Hey, it’s Yoel 👋 Back again with the 27th edition of Dealflow LatAm—all the news, noise, and nuggets from LatAm’s fast-moving startup world.

This week was anything but quiet: Mendel secured a $35M boost to scale across LatAm, CFOstartup and Legal Ventures joined forces to launch Zeta (a full-service firm for founders), and Google is planting serious AI and cloud roots in Argentina.

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

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Startup funding news 💸

Rounds of $10M+:

• 🇲🇽 Mendel raises $35M to expand its corporate spend management platform across LatAm. The Series B round was led by Base10 Partners, with participation from PayPal Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, Infinity Ventures, Industry Ventures, and Hi.vc. The funds will support geographic expansion and further development of its SaaS platform tailored for large enterprises.

• 🇧🇷 Scala Data Centers receives a $31.3M loan from BNDES, the bank’s largest ever for the data center sector. The funds will finance high-tech equipment to boost Brazil’s digital infrastructure.

• 🇺🇸🇧🇷 GreenLight Biosciences raises $25M to expand its RNA-based crop protection solutions in Brazil. The round was led by Just Climate, aiming to strengthen the company’s long-term operations and support product launches in the country.

• 🇺🇾 Strike raises $13.5M to expand into Brazil and the U.S., and automate pentesting with AI. The Series A was led by FinTech Collective, with Galicia Ventures, Greyhound Capital, FJ Labs, and Canary participating.

Rounds $1M to $10M:

• 🇨🇱 Karün raises $5M to strengthen its operations. The round was led by WildSur and Petra, the family offices of the Lería Luksic and Gabriela Luksic families.

• 🇦🇷 Exactly raises $2M from Uphold to scale its DeFi app Exa App, enhance infrastructure, and expand the Exa Card to new markets. The platform offers crypto-backed credit and "buy now, pay later" options.

• 🇧🇷 Uncover raises $2.2M in a seed extension led by ABSeed to scale its marketing analytics SaaS and expand in Brazil and abroad.

• 🇧🇷 Sustineri Piscis raises $1.6M through an equity crowdfunding round to scale its lab-grown fish meat biotech platform.

• 🇧🇷 MT Bank raises $1M to expand its financial platform for SMEs in Brazil. The round was led by Hiker Ventures, part of the Araújo Fontes group.

• 🇧🇷 Doutor-AI raises $1M to expand its AI healthcare platform. The pre-seed round was led by Airborne Ventures.

Other rounds of funding:

• 🇧🇷 FinanZero raises $800K to boost growth and maintain profitability. The round included existing investors, though names were not disclosed.

• 🇧🇷 VTEX receives a $446K boost as EntryPoint Capital LLC acquires 75,637 shares. The NYSE-listed SaaS company continues to draw institutional interest for its global digital commerce platform.

• 🇲🇽 Social Good Software, founded by Rick Hernandez, secures $250K from Morgan Stanley to scale its SaaS platform for sustainable museum operations. The investment values the startup at $5M.

• 🇧🇷 Zinz raises $43.4K through a public grant to enhance its platform for managing commercial renovations. The investment came from Paraná’s Anjo Inovador program.

• 🇸🇻 Jobbi receives investment from ATTA Impact Capital to scale its AI hiring platform and expand into U.S. and EU markets.

M&A transactions 🎊

🇧🇷 Magazord, a Brazilian ecommerce platform, acquires 51% of Braavo! for up to $1.7M to expand into São Paulo’s small fashion retail sector. The deal strengthens its presence among clothing retailers in districts like Brás and Bom Retiro.

🇧🇷 Grupo Entre acquires the SCD fintech license from Credihome, which remains under Loft's control. Approved by Brazil’s Central Bank, the deal enables the launch of Octa, a new credit fintech offering digital accounts, cards, and Pix services.

🇧🇷 Turim acquires wealth-tech startup Vita and merges it with Tori, expanding assets under management to $694M. Vita’s founder becomes Tori's co-CEO.

🇺🇾 Vopero, the Uruguayan secondhand fashion platform with presence in 🇲🇽 and 🇨🇱, has been acquired by an undisclosed company. The exit follows prior investments from Grupo Axo, thredUP, and Cencosud Ventures.

🇨🇱 ComunidadFeliz acquires Swappi to boost condo management digitalization in Mexico. The deal adds operational tools to serve over 140,000 properties.

🇧🇷🤝🇮🇱 UPPay is acquired by Israeli fintech Nayax to boost self-service cashless payments in Brazil. The move strengthens Nayax’s expansion in LatAm, following its earlier acquisition of VMTecnologia.

🇵🇪🤝🇲🇽 5X Capital acquires a majority stake in Intelligential to accelerate the digitalization of Sofomes. The investment aims to enhance SaaS tools for financial entities and expand across LatAm.

