Bloomberg Línea — Deals fell 10% by volume and 38% by aggregate value across Latin America in the third quarter of 2022 compared with the same period of 2021, according to the quarterly M&A report on the region published by Transactional Track Record (TTR).
TTR points out that Brazil and Mexico continue to lead in venture capital deals and investments in the region, with total capital raised of $3.84 billion and $2.16 billion, respectively.
Third place in the amount of venture capital raised goes to Argentina, with 63 deals and a total of $1.14 billion, while Colombia was in fourth place during the quarter with 66 deals and $1.06 billion raised by startups.
Colombia was going against the tide during the first months of the year’s crisis, when venture investments slowed down, but was surpassed by Argentina in Q3.
Year-to-date, TTR reports that private equity deals numbered 129 across the region and venture capital deals were down 3% to 791 transactions compared with Q2.
While last year Latin American startups raised a record $16.3 billion from venture capital, now funding has fallen to $6.4 billion up to third quarter due to risk aversion, according to CB Insights data.
These were the Latin America’s startups that raised capital this week:
Kukun
After 18 months of operations, Mexican hospitality proptech Kukun has raised a $4.5 million seed capital round from Antelo Capital, View Capital, FJLabs and Bridge Partners.
The mission of the startup, co-founded by Heberto Taracena, David Daniels and Ismael Diakite, is to create bonds between travelers and destinations by transmitting local culture through emerging design and interactive technologies.
Reworth
Reworth, a Mexico-based cashback startup, expanded its seed round to $6.6 million, with participation from Magma, the JAM fund of Justin Mateen, co-founder of the dating app Tinder. Also participating in the round were the Actyus fund of Sergio Furio, CEO of Brazilian unicorn Creditas, and K5 fund and NOA Capital.
The startup, which enables banks to offer cashback services to merchants, raised a $2.8-million seed round led by Mexican fund ALLVP at the end of 2021. For its extension it also received capital from Mexican startup angel investors such as Daniel Vogel, global CEO of Bitso; Alfonso de los Ríos, CEO of Nowports, and Ricardo Weder, CEO of Jüsto and Magma Fund.
Pulpo
Pulpo, a mobility solutions startup focused on vehicle fleet management, closed an $8 million financing round led by Nazca Ventures and backed by Femsa Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Mexican beverage and logistics conglomerate Femsa.
The Mexican-Spanish startup also had investment from Swanlaab and Mexico Ventures, besides Cracks Fund and some angel investors in the sector.
Founded in 2017 by Evaristo Babé, Javier Arambarri and Pablo Sosa, Pulpo seeks to be the operating system that makes fleets of any kind, from cargo trucks to motorcycles, more efficient.
HoyTrabajas
The Colombian startup backed by Y Combinator HoyTrabajas raised $5 million in a pre-Series A round to boost access to formal jobs for Latin Americans without professional education in countries such as Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. In April it had already raised $3.5 million.
“By the end of 2022 we hope to help around 42,000 people, that is, the equivalent of the entire Atanasio Girardot Stadium (in Medellín) to be placed in jobs,” said HoyTrabajas co-founder Rubén Córdoba.
Newtype Ventures, Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi, Rebel Fund, Starling Ventures, SCM Advisors, AngelHub, New Ventures & Botnar Foundation, Flucas Ventures, Kube Ventures, Magic Fund, Share Capital, Dragon Capital, Centauri Capital, K20 Fund and Solid Ventures participated in the round.
Lara AI
The Argentine HR tech Lara AI, that seeks to be the personal assistant of the employees of companies, raised a $1.1 million round, with the participation of Newtopia VC, 500 LatAm, FJ Labs, MrPink VC, Brazil Venture Capital, and angel investors such as the founders of Mendel, Nuvemshop, 99 startups and Startupeable.
Lara AI helps companies to detect disgruntled or at-risk employees in time and automate various tasks, through a conversational AI personal assistant for each employee. With the capital the company seeks to grow its team, Guido Kuznicki, co-founder and CEO of Lara AI, told Bloomberg Línea.
E-comprei
E-comprei, a Brazilian startup that enables buying and selling of beauty and hygiene items for small shopkeepers, raised 765,000 reais (around $147,000) from equity crowdfunding platform Captable. It is the second time that E-comprei raises funds through the platform.
Car Big Data
Car Big Data, a Brazilian technology startup specialized in big data analytics in the automotive sector, has received an investment of 4.5 million reais ($872,062) in a round led by Brazil’s VC DOMO Invest, with the participation of other angel funds.
Founded in 2018, Car Big Data is a startup focused on data technology that assists in vehicle recovery when cars are stolen.
Galaxies
Galaxies, a Brazilian gamer employment platform, received a $750,000 investment led by Airborne Ventures and OTF Capital, a venture builder specialized in e-sports, as well as a group of Angels and Advisors from FGV, the GVAngels.
The startup aims to provide support to the teams of electronic games and professionals of the sector. In addition to connecting those who have job opportunities with professionals in the sector, strengthening the e-sports market, Galaxies also offers training on its digital platform.
Traive
BASF Venture Capital (BVC), BASF’s startup investment arm, that focuses on innovative technologies and greater access to the rural credit market, announces its first direct investment in South America, leading a $10 million investment round in Traive.
Founded in 2018 and with operations in Brazil and the US, the startup develops technology infrastructure for financial services based on artificial intelligence for credit risk analysis and portfolio management of agricultural receivables.