Bloomberg Línea — Startups operating in the software, tourism and payments sectors have received funding in recent days in Latin America. One of the highlights is Colombia’s Somos Internet, which received $13.4 million from Kaszek, Nazca, K50 Ventures and Arrive, a venture capital fund founded by US rapper Jay Z.
The scenario seems to be improving for the startup and venture capital ecosystem. According to the data platform Sling Hub, June was the second best month of the year for startups in Latin America, with $441 million raised in 84 rounds, below only January, with $740 million. Compared to the same month of last year, the result was a decline (-51%), as has been the case throughout 2023.
However, compared to the previous month, the region attracted 68% more resources than in May.
According to data from Sling Hub, the average investment was $7 million. Fintech (41%), proptech (26%) and healthtech (7%) were the sectors that raised the most in the month.
The country whose startups most attracted funds was Colombia, with 38% of the total volume in the region ($168 million in 12 rounds) in June, driven by transactions involving proptechs such as La Haus, which received $62 million in a Series C round, and Habi, which received $50 million in loans.
the According to Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America (LAVCA), venture capital investment in the region stabilized in the second quarter of 2023. LAVCA recorded a preliminary total of $8 billion, in line with the first quarter of 2023. According to the association, risk debt continued to be well represented in the largest checks in the period, with emphasis on Habi ($100 million), R2 ($100 million) and Stori ($50 million).
Notable equity investments also included Mexico’s Clara ($60 million), Digibee (close to $60 million), Nuvocargo ($36.5 million) and Kapital ($20 million).
These are the startups that received funding this week:
InvGate
InvGate, an Argentine SaaS (Software as a Service) platform with global operations, raised a $35 million round led by Riverwood Capital, a leading global investor in high-growth technology companies, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst. It was the first institutional funding raised by InvGate, which was founded in 2009 in Argentina.
The company’s technology is used by mid-sized businesses and organizations such as banking, consumer goods, healthcare, education, services and other industries in more than 55 countries. Some of its clients include the US Army, NASA, Globant, KPMG, Toyota, Me Grupo Coppel.
InvGate’s solutions span IT service management, asset management, help desk and security operations.
iFriend
Brazilian traveltech iFriend raised 1.84 million reais ($384,000) in a new round of funding via a public offering at Captable, in an investment extension of 500,000 reais by international venture capital fund Wintech Ventures.
The startup offers tours and experiences, such as Disney tours and museums, such as the Louvre.
Somos Internet
Somos Internet, a Colombian Internet service provider, received an early stage round of $13.4 million from Kaszek, Nazca, K50 Ventures and Arrive Ventures, Jay Z’s VC fund, as well as angels such as Matías Muchnick, CEO of NotCo , Pierpaolo Barbieri, CEO of Ualá. and Freddy Vega of Platzi.
The company offers broadband internet through prepaid subscriptions. Founded by American Forrest Heath, Somos was accelerated by Y Combinator in 2021.
Payface
Brazilian startup Payface, which provides payment by facial recognition, received a Series A extension of 45 million reais ($9.39 million) led by a fund managed by BTG Pactual, with the participation of the multifamily office Oikos, from HiPartners, a VC fund focused on retail startups, in addition to the arrival of Venture Capital Fintech Revolution, a fintech sector fund, to the shareholder board.
Fintech plans to close the year 2023 integrated to 2,000 points of sale, with capacity to serve around 2.4 million monthly consumers.
Among Payface’s customers are the Cencosud Group’s St Marché, Zona Sul and Prezunic supermarket chains.