🇲🇽 EZCORP cancels acquisition of Mexican auto pawn firm Auto Dinero. The deal, announced in 2024, aimed to expand its presence in Mexico but was withdrawn without disclosed reasons.

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

🇦🇷🤝🇵🇪 CFOstartup and Legal Ventures merge to create Zeta, an integrated service firm for startups and VCs in LatAm. With 15+ years of combined experience, Zeta offers 360° support in finance, legal, tax, and audit to help startups scale and attract investment.

🇧🇷 iFood invests $7.5M as anchor investor in a $50M fund led by Yvy Capital to accelerate the electric motorcycle ecosystem in Brazil. The fund will back startups in battery, motor, charging, and delivery tech, aiming to support up to 600K electric bikes annually by 2035.

🇨🇱 BID and Fundación Chile launch a $1.3M alliance to boost innovation, digital talent, entrepreneurship, and water security. The initiative includes the startup hub startupLab.01 to support Chilean science and tech-based ventures.

🇲🇽🇯🇵 JETRO launches Invest in Japan, inviting Mexican AI and fintech startups to expand into Japan with 50 days of free business space and tax advisory. The program targets high-tech ventures seeking entry into the Japanese market.

Opportunities & Deadlines 👀

• 🇦🇷 Glocal offers up to $500K to AgriFoodTech and Climate Tech startups in LatAm through its Glocal Game Changers program. Selected early-stage startups will join an acceleration track and gain access to investors and industry networks.

• 🇪🇸 Banco Santander launches the Santander X Global Challenge to support circular economy startups. Open to ventures from 🇦🇷 🇧🇷 🇨🇱 🇲🇽 🇺🇾 and other countries, with $130K in prizes and access to Santander X 100.

• 🇨🇱 IncubatecUFRO, with support from Corfo, offers up to $63K to help sustainable startups in Chile scale and connect with private investors. The program includes technical support and mentorship.

• 🇵🇪 FLOW Pagos Perú will host FLOW Experience on April 3 in Lima to help entrepreneurs improve digital payments. Deadline: April 3.

• 🇨🇱 UDD Ventures and Salcobrand launch Open Salcobrand 2025 to attract health and wellness startups. Winners will pilot solutions in stores and online. Applications open until April 6.

• 🇨🇴 Pygma presents Demo Week, a week-long event connecting startups with investors through 1:1 meetings, group sessions, and networking. Starts April 28, 2025.

Startup news 💡

🇦🇷 Argentina

• 🇦🇷 Buenbit launches Compras Recurrentes to automate crypto and stock purchases using Dollar-Cost Averaging. The tool enables consistent investing and mitigates market volatility.

• 🇦🇷 Griftin was recognized at Startup Olé Miami 2025 for its immersive software Inmersial, which enhances customer experiences in real estate, tourism, and retail.

• 🇧🇷 Positivo Casa Inteligente launches in Argentina, bringing its smart home devices to the local market. The Brazilian IoT brand expands regionally after reaching 2M users in its home country.

🇧🇷 Brazil

• 🇧🇷 Bamboo partners with StoneX Payments to expand cross-border payments in LatAm. The alliance combines Bamboo’s local reach with StoneX’s FX infrastructure for global merchants.

• 🇧🇷 Nubank expands its crypto offering by adding Cardano, Algorand, NEAR, and Cosmos to its platform Nubank Cripto. The neobank now supports 20 tokens and plans to keep growing its crypto portfolio in 2025.

🇨🇱 Chile

• 🇨🇱 Lirmi becomes the first Chilean EdTech to publish in Frontiers in Education, with a study showing how digital tools improve learning outcomes. The research is based on data from 319 teachers using Lirmi's platform.

🇨🇴 Colombia

• 🇨🇴 Sempli launches Crédito Flexi, a short-term loan for micro and small businesses in Colombia. It offers 1–3 month terms with flexible repayment aligned to cash flow needs.

• 🇨🇴 ePayco launches Payouts, a digital solution to automate mass payments to suppliers, freelancers, and employees. It streamlines payroll and vendor payments for businesses in Colombia.

• 🇨🇴 dale! wins Silver in Digital Transformation at Fintech Americas 2025 for its impact on financial inclusion and digital innovation in Colombia.

• 🇨🇴 Littio launches a euro savings account with up to 6% returns, expanding its fintech offering. The app-based startup now serves over 300,000 users.

• 🇨🇴 WeiBook joins Google for Startups' AI First program to boost its beauty business platform with AI tools.

