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

My name is Jaime Novoa and I’m a partner at Kfund. I spend the vast majority of my time investing in early stage startups as part of Kfund. We make investments of €100k to €10m in Southern Europe and LatAm. If you want to chat, drop me an email at jaime@kfund.vc

This is a free newsletter supported by sponsors. If you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities, drop me an email at jaime@dealflow.es

Startup funding news 💸

🇧🇷 Qi Tech becomes a unicorn with a new investment led by General Atlantic: Brazilian fintech Qi Tech achieved unicorn status following a significant investment led by General Atlantic, reflecting its growth and potential in the financial technology sector. The company, which provides anti-fraud and banking services for other firms, said that existing shareholders General Atlantic and Across Capital made an extra capital injection related to a $200 million investment round announced last October

🇲🇽 Merama secures $80 million from JP Morgan: The Mexican ecommerce firm Merama received $80 million from JP Morgan to expand its operations and enhance its platform. It’s not entirely clear if this is a new equity investment or some sort of credit line from JP Morgan. Merama $600m in sales last year and more than $100m in EBITDA

🇧🇷 Vixtra captures $36 million for credit services expansion: Brazilian credit fintech Vixtra raised funding to expand its import credit services, aiming to simplify and enhance financial solutions for importers. More info here

🇧🇷 Zig raises $22 million for consumption analytics: Brazilian startup Zig secured funding to develop its consumption prediction technology for use in bars and festivals

🇨🇱 Fintoc raised $7 million for A2A payments expansion in Chile and Mexico: Fintoc, a fintech operating in Chile and Mexico, raised funds to enhance and expand its A2A payment solutions across both countries

🇨🇴 Koggi raises $3 million: The Colombian startup Koggi secured $3 million to focus on financing housing solutions, aiming to make home ownership more accessible

🇺🇾 Data4sales closes a $2.3 million seed round: Brazilian startup Data4sales wrapped up funding round to bolster its sales data analysis platform, aiming to improve B2B sales efficiency

🇨🇱 Monever raised $2 million from SQM: Chilean startup Movener, which focuses on mobility solutions, received a $2 million investment from SQM. More info here

🇧🇷 EcoTrace raises $394,000 for national expansion: Brazilian agritech EcoTrace plans to expand its operations nationally, focusing on sustainable agriculture practices

🇧🇷 Clara eyes new funding for expansion: Brazilian fintech Clara is looking to secure additional funding to fuel its expansion plans, aiming to grow its presence and services in the financial sector

Other funding news:

🇧🇷 Why Latitud decided to invest in Becofindent: This article focuses on the funding history of Brazilian startup Beconfident, and why Latitud and the founder of QuintoAndar decided to invest, as well as many other well-known business angels

🇧🇷 Livemode raises funding from General Atlantic and XP: GA and XP announced an investment in Livemode, the parent company of CazeTV. The size of the investment was not disclosed

🇧🇷 Clara eyes new funding for expansion: Brazilian fintech Clara is looking to secure additional funding to fuel its expansion plans, aiming to grow its presence and services in the financial sector

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

🇨🇱 Oscar Lería Luksic launches Sunna Ventures, a climate tech fund: Sunna Ventures will allocate its first $40 million fund to Seed and Series A rounds of EU, US, and LatAm startups

🇲🇽 GoFundMe expands into Mexico: GoFundMe, the crowdfunding platform, made a strategic leap into Mexico as part of its international expansion efforts

🇧🇷 Ricardo Kanitz of Spectra has mixed views on the tech market: Ricardo Kanitz, a partner at Spectra, expressed both bullish and bearish sentiments towards the technology market

🇨🇱 SQM Lithium Ventures selects 10 startups: SQM Lithium Ventures, part of Chile's SQM, selected 10 startups to support as part of its initiative to drive innovation in the lithium sector

🇧🇷 Citrino Ventures interviews IBBX on what can be learned from a deep tech startup: Citrino Ventures conducted an interview with IBBX, a deep tech startup that captures energy from the air

