Welcome to the 5th edition of the Dealflow LatAm newsletter: a weekly summary of everything that happened in the LatAm startup and investment ecosystem.

This is newsletter is put together by Yoel Rodriguez with the help of Jaime Novoa. Yoel has joined us to take Dealflow to the next level. For now, we’ll be once again sending the LatAm version of the newsletter every Monday and we have a few more things in the pipeline. Stay tuned!

Startup funding news 💸

🇲🇽 Jüsto secures $70M, led by General Atlantic to strengthen its Mexican operations as it marks five years. Funds will expand infrastructure and tech, entering new cities like Guadalajara. CEO Ricardo Weder projects 100% growth in 2024, with strong long-term potential in online grocery.

🇲🇽 Albo, a Mexican fintech, obtains a $60M credit line from SixPoint Capital Management to expand its credit products and reach profitability. CEO Ángel Sahagún highlights the focus on profitability, with Albo already placing $130M in low-delinquency loans and serving over 3 million users.

🇲🇽 Mexican fintech CXC raises $32.6M Series A led by Kaszek to expand into the U.S. and Latin America and enhance its technology. CXC’s SaaS platform streamlines private debt transactions, managing $10.5B for clients like Goldman Sachs and Mercado Libre.

🇧🇷 CrewAI, founded by João Moura, raises $18M in funding, led by Insight Partners, with backing from Sam Altman’s Alt Capital and AI leaders like Andrew Ng. Serving 150 Fortune 500 companies, CrewAI’s multi-agent platform powers 10M+ agents monthly, now expanding with CrewAI Enterprise for large organizations.

🇲🇽 Sistema.bio secures $15M led by ElectriFI, with participation from existing investors, to expand biogas technology for farmers globally. The funding supports sustainable energy and regenerative agriculture, aiming to empower one million farmers by 2025 and reduce global emissions.

🇨🇴 Paytech Akua raises $4.3M in seed funding to develop its AI-powered cloud payment platform. Founded two months ago, Akua aims to modernize payment infrastructure and plans rapid expansion into Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Brazil, starting in Colombia.

🇧🇷 Eduvem, a Ceará-based edtech, raises $2.63M in Series A to drive international expansion and strategic acquisitions. This milestone funding supports enhancements in customer experience, highlighting growth in Northeastern Brazil's startup ecosystem.

🇧🇷 Sólides, an HR tech company, secures $2.45M from DGF Investimentos to enhance its capabilities and accelerate growth in the HR tech market.

🇲🇽 Monitor App raises $2M in a Series A round led by Madata LLC, surpassing its $1.5M target. The funds will support international expansion and growth in Mexico, following over 100 major projects completed in 2023.

🇦🇷 Patagon AI, a Buenos Aires-based marketing platform, raises $1.1M to enhance AI-driven sales and marketing automation. The startup targets $100K ARR this year, aiming for $2M by 2025, with plans to expand across Latin America, starting in Ecuador.

🇦🇷 Circclo closes $210K pre-seed round to develop technology eliminating single-use plastic packaging. The Argentine initiative promotes a circular economy, focusing on the environmental and economic benefits of reusable products.

M&A transactions 🎊

🇧🇷 Cantu Store acquires Drivesul Participações, owner of GP Pneus, in a stock exchange deal valued at $140M. The acquisition strengthens Cantu’s position in Brazil’s physical tire and accessories market, leveraging Drivesul’s extensive distribution network and retail locations.

🇧🇷 EMS proposes to acquire Hypera in a deal valued at over $752M, offering approximately $5.94 per share, a 39% premium. If completed, the merger would create a pharmaceutical leader with a 20% market share and combined revenues of around $3.2B, unlocking significant synergies. Hypera’s recent capital optimization efforts had led to a decline in its stock price.

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

🇧🇷 BNDES approves a record $1.7B for innovation projects through September, with $1.24B from the BNDES Mais Inovação program—marking 6.5% of the bank's total approvals, the highest in its history. BNDES President Aloizio Mercadante emphasizes innovation as key to Brazil’s global competitiveness.

🇧🇷 Montreal launches Montreal Ventures, a VC arm with $5.6M to invest in early-stage Brazilian startups across Govtech, IdTech, Cybersecurity, Fintech, IoT, and AI sectors. The initiative supports Montreal's strategy to drive innovation and collaboration within the startup ecosystem.

