Hey, it’s Yoel 👋 Back again with the 78th edition of Dealflow LatAm: your go-to source for all the deals, moves, and momentum in the region’s startup scene.

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

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Startup funding news 💸

Rounds of $10M+:

• 🇧🇷 Inter raises $60M through subordinated financial notes to strengthen its capital base and improve its Basel ratio.

• 🇧🇷 CashGO secures $24M through a FIDC to expand its rent advance platform for real estate agencies.

Rounds $1M to $10M:

• 🇧🇷 Inner AI raises $6M in a Seed round co-led by Canary and ONE VC to expand its AI platform and launch autonomous agent product Squad.com.

• 🇲🇽 Pulpos raised $5M to bring AI-powered financial management to Mexican SMEs through WhatsApp.

• 🇦🇷 Depay raises $4M in a Seed round led by North Island Ventures to expand its real-time payments infrastructure globally.

• 🇧🇷 Maggu AI raises $3.7M in a round led by DGF Capital to expand its AI platform for pharmacies across Brazil.

• 🇦🇷 Satellites On Fire raises $2.7M in a Seed round led by Dalus Capital to expand its AI-powered wildfire detection platform.

• 🇧🇷 Kaizen Mentoria secures up to $1M from Mercurial Atlantic Investments to expand its edtech platform and develop proprietary technology.

Other rounds of funding:

• 🇨🇱 Pulga closes a pre-seed round backed by Chilean and Spanish investors as its secondhand marketplace surpasses 100,000 users in its first month.

M&A transactions 🎊

🇧🇷 BTG Pactual signs an agreement to acquire Digimais, the digital bank controlled by Edir Macedo, pending regulatory approval and FGC support.

🇧🇷 Nuvini acquires a controlling stake in Beyondsoft’s U.S. subsidiary for $80.7M, creating a technology platform with $148M in combined revenue across 15 countries.

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

🇧🇷 BNDES and Finep launch a fund of up to $41M to invest in AI-focused startups across sectors including health, agribusiness and cybersecurity.

🇧🇷 Desenvolve SP invests $5M in Big Bets II, a VC fund focused on early-stage software and AI startups in Brazil.

🇧🇷 I12, B55 and Instituto Caldeira launch a strategic alliance to expand innovation networks and strengthen Brazil’s startup ecosystem.

🇦🇪 🇧🇷 Mubadala Capital raises $900M for its third Brazil-focused fund, targeting distressed and special situations opportunities.

🇨🇱 Araucaria Venture launches its first fund focused on Foodtech, Agtech and Climatech startups, with tickets ranging from $50K to $2M.

Opportunities & Deadlines 👀

• 🇲🇽 Media Capital Forum 2026 will be held in Mexico City, focused on media, community, and startup fundraising in LatAm. 📅 May 21.

• 🇧🇷 Web Summit Rio confirms its 2026 edition in Rio de Janeiro, gathering 30,000+ attendees, investors, and startups; 📅 June 8–11.

• 🇲🇽 Bitso Business confirms the Stablecoin Conference LatAm 2026, gathering global leaders on stablecoin innovation in Mexico City; 📅 June 15–16.

• 🇲🇽🇵🇪🇨🇴🇦🇷 #EmprendeEnTikTok 2026 opens applications for startups, offering seed funding and mentorship; 📅 Apply by July 5, 2026.

• 🇨🇴 Colombia Tech Week confirms its 2026 edition across Bogotá and Medellín for founders, investors, and corporates; 📅 Dates TBC.

Startup news 💡

🇦🇷 Argentina

• 🇦🇷 I+DIoT Lab launches AI-powered checkout-free shopping solutions, already used by Grido, Axion Energy and Nike.

• 🇦🇷 Argentine unicorn Bitfarms, now Keel Infrastructure, shifts from Bitcoin mining to AI data centers and HPC infrastructure.

🇧🇷 Brazil

• 🇧🇷 Axenya uses its recent $12M round to expand its AI-powered corporate health platform and reach 500,000 covered lives by 2026.

• 🇧🇷 Oria invests $4M to develop a GEO platform that helps brands track and improve their visibility in AI-generated search results.