Startup news 💡

🇲🇽 Rappi and Amazon Mexico unite in collaboration: Amazon Mexico and Rappi have teamed up in a strategic partnership to enhance delivery services and customer reach across Mexico

🇧🇷 Unicorn Nuvemshop to finance its merchants: Nuvemshop has started financing its own merchants to help them grow their businesses, providing financial tools and resources to enhance their sales and operations. More than 120,000 customers use the Nuvemshop platform. In 2023, these retailers generated revenues of approximately $660 million (+22% YoY)

🇨🇴 Colombian startup Sumer ends 2023 with $18.2 million in sales: Sumer, which helps businesses build online stores with AI, concluded 2023 with sales totaling over $18.2 million, reflecting strong growth and market acceptance.

🇨🇴 Kiki expands to Peru: Kiki, a logistics startup from Colombia, has expanded its operations to Peru with plans to broaden its presence throughout 2024, targeting major improvements in local logistics and delivery services

🇦🇷 Kigüi develops solution to reduce food waste in supermarkets: An Argentine startup has introduced a new solution designed to significantly reduce food waste in supermarkets, utilizing advanced analytics and inventory management techniques

🇨🇴 Konvex becomes so-called “first” to offer API for ERPs in Latin America: Colombian startup Konvex has become the first in Latin America to offer an API for ERP systems, aiming to streamline business operations across the region

🇧🇷 Brainlogic's virtual secretary attracts 1.3 million users in Latin America: The company has attracted over 1.3 million users to its virtual secretary service across Latin America, demonstrating significant regional demand for automated administrative support

🇲🇽 Webdox introduces AI for digital contract processes: Webdox has implemented generative AI to streamline the process of managing digital contracts, enhancing efficiency and reducing errors

🇧🇷 Short-stay company Charlie acquires luxury building in Sao Paulo: The hospitality startup has acquired a new luxury building in Sao Paulo to expand its short-term rental offerings, aiming to cater to upscale market segments

🇵🇪 Prexpe achieves digital wallet interoperability in Peru: Prexpe has become the first company in Peru to achieve interoperability for non-banked digital wallets, enabling more seamless financial transactions across various platforms

🇪🇸 Busup introduces AI tool to optimize routes, did €30m in sales in 2023: Busup, based in Spain, has introduced an AI tool designed to optimize bus routes and schedules, with plans to reach €100 million in revenue by 2026. The company did €30m in revenue in 2023, with significant traction in LatAm

🇨🇱 Chilean startup Pannex Therapeutics cuts breast cancer metastasis by 90%: Pannex Therapeutics, a Chilean biotech startup, claims to have made a breakthrough in reducing breast cancer metastasis by up to 90%, offering new hope in cancer treatment

Big company & policy news 💡

🇧🇷 Nubank launches subscription service with cashback and streaming: Nubank in Brazil has launched a new subscription service priced at about $5.8 per month, offering benefits like cashback and streaming services to enhance value for customers.

🇧🇷 PIX reaches 200 million transactions per day: According to Campos Neto, the President of the Central Bank of Brazil, PIX has reached a milestone of 200 million transactions per day

🇧🇷 Shopee inaugurates a logistic hub in Tocantins: Shopee, the international ecommerce giant, has opened a new logistics hub in Tocantins, marking its second facility in the northern region of Brazil

Interesting reads 💡

Techcrunch published “Y Combinator’s latest cohort had only one LatAm startup in large part because of AI“. YC’s latest cohort shows a significant decrease in Latin American startups, with only one from Brazil compared to previous years. This change reflects a shift in YC's focus towards AI startups, which predominantly hail from the US and Canada

Where are the best startup ecosystems in mid-sized cities (2 to 10m people)?: A study highlights the top mid-sized cities with the best ecosystems for startups, noting factors like support structures, funding availability, and entrepreneurial culture as key components