> Undisclosed investors made a US$130m investment in Rappi, a Colombian last-mile delivery service that “wants to deliver everything”:

• Existing investors include monashees+, Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global, Sequoia Capital, Redpoint eventures, Endeavor Catalyst, FJ Labs, Floodgate, ONEVC, Y Combinator, and others.
• READ LAVCA’s interview with CEO Simon Borrero.

> Rakuten Capital, TheVentureCity, Endeavor Catalyst, GAT Investments, Liil Ventures, WTI, and others made a US$160m Series E investment in Max Mobility, the parent company of Cabify and Easy, at a reported US$1.4b valuation.

> SP Ventures made a R$6m investment in Gênica, a Brazilian agtech startup developing a vaccine for a common soybean fungus, acquiring a 44% stake.

> Chromo Invest and 42K Investimentos made a R$15m investment in BizCapital, a Brazilian fintech providing credit to SMEs.

> The IFC made a US$2.5m investment in Mandaê, a Brazilian e-commerce logistics platform. New and existing investors are expected to commit additional capital.

• Existing investors include Valor Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, monashees+, and Kima Ventures.

> IGNIA Partners and Global Founders Capital led a US$2.5m investment in Brazilian pet-hosting startup DogHero, with participation from previous investors monashees+ and KaszeK Ventures.

• DogHero raised US$3.1m in 2016.

> Brazilian family offices and existing investors made a R$3.2m investment in SupermercadoNow, a Brazilian grocery delivery startup.

> Temasek made an undisclosed investment in Clínica SIM, a private network of accessible medical clinics operating in Brazil’s northeast. Previous investors include monashees+ and angel investors. Founder/CEO Denis Cruz talks about bringing dignity to health services:

"Se fala muito como empreendedores como agentes de disrupção. Entretanto, em um país pobre em infra-estrutura e serviços básicos como o Brasil, e principalmente no Norte e no Nordeste, os empreendedores devem estar primeiramente empenhados em criar, e não em causar disrupção. São 150 milhões de brasileiros sem planos de saúde, e 62 milhões deles moram no Norte e no Nordeste. Pra mim e para o nosso time, faz muito mais sentido trazer a dignidade de escolha em serviços de saúde para estas pessoas do que perseguir outras oportunidades."

> Anteris Capital made an undisclosed debt investment in scooter rideshare eConduce. LIV Capital is an existing investor.

> Alejandro Ponce made a US$600k investment in Bquate, a digital music distribution platform accelerated at Wayra Peru. Co-founder & CEO Yoly Avalos says LatAm is the fastest-growing market globally for digital music:

"Nosotros nos enfocamos en la industria musical independiente pero, independiente ya no significa pequeño; ya que, representa el 38% de los ingresos de la industria musical (US$15B); con lo cual, estamos hablando de una oportunidad de US$6B+. Es clave resaltar que los ingresos derivados de streaming han experimentado un crecimiento de más del 80% en el último año. La industria musical se ha reinventado y el futuro es bastante prometedor."

> FTV Capital and Endeavor Catalyst Fund have made a US$30m investment in Brazilian payment processor EBANX.

> Valor Capital’s Fund II received a US$7m commitment from the IFC. The fund’s target size is US$100m.

> Cemex Ventures plans to invest US$10m in startups disrupting the construction industry in 2018. Cemex’s portfolio includes a US$1m investment in Ipsum, a Chilean project management platform for the construction industry.

> Magma Partners, backed by several Latin American and international family offices, raised a US$15m fund to invest in 60 Latin American early stage tech companies.

> Last issue, we reported SP Ventures exited Bug, a Brazilian biotech firm, through a sale to Dutch biochemical company Koppert. Criatec 1, co-managed by Antera and Inseed, also exited Bug.

IMPACT

> Mexican impact fund Adobe Capital raised US$40m for its second investment vehicle, Adobe Mezzanine Fund (AMF) II, to finance small and medium-sized enterprises in Mexico and Latin America. The fund recently made its first investment with a commitment to Mexico’s IPETH (Instituto Profesional en Terapias y Humanidades).

> New Ventures is hosting the annual Foro Latinoamericano de Inversión de Impacto (FLII) 2018 in Merida, Mexico February 27 - March 1. Details here.

> Brazilian tech company Intelie, which received a R$1.7m investment from TOTVS in 2013, was acquired by RigNet.

NEWS

> Clip partnered with Samsung Pay to enable cardless payments for Samsung mobile phones anywhere Clip is accepted.

> Nubank, by presidential decree, can now operate as a Brazilian bank.

> Movile bundled its operations in mobile content development, corporate communications tools, white label applications, and other services into a new brand called Wavy. This rolls up 100 million active users, 400 content partners & LatAm mobile carrier partnerships, and US$100m in annual revenue under the new brand.

> UOL’s PagSeguro is planning an IPO on the NYSE.

> Reuters: Chinese bike-sharing firms gear up to launch in Mexico.

> El Empresario: Empresas mexicanas listas para foro financiero de Hong Kong.

> Washington Post: China is investing seriously in Latin America. "China is now the top trade partner for Brazil, Chile, and Peru."

> NYTimes: Using Drones and Netflix in the Andes, but Sidestepping Google Maps. “You’d be surprised how fast the leap to connectivity can be in rural Latin America.”

> TheNextWeb: WhatsApp is testing P2P payments in India. (Is LatAm next?)

> Washington Post: Tracing the path from deadly hand-dug mines in Congo to consumers’ phones and laptops. #MUSTREAD for anyone with a cell phone.

> Google Play reached 19 billion app downloads globally in Q4 2017, fueled by growth from Brazil, Indonesia, and India. Google Play app downloads eclipsed iOS downloads by 145%, according to App Annie.

> Apple Watch likely outsold Amazon Echo during the holidays despite Apple Watch selling for nearly 10x more money.

> 51% of US companies valued at US$1b+ were founded by immigrant entrepreneurs.

PEOPLE & PROGRAMS

> LAVCA's on the search for a new Digital Marketing Manager.🚀 Apply here.

> Finnovista and the IDB launched a collaborative research project on the fintech ecosystem in LatAm. Fintech startups: please contribute by completing a 5-minute survey.

> The IFC and World Economic Forum are selecting 50 startups from LatAm & the Caribbean to attend the World Economic Forum in São Paulo in March. Apply by Feb 5.

> Nominations for the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2018 are open until Feb 7. The winner presents her business at the Impact² World Forum in Paris. Details here.

> Bruno Magrani, Facebook’s former Public Policy Director for Brazil, joined Nubank as Director of Institutional Relationships.

> Applications for Y Combinator Summer 2018 are open.

• Need a reason to apply? READ how Y Combinator helped the teams at Rappi and Hogaru raise capital from Silicon Valley investors.

> NYU Stern is hosting their annual VC & PE Conference in New York on March 2.

> Check out the Stanford/NVCA Venture Capital Symposium on March 13-14 in Stanford, CA.

INVESTOR POV

> Romero Rodrigues of Redpoint eventures: 99 (or 1 billion) reasons to stay (even more) optimistic about Brazilian tech startups in 2018:

“[99’s Paulo] Veras has helped build Brazil’s digital ecosystem as few others have.”

> Andreessen Horowitz is looking at financial services for the next 3 billion.

> Ross Baird of Village Capital: BlackRock just did one thing that changed the game for anyone who invests.

The LatAm Venture Bulletin is a news platform of the Latin American Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

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

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