Hey, it’s Yoel 👋 Back again with the 49th edition of Dealflow LatAm—your go-to source for all the deals, moves, and momentum in the region’s startup scene.

From AI breakthroughs to big bets in banking, LatAm’s tech scene surged again this week. 🇲🇽 and 🇧🇷 led with fresh capital in fintech and SaaS, 🇦🇷 pushed deep into energy tech, and new funds popped up to fuel the next wave of innovation across the region.

Plenty to break down—so let’s get into it 🚀

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Startup funding news 💸

Rounds of $10M+:

• 🇲🇽 Trafalgar secures $50M debt facility to launch AI-powered banking for Mexican SMEs. The platform already serves 6,000 clients with $1.5B in monthly transactions.

• 🇦🇷🇺🇸 Splight raises $12.5M from Blue Bear Capital to expand its AI-driven power grid optimization tech across the US and Europe.

• 🇧🇷 Axenya raises $12M Series A to scale its AI-powered corporate healthcare platform. The round was led by Canary, with Indicator Capital and Zentynel.

• 🇬🇹 Osigu secures $10M from Eos Ventures to streamline healthcare payments across LatAm with AI and automation.

Rounds $1M to $10M:

• 🇲🇽🇺🇸 Kira raises $6.7M to expand its fintech platform in LatAm. The round was led by Blockchange Ventures, with support from Stellar Development Foundation, Vamos Ventures, and others.

• 🇧🇷 Busup raises $5.9M to expand internationally and launch new business fronts. The round was led by Bonsai Partners.

• 🇧🇷 Darwin AI raises $4.5M to scale its AI worker platform for mid-market companies in LatAm. The round was led by Base10 Partners, bringing total funding to $7M.

• 🇧🇷 VAAS raises $3.7M to enhance its AI-powered risk management platform. The round was led by Headline, with ABSeed and Honey Island also participating.

• 🇦🇷 Latamly raises $2.4M via SME bonds to fuel its LatAm tech expansion, backed by strong investor demand.

• 🇨🇴 Guama raises $1.5M to scale its credit card for users without credit history in Colombia. The round was led by Salkantay, with backing from Story Ventures, Hustle Fund, and Techstars.

• 🇨🇴 Loto raises $1M to digitize expense and incentive management for SMBs. The round included Fen Ventures, Crestone VC, and others.

Other rounds of funding:

• 🇧🇷 Mercado de Recebíveis raises new funds, boosting its valuation to $55.2M. The round was led by Headline, with Urca Angels joining. Funds will support tech hiring and expansion into credit and receivables markets.

• 🇵🇦 Guardline raises funds to scale its AI-driven RegTech platform in LatAm. Expansion starts with Argentina and Brazil, followed by Mexico and Colombia.

• 🇲🇽 Efektiva raises funding from Alaya Capital to expand its AI risk-analysis platform across LatAm, aiming to be the region’s “digital business passport.”

M&A transactions 🎊

🇦🇷 Argentina M&A surged 62% in H1 2025 as Brazilian and Chinese firms use it to bypass U.S. tariffs. Key deals include Vista Energy’s $1.2B buy of 50% of Petronas’ Vaca Muerta field.

🇧🇷 CV CRM, part of Starian, acquires Anapro from Grupo OLX days after Starian's $125M raise to fuel M&A in the construction tech sector.

🇧🇷 B3 acquires 62% of payments fintech Shipay for $6.8M to strengthen its credit infrastructure strategy. The deal includes an option to acquire the remaining stake by 2030.

🇧🇷 Teddy Open Finance acquires a majority stake in ConKey to launch a consórcio-focused vertical. The move integrates training, data, and AI to boost sales and reduce cancellation rates.

🇧🇷 M3 Lending invests $92K in Valence to build an AI-powered financial ecosystem for SMBs. The move aims to cut credit costs and boost integrated services.

🇧🇷 Flapper acquires Black Aviação and launches Jet Society, a fractional jet ownership program with plans to grow fleet to 5 aircraft by 2025.

🇲🇽 Kapital Bank acquires part of Intercam amid crisis, positioning itself as a rising force in Mexican banking.

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

🇧🇷 Sebrae and BTG Pactual launch $83M fund to back innovative small businesses across LatAm, starting with $18M for seed and pre-seed startups.

🇧🇷 Wellhub launches $18.5M fund to offer credit to small gyms and studios, boosting its fintech arm and local market presence.

🇧🇷 Start Growth launches $3.7M call to back LatAm fintech, HR tech, martech, and database startups with traction.

🇧🇷 WOW launches $3.3M angel fund to back 40 early-stage startups, including AI-focused ones, with $90K checks and hands-on support.

🇧🇷 MOA Ventures and FCJ Group launch Industry AI Ventures to back 30 early-stage startups applying AI in industrial sectors like automation, energy, and logistics.

🇵🇪🇨🇴 Meridian75, a new $20M fund by Cube Ventures and MKF Ventures, will back LatAm startups at pre-seed and seed stages. It targets fintech, edtech, healthtech, and future of work.

🇩🇴 Rocket, a Dominican startup incubator, launches to empower young entrepreneurs (20–30) with an 8-week Silicon Valley-style program in AI, business, and strategy.

Opportunities & Deadlines 👀

• 🇨🇱 Banco de Chile launches 10th Desafío Emprendedor with $162K in prizes for startups and SMEs; applications close Sept 14.

• 🇵🇪 Inspira.TECH Fest 2025 lands in Lima on September 24, uniting tech, education, and finance for its biggest edition yet.

• 🇲🇽 Techstars is accepting early-stage startups from northern Mexico for global acceleration programs.