• 🇧🇷 Byker launches a digital motorcycle rental franchise model for delivery drivers and projects $400K in revenue in 2026.

• 🇧🇷 Lina Open X and Mastercard form a strategic partnership to accelerate Open Finance adoption in Brazil.

• 🇧🇷 Mercado Pago will discontinue Mercado Coin on April 17, shifting its crypto strategy toward Meli Dólar, its US dollar-backed stablecoin.

• 🇧🇷 Stone is evolving from a POS provider into a digital bank for SMEs, expanding into accounts, credit and cash flow management.

• 🇦🇷 🇧🇷 Mercado Pago launches “Cuenta Negocio” in Brazil to centralize payments, credit, banking and management tools for SMEs in one app.

• 🇦🇷 Pomelo launches its Tokenization-as-a-Service solution in Brazil to help issuers integrate cards with digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

🇨🇱 Chile

• 🇨🇱 Teracloud positions itself as a key partner for companies preparing for AWS Chile’s upcoming $4B cloud infrastructure launch.

• 🇨🇱 FinteChile criticizes the CMF over delays in key Open Finance rules, warning the rollout could be pushed from 2026 to 2027.

• 🇨🇱 Cleo is using AI-powered credit scoring to speed up financing decisions and scale its BNPL business after doubling payments in 2025.

• 🇨🇱 Radar joins Scale Up by Endeavor after reaching profitability and projecting $12M in recurring revenue by 2026.

🇨🇴 Colombia

• 🇨🇴 Addi receives approval to operate as a financing company and plans to launch deposit accounts and new banking products in Colombia.

🇲🇽 Mexico

• 🇲🇽 Aplazo expands its credit line with BBVA Spark to $50M to grow its BNPL platform across Mexico.

• 🇲🇽 Shinkansen launches in Mexico to automate treasury and bank connectivity with AI, aiming to process over $10B in payments in the country during 2026.

• 🇲🇽 Kushki says fraud is no longer a key barrier to digital payments in Mexico, thanks to AI-driven security and global-level protection standards.

• 🇲🇽 El Palacio de Hierro added Kueski Pay to let customers buy now and pay later in installments across its e-commerce platform.

• 🇨🇱 🇲🇽 Fintoc accelerates its expansion in Mexico with a new country manager, card payment launch and progress toward its IFPE license.

🇵🇪 Peru

• 🇨🇱 🇵🇪 ProntoPaga plans to integrate Plin in 2026 and double its payment volume in Peru to $1.2B.

🇺🇾 Uruguay

• 🇺🇾 dLocal became the official global sponsor of Uruguay’s national football team as it looks to boost its global brand ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

🌎 Other LatAm News

• 🇦🇷🇵🇪 Takenos launches in Peru, targeting freelancers, remote workers and users with cross-border income through multi-currency payments and transfers.

• 🇧🇴 Yape reached 1 million users in Bolivia just one month after launch, processing 6.5 million transactions and surpassing BCP’s initial growth projections.

• 🇪🇨 Jelou launches Brain, a platform that lets companies create WhatsApp apps from a text prompt, with no coding required.

Big company & policy news 💡

🇦🇷 Argentina’s Supreme Court upheld multimillion-dollar fines against PedidosYa and Rappi over labor violations found during inspections between 2021 and 2022.

🇧🇷 Nubank, Inter and Itaú Unibanco lead Forbes’ 2026 ranking of Brazil’s best banks, based on trust, digital services and customer support.

🇧🇷 Brazil’s new Anti-Organized Crime Law allows banks and payment platforms to block Pix transfers, digital assets and suspicious transactions.

🇧🇷 Brazilian authorities target a criminal group accused of laundering $4M through fintechs linked to interstate drug trafficking operations.

🇧🇷 Nubank acquires the naming rights for Palmeiras’ stadium and will let the public choose the new name by vote.

Interesting reads 💡

🇧🇷 Brazil leads Endeavor’s 2026 global Outliers ranking with 39 startups recognized for rapid growth, including Brex, Mercado Bitcoin, VTEX, Wellhub and Creditas.

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