Financing watch: Startup dealmaking, IT M&As, tech training and more

Latin American startups saw 240 funding rounds in Q2 for a total of US$2.2bn, according to the latest monthly report by SlingHub and Itaú BBA.

The figures represent a drop of 10% and an increase of 78%, respectively, year-over-year, with US$1.6mn in median round size, reported the platform. Pre-seed was the most common round.

Brazil accounted for 60% of the rounds and 54% of the funding in the period, followed by Mexico (12% and 20%) and Argentina (8% and 18%). According to SlingHub, the amount collected by Brazilian startups in Q2 was up 160% year-over-year.

“Notable mentions include Brazilian fintechs CloudWalk (US$308mn) and Celcoin (US$120mn) and Argentine deep tech Vercel (US$250mn),” said SlingHub’s founder and CEO João Ventura.

M&As increased 32% year-over-year, with 49 deals in Q2, according to the platform.

Minsait snaps up Uruguay’s Totalnet

Minsait Payments, a subsidiary of Spanish IT consultancy Minsait, acquired 100% of Uruguayan payment processor Totalnet.

With the deal, the value of which was not disclosed, the Uruguayan company and its client base become part of the portfolio of Minsait's financial services branch.

The acquisition is part of a growth plan in Latin America, which began in 2021 and included Minsait’s acquisition of other payment companies in the region, such as Ecuador’s Credimatic and Chile’s Nexus.

Senior closes third M&A of 2024

Brazilian software company Senior Sistemas acquired Hypnobox, a CRM specialist for construction companies and real estate incorporators. The value was not disclosed.

Hypnobox has traded 150 properties per day and managed around 40bn reais (US$7.4bn) in property values per year, with 13.5mn reais in revenues in 2023, said Senior, adding that the deal is aimed at reinforcing its ERP portfolio for the construction industry.

It is the third acquisition announced by Senior this year. Previously, the software group acquired local firms GATec and JobConvo.

Argentina’s tapi taps series A

Argentine fintech tapi secured a US$22mn series A round led by Kaszek and followed by Andreessen Horowitz.

Proceeds will be used by tapi to enhance its payment technological platform for fintechs and banks in the region. 

The capital injection adds to a US$9mn seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz in 2022.

IDB backs LatAm Insurtech fund

IDB Invest is making an equity investment of up to US$5mn in Mundi Insurtech Latam I, an investment fund focused on insurance technology providers throughout Latin America.

The fund has a US$100mn target and will be managed by Alma Mundi Ventures, “an experienced global fund manager with prior experience in LAC,” said IDB.

Intel to train LatAm women in AI

US chipmaker giant Intel launched a new call for its 'Thousand Women AI' initiative (M1000IA), which looks to train 1,000 women in Latin America through courses in artificial intelligence.

The program provides free digital training for women entrepreneurs in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay.

Registration is open until July 19 and courses begin on August 12. More information can be found at www.milmujeresia.com.

Brazil’s ABDI calls for industrial startups

Brazil’s industrial development agency ABDI, in partnership with IEBT Innovation, launched the third edition of its Startup Industry Program. 

The initiative aims to support innovative solutions and accelerate technological development, digital maturity and competitiveness of the Brazilian production sector, says ABDI.

Ten projects will be selected, each receiving 70,000 reais 

Further information can be found here.

Colombian ministry opens PotencIA program

Colombia’s ICT ministry MinTIC launched a new call for the PotencIA program with the goal of offering up to 40 local companies specialized support for the development of AI-focused solutions.

The program is carried out in partnership with Universidad Nacional de Colombia, through the university’s LAB101 initiative, and integrates the ministry’s series of initiatives to foster Colombia’s tech development scene, said MinTIC.

More details of the program can be obtained here.