> #TODAY Visa and Finnovista will host a discussion on the current state of fintech and best practices for founders operating in the Latin American ecosystem. Register here.

> Google for Startups Brazil is hosting Google Cloud Startup Day 2021 on May 25. Registration is now open.

> LAVCA, EMPEA, Adobe Capital and IDB Lab will host a webcast on May 26 at 10am ET on Structuring for Exit: New approaches for Private Capital in Latin America and Beyond during FLII@Home. The webcast will discuss findings from the EMPEA | LAVCA Structuring for Exit Report, a deep dive analysis of innovative financing approaches used by investors in Latin America and other global markets to generate liquidity in challenging exit environments. REGISTER here.

• LAVCA members receive a special discount for FLII@Home. Login and access code here. Email Catalina Santos at csantos@lavca.org for assistance.

> 500 launched applications for its 14th startup program Somos Lucha. Founders can apply until June 20.

> ProChile launched a program to connect Chilean startups looking for international expansion with companies in Mexico, Colombia and Peru.

> PECAP will host the Peru Venture Capital Conference on June 22-24. Registration is now open. If you are a startup CEO apply to the Pitch Competition. 

> 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.

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.