Financing watch: April fundraising, big Series A-B rounds and more

LatAm startup fundraising grew 50% year-on-year to US$660mn in April, the highest funding volume and the most rounds in a single month since August 2023, according to the SlingHub platform.

SlingHub tracked 88 rounds in the month, up 22%, with pre-seed outpacing other funding rounds in Latin America. Of the total deals, Brazil led the way with 57 rounds and US$366mn in volume, the platform reported.

Meanwhile, TTR Data said overall dealmaking fell 20% by volume and 33% by aggregate value across Latin America in April 2024 compared with the same period of 2023.

Among the top six markets regionally, Brazil led the region in both deal volume and aggregate value, said TTR.

Based on deal volume, Mexico was second, followed by Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Peru. However, based on aggregate value, Colombia was ranked second and Argentina third, followed by Chile, Mexico and Peru.

CRMBonus gets US$78mn in Series B

Brazilian startup CRMBonus, focused on giftback loyalty programs for the retail sector, raised 400mn reais (US$78.2mn) in a Series B round led by VC firm BOND and Valor Capital Group, in addition to institutional investors.

The round valued the company at 2.2bn reais, up from 1.2bn reais in 2021 Series A round, said CRMBonus.

The proceeds will be used to accelerate the company's expansion, namely with the use of artificial intelligence to expand products with the data ecosystem beyond simply loyalty. The company serves clients such as Vivo, Adidas, Azul Airlines, Safra and Vivara.

Mexican Aplazo closes equity, Series B

Mexican omni-channel payment platform Aplazo closed US$70mn of additional equity financing, including a US$45mn Series B round.

The company offers flexible payment solutions, notably Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), and trade enablement tools to help merchants boost sales and grow brands. 

QED Investors led the equity financing, which also included participation from new investor Volpe Capital as well as existing investors Oak HC/FT, Kaszek and Picus Capital. 

Aplazo has secured more than US$100mn in equity financing and US$75mn in committed debt funding since launching in late 2020.

NG.CASH cashes Series A

Brazilian fintech NG.Cash raised 65mn reais in a Series A round led by Monashees and with the participation of Andreessen Horowitz, 17Sigma, Tekton Ventures and Generalist Capital.

Founded in 2021, NG.CASH offers digital account services focused on young people. The round comes 20 months after a seed allocation, totaling more than 125mn reais raised and 2bn reais transacted by the company to date.

With the investment, the company said it takes an important step towards growing in Brazil and becomes a strong candidate to achieve unicorn status in the coming years.

Chile launches new startup hub

Chilean economic development agency Corfo, together with Fundación Chile, cut the ribbon on a new startup arena in the country's capital.

The 3,800m2 "Startup Campus" in Santiago received US$11mn in investments to support 200 startups and early-stage tech companies in the first five years. The hub includes offices, labs and co-working spaces.

The Campus will also see the collaboration of Start-Up Chile and other public-private organizations to articulate support for technological ventures, their link with the industry and accelerate their growth, Corfo said.

Santex invests US$1.5mn in new AI lab

IT firm Santex invested US$1.5mn to launch an AI laboratory in Argentina focused on co-creation of solutions.

Santex was founded by entrepreneur Juan Santiago in 1999, in San Diego. Today its headquarters are in Córdoba, Argentina, and it has offices in the US and Peru and a presence in 18 countries, as well as more than 500 collaborators globally.

“We decided to invest US$1.5mn in creating the first AI laboratory in the Global South to co-create solutions with our clients because we believe in the power of innovation," Santiago said in a release.

TechEnabler expands in LatAm with UK firm

TechEnabler, a Brazilian network solutions provider focused on telecoms and IT, started offering managed security services for corporate and internet providers in Latin America.

The expansion of the portfolio takes place through a partnership with UK security company Corero, focused on network observability.

TechEnabler reports physical infrastructure of datacenters in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, São Luís, Porto Alegre, in Brazil, and also in Chile, Mexico and the United States.

KPMG hunting for startups in Brazil

KPMG Brasil opened registrations to local startups for the “Global Tech Innovator 2024” award.

Registration is open until July 15 and can be done by any entrepreneur who has a company registered in Brazil, whose company been in operation for five years or less, has generated or anticipated annual revenue of US$1-15mn or has raised at least US$500,000 in equity.

Further information about KPMG’s “Global Tech Innovator 2024” and the registration form are available here.