Startup news 💡

🇦🇷 Argentina

• 🇦🇷 Calificadas selected for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, ranking Top 6 in Edtech globally and standing as the only Argentine startup in the category.

• 🇺🇸🤝🇦🇷 Topsort partners Despegar to launch AI-powered travel ads, pioneering retail media in LatAm's tourism sector.

🇧🇷 Brazil

• 🇧🇷 Polen invests $5.5M to support recycling cooperatives across LatAm, using AI to track waste from collection to industry.

• 🇧🇷 inDrive.Money launches in Brazil, offering loans up to $550 to 1.6M drivers, with repayments deducted automatically from rides via partner Emprex.

• 🇧🇷 Tractian uses Nvidia GPUs to scale its AI-based industrial monitoring across North America.

• 🇨🇱🇧🇷 VIPER expands to Brazil with a new base in Curitiba to scale its emergency tech platform in LatAm.

🇨🇱 Chile

• 🇨🇱 Graiph IA partners with BHP to digitize large-scale geological data using AI, boosting mining speed and efficiency.

• 🇨🇱 Mineral Forecast launches GEO AI ADVISOR, an AI-powered platform to cut costs, reduce risks, and boost precision in mining exploration.

• 🇧🇷🇨🇱 Involves enters Chile after acquiring Datamind to expand its AI-powered retail analytics across LatAm.

🇨🇴 Colombia

• 🇨🇴 Cobre becomes the first fintech to enable instant Bre-B payments for businesses in Colombia, boosting speed, liquidity, and digital checkout efficiency.

• 🇨🇴🤝🇬🇧 Rappi partners with AstroPay to enable cross-border payments in local or international currencies—no card needed—across 🇧🇷🇦🇷🇵🇪.

• 🇩🇴🇨🇴 Ualett opens a new hub in Colombia and expands hiring in the Dominican Republic to boost regional operations.

• 🇺🇸🇨🇴 Félix Pago expands to Colombia, offering WhatsApp-based remittances backed by partners like Nubank and Mercado Libre.

🇲🇽 Mexico

• 🇲🇽 Bitso eyes Wall Street IPO amid crypto and stablecoin boom, as CEO Daniel Vogel signals growing global interest and market momentum.

• 🇲🇽 CapitalTech files for bankruptcy, owing $43.8M to 135 investors; proposes repaying only 25% amid defaults and liquidity issues.

• 🇲🇽 Sesame hits 1,000 clients in Mexico, cementing its lead in AI-powered HR software across LatAm.

• 🇨🇱🇲🇽 Fintoc approved by CNBV to launch as digital bank in Mexico, expanding its LatAm footprin

• 🇲🇽🤝🇬🇧 Bitso Business and BVNK team up to speed up LatAm–Europe payments using stablecoins and local rails.

• 🇲🇽🤝🇺🇸 Banco Dondé partners with Incode to boost digital identity and fight fraud, enabling secure banking access for 50M+ unbanked Mexicans.

🇵🇪 Peru

• 🇵🇪 Rextie hits $7B+ in FX volume, cementing its lead in Peru’s online currency exchange market.

• 🇵🇪 Students from UNT win Startup Perú 12G with QueryMap, a blockchain and AI platform to combat crime through anonymous, verified reporting.

• 🇵🇪 Inspira Te ilumina wins StartUp Perú 12G and becomes WSA finalist, driving inclusive financial education across LatAm.

🇺🇾 Uruguay

• 🇺🇾 Users report duplicate charges, hidden fees, and poor support from Volvé and Prex, raising concerns over fintech accountability in Uruguay.

• 🇺🇾 dLocal launches SmartPix in Brazil, enabling one-click Pix payments for platforms like iFood, Uber, and Shein by securely storing user payment data.

• 🇨🇱🇺🇾 Eskuad expands to Uruguay, bringing offline-ready AI tools to digitize remote industrial operations and replace paper reporting.

• 🇺🇾🤝🇺🇸 dLocal teams up with Tiendamia to simplify cross-border e‑commerce payments across 5 LatAm countries.

🌎 Other LatAm News

• 🇦🇷🤝🇨🇱🇵🇪 Bitso Business expands to Chile and Peru, launching FXaaS and crypto payment tools for LatAm businesses.

• 🇻🇪 Abel Avellán, founder of AST SpaceMobile, raised $600M+ to deliver direct-to-phone satellite internet, challenging Starlink in remote areas.

• 🇻🇪 Cashea relaunches its “Ruta Escolar” to offer back-to-school shopping in installments at top stores like Ovejita, Jump, and Traki.

• 🇵🇦 dME launches in the US with a 3MB browser extension that turns Chrome into a secure, enterprise-grade environment for SMEs and schools.

Big company & policy news 💡

🇦🇷🇨🇱 Mercado Libre invests $135M in Chile to build new ops centers in Colina and Concepción, doubling its logistics capacity.

🇧🇷 Receita Federal implements new rule requiring fintechs to report financial data via e-Financeira, aligning them with traditional banks. The move aims to combat money laundering and increase sector transparency.

🇧🇷🤝🇺🇸 iFood and Uber join forces to unify delivery and mobility in Brazil, integrating services across apps to streamline daily tasks for millions.

🇲🇽 Temu leads Mexico’s e-commerce traffic in Q2 2025 with 15.9%, surpassing Mercado Libre (15.2%) and Amazon (14.7%).

🇺🇸🇲🇽🇧🇷 Nvidia to make Mexico and Brazil AI hubs, partnering with governments on data centers, infrastructure, and talent training, with first facilities live by 2026.

Interesting reads 💡

🇪🇸 Inditex published “How Inditex is adopting Microfrontends for future-proof platform development“

🇪🇸 Miguel Arias (Kfund) published “La maldición de ver todos los deals”

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