Financing watch: LatAm energytechs, Uber Brazil capex, new VC deals and more

Latin American startups focused on solutions for the energy segment, the so-called energytechs, raised US$213mn in 17 rounds in 2023, according to a new report by the Distrito startup platform.

The figures compare to US$294mn in 28 rounds in 2022. For this year, an acceleration is expected. By the end of April, Distrito had tracked US$113mn through seven rounds.

Distrito mapped 347 energytechs operating in Latin America, 64% of which were in Brazil followed by Mexico (12.4%), Chile (6.9%), Colombia (6.6%) and Argentina (4.9%).

The companies provide solutions focused mostly on renewable sources, decarbonization, power distribution, alternative fuels and energy storage. 

Uber drives up Brazil tech capex

Uber will invest 1bn reais (US$193mn) in the next five years to expand its Tech Center in São Paulo, announced the company’s VP of operations for Latin America, Eduardo Donnelly, at an event marking Uber’s 10th anniversary in Brazil.

The center, which develops solutions for the ride hailing app on a global basis, was launched in 2018. It currently employs around 300 tech professionals, including engineers and developers, and the company expects to hire another 200. 

Infleet’s fresh funding

Brazilian fleet management startup Infleet closed a 10mn-real investment round. 

The funding was led by Indicator Capital, which claims to be the largest VC focused on deep IoT in Latin America, with participation from existing investor DOMO.VC, which contributed 2mn reais. 

Also participating in the round were corporate venture capital funds from Idexo and Totvs, which allotted a combined 3mn reais.

The proceeds raised add to 8mn reais in previous investments. In addition to the funding, Infleet was selected to take part this year in the Black Founders Fund program, from Google for Startups.

Mexican proptech looks to grow in Chile

Mexican real estate tech platform Homie.mx announced its expansion and the unification of brands in Mexico and Chile, giving way to Homie Rent.

Under the leadership of Francisco Andragnes, CEO of Homie.mx, the proptech bets on a new growth phase for its home rental business in Mexico and seeks to ramp up in Chile, it said in a release.

The rebranded Homie Rent reports a combined portfolio of over 7,000 properties in both countries and aims to exceed 10,000 by the end of 2024. In Chile alone, the company said it manages 400 buildings.

Telefónica’s Wayra teams up with BancoEstado

Telefónica group's Wayra Hispam open innovation vehicle teamed up with Chile’s BancoEstado to select startups focused on addressing financial challenges in the country and developing the local fintech sector. 

The joint initiative vows to identify and support companies with innovative solutions that transform the way consumers and companies manage their finances, the firms said. State-owned BancoEstado also said that one of the main goals of the venture is to promote a culture of responsible savings among the population, benefiting its more than 15mn retail and 2mn corporate clients.

The call is open to startups at a national and international level until June 3.

Healthtech gets new lifeline funding

Brazilian healthtech Wanda, focused on recruitment of nursing professionals, concluded a pre-seed investment round of 1.5mn reais. 

The investment was led by Afya's VC fund together with a group of angel investors in the health and technology sectors.

Given the high turnover in the sector and the prolonged duration of hiring processes, the startup created a SaaS B2B solution that offers more "assertiveness and speed" in hirings. Through the platform, companies invite professionals for interviews.

Mexico's Welbe goes series A

Also a healthtech, Mexico's Welbe raised US$7mn in a series A round led by Brazil's Volpe Capital with participation from IFC.

In 2022, Welbe had secured 100mn pesos (US$5mn) in a seed round led by the same Volpe Capital together with Nazca, a VC fund founded in Mexico.

Welbe has commercial teams in Mexico City, Puebla, Querétaro, Monterrey and Guadalajara, as well as São Paulo in Brazil.

CloudWalk and credit rights fund

Brazil’s CloudWalk, a POS and blockchain-based payments platform for entrepreneurs and SMEs, secured 1.6bn reais through a credit rights investment fund (FIDC) led by Itaú BBA and followed by Bradesco BBI and Banco Votorantim.

The company aims to use the resources to meet the increase in the number of customers on its InfinitePay platform in Brazil, which closed 2023 with 1.2mn micro and small entrepreneurs, up 200% from 2022.

In November 2021, the Coatue fund led a US$150m series C for CloudWalk, after investing in May that year US$190m in a series B.

PagaLeve also taps FIDC

Another Brazilian credit platform, Pagaleve, raised 250mn reais through a FIDC. The investment was led by Belgian investment platform Credix Finance. 

Until now, the startup had been financing its operations with capital raised in VC rounds. 

Since its launch in 2021, it has raised more than 100mn reais from BB Ventures, with MSW Capital as manager as well as Salesforce Ventures, OIF Ventures and Entrée Capital. 

The last funding was an extension of a series A, carried out in 2022.

Brazil’s Deal acquires Portugal's Sysvision

Brazilian IT consultancy Deal acquired control of Sysvision, a Portuguese multinational consultancy for data management, analytics and AI solutions. 

The value of the operation was not revealed. Deal expects that in 2025 and 2026 its revenue will grow to 230mn reais and 275mn reais, respectively.

It was Deal's second acquisition in less than three months. In February, it purchased O2B, a local company focused on cloud products and solutions. Last month, it announced an investment of 2mn reais in fintech Baasic, specialized in embedded finance services.