AI-based risk firm Provenir sees first Brazil bank contract in H1

US analytics and AI risk-decision firm Provenir expects to close a first project with a major Brazilian bank this half, the company’s Brazil head of sales Patricia Matheus told BNamericas.

Getting to the top of Brazil’s financial system has been a priority for the company since it structured a local presence in Latin America in 2022. To date, most of its regional clients comprise fintechs, retailers with digital financial services and payment companies.

Regional VP Jose Luis Vargas told BNamericas that the company met its target of ending 2023 with 20 Latin America customers and was on track to reach or surpass 30 by end-2024. According to Vargas, Provenir LatAm doubled in size last year. Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are the core regional markets.

The company provides AI-based risk assessment software and business intelligence for over 150 fintech companies, digital banks and financial services providers in 50 countries. It reports 4bn transactions processed annually on its platform.

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Investors deployed US$4bn across 770 venture capital deals in Latin America last year, according to market figures from the Latin American Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (Lavca).

The amount is down from US$7.9bn and 1,158 deals in 2022. Capital invested in early-stage rounds accounted for 42% of venture capital deployed in 2023, said the entity.

Considering VC, private equity, infrastructure and private credit combined, the total deployed in 2023 was US$15.5bn across 1,056 deals, a nearly 50% drop in value compared to peaks in 2021 and 2022, said Lavca.

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Brazil’s technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector saw 725 M&As last year, a drop of 26% compared to 2022 when 984 such transactions were registered, according to a report by KPMG.

The main TMT transactions in 2023 occurred in the following segments: information technology (345), internet companies (299), telecommunications and media (57) and advertising and publishing (24).

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Colombia’s Rappi plans to invest US$22mn to expand in Argentina over the next four years.

The delivery app and unicorn is currently present in 50 localities in the country. Uruguay is another focus for the group.

“For the next four years, we have an ambitious plan that will allow us to double our operations in Argentina and Uruguay. This will generate a virtuous circle both for people who will be able to start generating income as delivery people, and for thousands of SMEs throughout the region that will be able to digitize and scale their business,” the head of Argentina and Uruguay operations, Franco Lena, said in a release.

Founded in 2015, Rappi operates in some 350 cities in nine Latin American countries. In Argentina, it reports more than 17,000 merchants in its base and 120,000 delivery professionals.

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Brazilian technology manufacturer Intelbras invested 216mn reais (US$43mn) in its operations last year, down from 278mn reais in 2022. 

Of the total invested last year, 145mn reais went to the expansion of the business and 71mn reais to operations, according to the company’s financial reports. 

“The main capital investment made to increase capacity in 2023 was for the construction, still in progress, of our new warehouse located in the city of São José (Santa Catarina),” Intelbras said in a release.

As previously reported by BNamericas, the group has stepped up its production capabilities to supply local 5G FWA devices. Intelbras manufactures security, communication and energy equipment.

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Totvs’ corporate venture capital fund CV iDEXO invested 12mn reais through a series A round in local agtech Cromai.

Founded in 2017, the startup offers AI solutions for identifying weeds in the field. In total, Cromai collected 30mn reais in the iDEXO-led round.

According to Totvs, Cromai combined AI with the work of a team of agronomy professionals to structure a database with more than 90mn images categorized by types of weeds, at different stages of the crop, from soy to sugarcane plantations.

Managed by Citrino Ventures, Totvs’ fund was created in 2021 with 300mn reais in capital to be invested within four years.

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Brazilian early-stage VC firm Indicator Capital invested 8mn reais in startup Neowrk, which combines hardware, software and artificial intelligence to optimize workspace management. 

In total, Neowrk raised 10mn reais in the round, which was followed by real estate investors.

With over 370mn reais of assets under management, Indicator Capital claims to be the largest early-stage venture capital manager in Latin America specializing in the internet of things and deep tech.

It was the 10th investment from its Indicator 2 IoT Fund, launched in May 2021.