🇲🇽 Mexico

• 🇲🇽 Bitso Business launches MXNB, a peso-backed stablecoin via Juno, to streamline cross-border payments in LatAm. It runs on Arbitrum and targets fintechs, wallets, and remittance use cases.

• 🇲🇽 RappiCard, a joint venture between Rappi and Banorte, was recognized at Fintech Americas 2025 for its user-focused fintech strategy and strong customer retention in LatAm.

• 🇲🇽 Klu launches a non-bank acquirer and aggregator to expand its payments offering in Mexico. The IFPE-authorized firm connects merchants to networks like Visa and Mastercard.

• 🇲🇽 Plata Card gets approval to become Mexico’s 54th bank. Backed by a $100M round from Fasanara Capital, it plans to start full operations by late 2025.

• 🇲🇽🤝🇬🇧 Doto partners with Unlimit to boost payment approvals and support its expansion. The deal led to a 2.5% approval rate increase in Mexico’s $38B e-commerce market.

🇺🇾 Uruguay

• 🇺🇾 Ceibal launches EduIA Lab, the first regional AI-in-education lab in LatAm, to develop tools for teachers and students and boost learning equity. The initiative will also support research and knowledge transfer across the region.

🇵🇪 Peru

• 🇵🇪 Preauth wins the Financial Inclusion Award at Fintech Americas 2025 for its product Reevalúa, which uses AI via WhatsApp to help users manage debt and rebuild credit. The tool has supported over 10,000 Peruvians monthly and relieved nearly $13M in debt.

• 🇦🇷 Mercado Libre launches Clips in Peru to boost product discovery and sales through short videos. Sellers can now share creative content to enhance user engagement and drive conversions.

• 🇵🇪🤝🇺🇸 Conapi partners with BeeHero to bring precision pollination tech to Peruvian farmers. The alliance marks BeeHero’s LatAm debut and aims to boost crop yields and agricultural innovation.

• ​🇺🇸🤝🇲🇽 inDrive partners with R2 to launch inDrive.Money in Peru, aiming to provide gig economy workers with access to financial services and promote financial inclusion.

🌎 Other LatAm News

• 🇲🇽🤝🇫🇷 TruBit partners with Morpho to launch a DeFi yield product in LatAm. The integration allows users in 🇲🇽 and 🇦🇷 to access crypto-backed lending with a fintech front-end and DeFi back-end experience.

Big company & policy news 💡

🇧🇷 BRB acquires Banco Master for $347M to expand its financial services and strategic presence. The deal includes 49% of common shares and 100% of preferred shares, totaling 58% of Banco Master’s capital. Both banks will maintain separate structures while sharing governance and strategic coordination.

🇧🇷 Brazil shelves proposed tax on big tech firms like Amazon, Google, and Meta amid U.S. tariff threats. Instead, it will advance a bill to regulate digital platform competition. The move aims to ease trade tensions with the U.S.

🇺🇸 🇦🇷 Google accelerates its investment in Argentina with a focus on AI and service exports, highlighting the country's strategic position. Key projects include the Firmina submarine cable and expansion of Google Cloud infrastructure.

🇺🇸🇦🇷 MetaMask launches a crypto debit card in Argentina, offering 1% cashback on USDC payments at Mastercard merchants.

🇺🇾 dLocal was cleared of fraud accusations by the New York Supreme Court, closing a key chapter for the Uruguayan cross-border payments company. The dismissed lawsuit had stemmed from a 2022 report by Muddy Waters, which triggered a major stock drop.

🇺🇾 Ceibal launches EduIA Lab, the first regional AI-in-education lab in LatAm, to develop tools for teachers and students and boost learning equity. The initiative will also support research and knowledge transfer across the region.

🇵🇪 Bancom launches Luqea, an interoperable digital wallet to boost competition and financial inclusion in Peru’s payments market.

🇨🇱 Data Observatory and CENIA partner to boost AI research in Chile, including the LatamGPT initiative, using big data and advanced computing for astronomy and AI projects.

Interesting reads 💡

🇲🇽 Hi Ventures shares a heartfelt final report for Fund II, reflecting on a decade of bold bets, crises, and iconic exits like Cornershop, Aplazame, and Nubity. With a projected 4x DPI and 40% IRR, they highlight resilience through challenges—including a banking collapse—and a renewed focus under a new name.

🇧🇷 Stelleo Tolda, Board Member at Mercado Libre, shares in Latitud’s “Build so it'll last” how MELI’s founders shaped company culture from the early days. He emphasizes starting with purpose and shared values, making culture a long-term investment.

🇪🇸 Laura González-Estéfani, CEO of TheVentureCity, shares her vision of venture capital as long-term, team-driven, and hands-on. She highlights 2025 as a key year for investing and exiting, and reflects on building beyond just writing checks.

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