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!

This week’s newsletter is sponsored by Holafly:

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If you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities, send us an email at jaime@dealflow.es

Startup funding news 💸

🇧🇷 Tractian, founded by Brazilians, raises $120M in Series C funding led by Sapphire Ventures. The company provides AI-driven solutions for industrial maintenance and aims to expand its presence in Latin America.

🇧🇷 Zig raises $25.5M in a round led by Kaszek and Across Capital to expand globally and enhance its live entertainment tech solutions. The funds bring its 2024 total to $43.6M.

🇧🇷 Resend raises $18M in a Series A led by a16z, with participation from Y Combinator and others. The funds will expand its email platform, serving clients like Warner Bros and Decathlon, with a focus on reliability, product innovation, and customer support.

🇧🇷 Onze raises $18M in a round led by Ribbit with participation from Atlantico and Red Ventures. The funds will drive national expansion, enhance fintech solutions, and improve financial health services for corporate clients.

🇨🇴 Accion invests $15M in Banco Contactar through its Accion Digital Transformation Fund to enhance digital services for underserved rural clients in Colombia. The funds will support financial inclusion and strengthen the bank’s digital transformation efforts.

🇨🇱 Colektia raises $9M to expand its AI-driven debt collection platform in Latin America. The round was led by Mouro Capital, with participation from Endeavor’s Forward Fund, Full Spectrum Capital, and others. Funds will support technology development and regional growth.

🇧🇷 Klubi raises $7.4M in a Series A round co-led by L4 Venture Builder and Vivo Ventures. The funds will drive product portfolio expansion, partnerships, and new technologies in digital consortia, targeting further market growth.

🇨🇱 Vambe raises $3.85M led by Monashees, Nazca, and M13 Ventures to expand in Mexico and enhance its AI-powered conversational commerce platform.

🇧🇷 NoPing raises $3M to expand globally in the gaming sector. The round was led by EdgeUno and will support international growth, enhance game acceleration tools, and strengthen partnerships with publishers and developers.

🇧🇷 Labsoft raises $600k from FINEP to expand globally and enhance its cloud-based laboratory management software, myLIMS.

🇧🇷 CloudWalk secures $444M led by Itaú BBA to scale its InfinitePay platform and expand merchant financing.

M&A transactions 🎊

🇲🇽 Klar acquires Tribal's SMB payment and financing tools to expand into business banking. The deal adds over 3,000 SMB clients and positions Klar to integrate payroll tools and leverage business data for consumer offerings.

🇲🇽 Skydropx acquires Brazilian logtech Frenet for $5.2M to enter the Brazilian market. The deal marks a discounted price compared to Frenet's 2021 valuation.

🇧🇷 João Kepler's Equity Fund acquires a stake in LDX Capital to expand its financial ecosystem, targeting a $790M valuation by 2026. The investment will enhance LDX’s portfolio, focusing on insurance, tech development, and client growth.

🇧🇷 Softplan acquires Runrun.it, a task automation startup, as its 12th acquisition after raising $50M. The deal strengthens Softplan's operational efficiency portfolio and supports its goal of reaching $1B in revenue by 2025.

🇨🇴 Advent International acquires Siesa, a Colombian ERP and CRM leader, to expand its enterprise software portfolio in Latin America.

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

🇨🇱 Manutara Ventures completes its fourth exit of the year, selling 40% of its stake in Xepelin for a 107x return. The fintech, valued at over $700M, was part of Manutara's first fund launched in 2017.

🇨🇱 Daedalus Ventures rebrands as Tantauco Ventures, retaining its mission and focus on venture capital growth.

🇦🇷 Argentina leads LatAm in Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) activity, with 70% of its programs launched since 2020. Most CVCs focus on seed (100%) and early-stage (83%) investments, targeting sectors like agtech, foodtech, and logistics.

🇨🇱 Discovery-A, by Centro de Innovación UC, opens applications for its 5th acceleration program for early-stage startups, closing on December 13. The program offers strategic advisory and funding to prepare startups for scaling and international markets.

Startup news 💡

🇨🇱 Vambe, a Chilean startup, pivoted to conversational AI in March 2024, driving its ARR from $20K to $1M by November. The platform helps SMBs automate customer interactions on WhatsApp, boosting sales and cutting costs.

🇲🇽 BBVA Spark partners with Tally Legal to support tech startups entering Mexico. The collaboration combines BBVA Spark’s financial solutions with Tally Legal’s simplified company setup and regulatory compliance services, easing market entry for startups across sectors.

🇨🇱 Poliglota expands in Mexico, focusing on AI-powered corporate language training. With 42,000 active users and positive global EBITDA, it strengthens its LatAm leadership.

🇲🇽 Lunit partners with Salud Digna to deploy AI-powered diagnostic tools in 230+ clinics, enhancing care for 20M patients annually and refining AI with anonymized imaging data.

🇵🇪 ELSA wins Start-Up Chile's Demo Day with its AI-powered tool to prevent workplace harassment, aligning with Chile's new anti-harassment law. The platform identifies risks and designs prevention strategies, supporting its expansion into the region.

🇨🇴 Finkargo has financed over $630M in imports through 5,000+ operations in Colombia and Mexico. The platform offers SMEs credit lines up to $2M, with 48-hour approvals, and plans to expand to China in 2025.

🇨🇱 DataScope hits 200,000 users in 17 countries, driving an 80% growth in subscriptions. Focused on Mexico, the startup adds electronic signature tools and boosts productivity by 28% while saving 20M sheets of paper.

Big company & policy news 💡

🇧🇷 Apple wins court reprieve in Brazil, overturning an injunction that mandated sideloading on iOS within 20 days. The judge deemed the regulator’s ruling “disproportionate,” citing global regulatory implications. Investigations continue, and the regulator may appeal.

🇧🇷 Eve Air Mobility secured $32.8M from BNDES to advance eVTOL prototypes, following $82M for its Taubaté factory. Its $14.5B order book includes 2,900 vehicles across 13 countries, targeting launch by 2026.

🇧🇷 WTorre invests $164M to build warehouses across Brazil, starting in Cravinhos, SP. The company plans 300,000 m² annually, targeting regions beyond Rio-São Paulo to meet e-commerce demand.

Interesting reads 💡

🌎 Six top entrepreneurs share their keys to success in LATAM—navigate cultural nuances, build local partnerships, and adapt to thrive in this dynamic region.

🇨🇱 Juan Pablo Cappello (PAG Law) shares his vision for empowering Latin American startups, drawing from his experience co-founding Patagon.com, sold for $750M, and launching initiatives like idea.me and Nue Life Health.