Roundup: LatAm Q1 funding, Asia Shipping goes AI, Italy’s AlmaViva acquires Magna and more

Startup financing

Total investment in LatAm startups and tech companies was up 24% year-on-year in Q1 to USS$1.36bn, according to a report from SlingHub and Itaú BBA. Around 48% of the total was tracked as being absorbed by fintechs.

In number of deals, there was a 19% drop to 185 rounds in the quarter. In 1Q22, still under the pandemic-led VC funding frenzy, LatAm startups collected US$3.6bn.

Brazil outperformed the regional average in this year’s Q1, capturing US$721mn for a 39% year-on-year increase, said the report. The median size of rounds in the country grew 56% to US$$1.5mn, it added.

In second place was Colombia with US$244mn, up 82%, according to the tracking. Mexico came third.

Asia Shipping buys stake in AI startup

Latin American logistics group Asia Shipping, focused on imports of containers from Asia to South America, acquired part of Brazilian startup Dati, which offers an AI-enabled cloud platform to streamline foreign trade operations.

The size of the stake and the deal value were not revealed. Asia Shipping says it foresees automation of up to 87% of import services with the AI solution and to advance in an end-to-end routine automation service in imports covering supply chain, customs clearance, international logistics and national logistics.

Italy’s AlmaViva acquires Brazil’s Magna

Looking to grow beyond customer relationship and contact center services, Italian multinational AlmaViva acquired 51% of Brazilian consultancy Magna Sistemas for 340mn reais (US$46.7mn).

AlmaViva is traditionally known for BPO, notably customer engagement and call center operations to companies, and the new investment expects to reinforce its presence in IT consultancy and integration mainly for the public sector.

The acquisition of the remaining stake of Magna, which is being rebranded as Almaviva Solutions, is in the Italian group's plans for the next five years, AlmaViva global head Marco Tripi told Brazilian daily Valor. 

Colombia’s Habi gets IFC backing

Colombian real estate startup Habi closed a US$30mn financing agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Victory Park Capital, a global alternative investment firm specializing in private credit. 

Habi is the first so-called proptech to receive the support of IFC, said the multilateral. Proceeds are expected to be used by the startup to expand beyond its core markets of Colombia and Mexico. At present, Habi operates in more than 15 cities in the two countries.

The transaction is Habi’s second with VPC. The two companies partnered in 2023 with a US$100mn credit facility to support Habi’s development of its portfolio of residential products and growth of its used home purchases and sales in Colombia, said IFC.

Peru’s Idem on expansion push

Peruvian startup Idem, which is focused on digital educational courses in law, business and accounting, plans to launch in a new LatAm country during 2024.

On the edtech’s radar are Chile and Colombia, Peruvian daily Gestión reported, citing CEO and co-founder Ricardo Acosta.

The company projects for this year 150% growth in its billing and 300% growth in the reach of its Idem Education, Idem Mentoring and Idem Employment programs, which are currently active in more than 10 regions of Peru.

AWS invests in cloud training in Brazil

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a further 15mn reais to train professionals in cloud computing in Brazil.

The amount will be allocated over the next two years to Escola da Nuvem, a non-governmental organization that prepares students for careers in IT. The program will offer free online and in-person classes.

By the end of 2025, the project expects to have around 6,000 people trained, 3,000 with AWS certifications and more than 2,000 forwarded to job vacancies. Interested parties can register via the organization’s website: https://escoladanuvem.org/

InstaCarro raises US$11mn

InstaCarro, a Brazilian used car sales negotiating platform, raised 55mn reais (US$11mn) in debt and equity to scale its lending platform and expand in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America, it said.

The round was led by Fasanara Capital and institutional credit funds, with support from investors J Ventures, FJ Labs and Rise Capital, according to the startup.

With the launch of its asset-backed loan product, the company said it is close to reaching financial breakeven and will use resources to build up its financial arm and improve the dealer-to-dealer platform.

Neutrik looking to grow in Chile, Brazil

Neutrik Americas, a continental distributor of professional audio, video and connectivity solutions tapped Someco Group as its new official distributor in Brazil and Chile.

With Someco, Neutrik said it aims to expand its presence in the video games, e-sports, events and football match broadcasting markets across the region.