Carabela Newsletter # 16
Gringo raised USD 28.5m Series C. Bespoke Pixel raised EUR 25m. Suma Capital launched EUR 125m fund.
Welcome to this week’s new subscribers! My name is Ghers Fisman, and I send the Carabela Newsletter every Monday to keep you updated with the most important stories in Venture Capital, Startups and Innovation in Ibero-American markets. If you’d like to get in touch, please send me a message to ghersf91@gmail.com or my LinkedIn profile. I’ll be more than happy to have a chat!
On the week from June 3rd to 9th there were several 8-figure funding rounds raised by startups in the region: In Spain, Bespoke Pixel raised EUR 25m and Bcas raised EUR 17m, while in Brazil, Gringo raised a USD 28.5m Series C, Kanastra raised a USD 20.6m Series A and Somos Young raised a USD 12m round. Other 6 figure rounds were raised by startups in Spain (Samara, Mitiga Solutions and Alinia AI), Mexico (Welbe Care) and Panama (Blueberry Protocol).
📷 Credits: Gringo
As for exits, two American companies (Beachfront Media and Sensely) were acquired by Spanish startups (Seedtag and Mediktor, respectively). In the same line, Mexico’s Atomic Labs was acquired by US-based Fresh Consulting. On investors news, Suma Capital launched a EUR 125m fund and Draper B1 a EUR 30m one, both based in Spain.
In other ecosystem news, Corporate Venture Capital arms were launched in Spain and Chile, by Sanitas and Carozzi, respectively. And two foreign unicorns decided to take their first steps in Latin America: Taiwan’s Gogoro in Colombia and Israel’s Rapyd in Argentina.
For more detail of these news (and more), continue reading:
Cross border
🌎 US-based Prósperos raised USD 3m Seed round. The company offers a financial platform to ease the remittance experience of Latinos, and will dedicate the funds to improve the product, making it faster and cheaper. (Yahoo! Finanzas)
Iberia
🇪🇸 Bespoke Pixel raised EUR 25m round. The gaming company will use the funds to create and launch its first multiplayer title. (Game World Observer)
🇪🇸 Bcas raised EUR 17m round led by MyInvestor and Actyus. The Edtech startup will consolidate its operations in Spain and start its global expansion, starting with Europe. (El Referente)
🇪🇸 Samara raised EUR 9m Series A led by Green GF and Move Energy. The renewable energy company plans to develop its own technological platform as well as continue its expansion in Spain. (Web Capital Riesgo)
🇪🇸 Mitiga Solutions raised EUR 8m Series A extension led by Elaia. The climatetech startup will dedicate the funds to include AI into its solutions as well as expand to the United States. (Web Capital Riesgo)
🇪🇸 Alinia AI raised EUR 2.2m Pre-Seed round led by Speedinvest and Precursor. The startup will expand its team to create an end-to-end platform to help enterprises navigate safety and regulatory requirements of AI. (EU Startups)
🇪🇸 BStadium raised USD 480k round on Sego Venture. The funds are earmarked for expanding the startup’s leading sports products, as well as growing the sales and operations teams. (El Referente)
🇪🇸 Seedtag acquired US-based Beachfront Media for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will allow Seedtag to increase its Adtech suite of offerings. (Videoweek)
🇪🇸 Mediktor acquired US-based Sensely for an undisclosed amount. The merge creates one of the world’s largest AI-solutions providers in the health care space. (Capital Riesgo)
🇪🇸 Sanitas launched Sanitas Ventures. The CVC operation will have three components: Venture Building, Open Innovation and Intrapreneurship, all focused on the health tech space. (Web Capital Riesgo)
🇪🇸 Suma Capital raised EUR 125m for its SC Net Zero Ventures fund. The funds’ total goal is to raise EUR 150m from LPs, and it has Repsol as a strategic partner to invest in energy transition startups. (Web Capital Riesgo)
🇪🇸 Draper B1 launched EUR 30m VC fund. The fund will invest on frontier tech startups in the Pre-Seed and Seed stages. (Web Capital Riesgo)
Brasil
🇧🇷 Gringo raised USD 28.5m Series C led by Valor Capital Group. The car management company will dedicate the proceeds of the round to grow their customer base, and strengthen the credit and insurance products. (Latam Fintech Hub)
🇧🇷 Kanastra raised USD 20.6m Series A led by Kaszek Ventures. The company, which offers backoffice services to investment funds, will use the money to grow its development team, as well as acquisitions. (Brazil Journal)
🇧🇷 Somos Young raised USD 12m round from BS2 and BPS Capital. The Edtech plans to use the funds for inorganic growth and strategic alliances. (Tekios)
🇧🇷 Semexe raised USD 760k funding round from Hiker Ventures. The sports marketplace plans to expand Loopify, its B2B circular economy solution. (Latam List)
México, Centroamérica y Caribe
🇲🇽 Welbe Care raised USD 7m Series A led by Volpe Capital and the IFC. The Healthtech will expand to the Mexican states bordering the United States. (Latam List)
🇵🇦 Blueberry Protocol raised USD 2.5m Series A led by White Star Capital. The Blockchain startup will grow its team with the funds, as well as invest on improving security. (FinSMEs)
🇲🇽 US-based Fresh Consulting acquired Atomic Labs for an undisclosed amount. The Mexican company has more than 130 employees and provides Fintech software to more than 60% of Mexican regional banks. (Newswire)
Andes
🇨🇴 Taiwan-based Gogoro starts operations in Colombia. It is the first Latin American country (and second non-Asian country, after Israel) in which the company offers its products and services. (Clean Technica)
Cono Sur
🇨🇱 Farmaloop raised a USD 900k round from Amarena VC. The del values the online pharmacy at USD 18m, and will serve to consolidate the startup’s Chile operations, before raisiing an expected Series A in 2025 for a Mexican expansion. (Startups Latam)
🇨🇱 Koywe acquired US-based Facto for an undisclosed amount. The operation will allow the Chilean cryptocurrency startup to expand to the United States. (Contxto)
🇨🇱 Carozzi opened a Corporate Venture Capital division. The food conglomerate will support and invest in tech startups. (DF MAS)
🇦🇷 Israel-based Rapyd starts operations in Argentina. The cross-border fintech is Israel’s most valuable private startup, at more than USD 10b. (Forbes Argentina)
That’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter. Have a great week, and see you next Monday!