Bloomberg Línea — Latin America’s venture capital investment fell to $6.6 billion in this year’s first nine months, according to the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America (LAVCA), but the startup space continues to receive funding. This week, N1co, Liti, Perfekto and Leapr are among the companies that raised capital.
N1co
A regional fintech based in El Salvador, N1co closed a pre-seed round of $18 million. The capital will boost the first Central American neobank for its medium-term growth.
The platform makes it easy for small and large businesses to accept any type of card, be it credit, debit, payment links or QR codes, and to create their own online store, even with the option of home delivery.
In a conversation with Bloomberg Línea, representatives of the Salvadoran fintech explained that the closing of the pre-seed round represents an unprecedented milestone in Latin America, not only due to the amount of capital raised, but also due to the level of “oversubscribed” interest, as N1co had initially said the amount raised would be $10.5 million.
Liti
Liti, a Brazilian healthtech company that aims to help people lose weight and improve their metabolic health, has received a 21-million-reais ($3.9 million) seed funding injection. The investment will be used for expansion and investment in product and technology.
Brazilian funds monashees, Canary, Grão, Norte, Eclipseon, Newtopia, The Fund and Latitud participated in the round, as well as angel investors from Rappi (Sebastian Mejia and Simón Borrero), Inventa (Marcos Salama), Loopi Pay (Ricardo Bechara), Yuno Payments (Julian Nuñez), Cayena (Pedro Carvalho), Salú (André Boff), JHSF (José Auriemo Neto), Coteminas (Josué de Alencar), among others.
Liti was founded by doctor Eduardo Rauen and economist Fernando Vilela, former CMO of Rappi, after Vilela lost 25 kg, with the support of Rauen. They had the idea of creating the startup as an online solution to following patients’ weight-loss journey, as well as the reduction of diseases associated with overweight or obesity.
Perfekto
A Mexican e-commerce company that offers a subscription service for ‘imperfect’ fruits and vegetables at more affordable prices than traditional supermarkets, Perfekto announced the closing of a $1.1 million pre-seed round to expand its program in Mexico City.
The startup was launched in 2021 and seeks to reduce food waste and support local producers with whom they rescue food through a subscription. Last year, Perfekto was part of Y Combinator’s 2021 batch.
Leapr
The Sandbox, the decentralized virtual gaming platform and subsidiary of Animoca Brands, announced Friday a strategic alliance with Leapr Studio, through a seed investment, in order to expand its portfolio in Latin America.
The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
Leapr is a consulting and design studio based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The startup was launched with the purpose of empowering Latin American creative talent through the creation of immersive experiences within virtual spaces.
“We believe in environments that generate memorable moments and The Sandbox is a clear example of this,” Tomás Faroux, CEO of Leapr, stated in a press release.
“This partnership allows us to offer high-level content for global companies that have the objective of developing metaverse strategies, but have not yet found the best way to do so,” Faroux said.
The new partners plan to launch a game in March of next year.