🇲🇽 The Coramino Fund, co-founded by Juan Domingo Beckmann and Kevin Hart, partners with Tec de Monterrey and Fundación José Cuervo to support early-stage tech ventures in Mexico’s Tequila region. The fund expands its $1M U.S. grant program to Mexico, backing startups focused on environmental and social solutions.

Startup news 💡

🇲🇽 Shein, in partnership with Mexican fintech Stori, introduces its first branded credit card exclusively for new Stori customers. The card offers rewards points on purchases, with double points for online shopping, aiming to expand credit access in Mexico and drive Shein’s e-commerce growth.

🇨🇱 Chilean fintech Retorna expands its digital remittance services to the U.S. and Europe, enabling migrants to send money with lower fees and enhanced security. Founded by Atilana Piñón and Juan Camilo Mora, Retorna has completed over 3 million transactions for 40,000+ clients in Latin America since 2019.

🇧🇷 Agtech Innovation announces nine startups selected for Intensive Connection 2024, marking the 6th edition of its program to boost collaboration in agriculture, IT, energy, and education. The initiative aims to drive innovation and partnerships that transform the agribusiness ecosystem.

🇧🇷 Lev, a Brazilian e-bike startup, is expanding with a new factory in Manaus and entry into the B2B market. The company aims for 50% revenue growth by the end of 2024 and plans to triple its store count by 2027, enhancing production efficiency and cutting costs through local manufacturing.

🇧🇷 Livelo launches an innovation hub to drive disruptive technologies in the loyalty sector, with 14 projects underway to cut new initiative implementation time in half. Acting as an open innovation ecosystem, the hub connects Livelo with startups for experimentation and tech advancements. Technology Director Felipe Avila highlights this as a commitment to ongoing transformation.

🇨🇱 Chilean startup DataScope expands into Mexico to help mining companies digitize and automate processes. Focused on sustainable growth, DataScope aims for $10M in ARR and to boost its international client base from 40% to 70% within five years.

🇨🇱 Chilean eyewear company Karün, near bankruptcy, secures major investment from WildSur and Petra, backed by members of the Luksic family. The funding supports a new business plan, enabling Karün to continue operations, with a leadership shift as the CEO transitions to an advisory role.

🇧🇷 Beeviral, a sales referral platform, was named one of the "100 Startups To Watch 2024" for its growth and innovation in Brazil. Expanding from 10 to over 30 employees, Beeviral has invested in tech and market education, launching features like Beeviral Engage AI and Beeviral Pay to enhance user experience and sales efficiency.

Big company & policy news 💡

🇲🇽 Foxconn is building the world’s largest facility in Mexico to manufacture Nvidia’s GB200 superchips, key to the upcoming Blackwell platform. This expansion strengthens Foxconn’s capabilities amid surging demand for AI processing systems, with executives highlighting the strategic partnership with Nvidia as AI interest grows.

🇧🇷 Azul is set to raise $373M through debt issuance following a recent deal that eased its financial position. The airline is exploring funding options, including a new agreement with bondholders or attracting additional investors, as it contends with $5.3B in gross debt and a $710M net loss last quarter.

🇧🇷 ODATA announces a $1.3B investment to build new data center campuses in Colombia, part of a broader commitment of $4.9B by 2026. Located in Cundinamarca, the campuses will address Latin America’s rising demand for cloud services, with DC BG03 set to be Colombia's largest data center, featuring high power capacity and direct energy transmission connections.

🇧🇷 Brazil’s venture capital ecosystem faces new regulatory challenges as CADE’s recent decision requires more deals to undergo prior approval. This may slow investment rounds and complicate fund compliance, impacting the agility startups need to grow.

Interesting reads 💡

At LAVCA’s NY conference, Julio Vasconcellos highlighted why Latin America excels at building resilient, high-impact tech companies. LatAm startups demonstrate strong global reach, lasting market leadership, and venture returns that outperform global benchmarks.

Investment in generative AI startups reached $3.9B in Q3, with the U.S. leading at $2.9B. Notable funding rounds included Magic, which raised $320M, and Glean, which secured $260M, reflecting growing investor interest in innovative AI solutions.