Brazilian fintech QI Tech reclaimed the US$1bn unicorn valuation status after securing an extension of a 1bn-real (US$195mn) Series B round announced last October.
The company added another US$50mn to the round in a move led by its current investors, General Atlantic and Across Capital.
Founded in 2018 by entrepreneurs Pedro Mac Dowell, Marcelo Bentivoglio, and Marcelo Buosi, the fintech offers a set of APIs over which any company can offer financial products to its customers.
Uruguay’s BrainLogic grows user base
Uruguayan AI startup BrainLogic has reached more than 1mn users for its Zapia personal assistant in Latin America, the company said in a statement.
Launched in 2023 with an initial investment of US$5mn, the platform reportedly grows at a 50% monthly pace in new users and has just been selected for Google AI Accelerator program. Zapia operates in all Latin American countries.
BrainLogic was founded by Latin American entrepreneurs Martín Alcalá Rubí, Nicolas Loeff, Juan Pablo Pereira, Juan Olloniego and Pablo Rodríguez-Bocca.
Zig raises capital
Brazilian event payments startup Zig raised 110mn reais from Across Capital, Cloud9 and Endeavor Scale-Up Ventures.
The company intends to use the proceeds in technology, mostly to improve its CRM system and data capabilities, including AI. In addition to Brazil, the company also has offices in Spain and Mexico.
Colombia’s Carryt carries out acquisition
Colombian e-commerce platform Carryt bought the Mexican and Colombian operations of Argentina’s Treggo for an undisclosed sum.
Closed earlier this month, the acquisition comes after Carryt snapped up another Colombian delivery player, Liftit, in 2022.
Carryt and Treggo operate in the same segment: last-mile delivery.
Brazil’s CVCs: new and tech-oriented
Three out of every four corporate venture capital funds operating in Brazil were created in the last four years, with financial services, including fintechs, and IT, receiving the largest investments.
These are some of the main findings of a CVC survey carried out by Brazilian venture capital association ABVCAP.
The data also shows that 67% of CVCs take, on average, one to three months to close a deal and that 90% intend to make up to six investments per year. Details on the study can be found here.
Ecuador’s Kamina comes pre-seed
Ecuadorian fintech Kamina closed a US$3.2mn pre-seed round from undisclosed investors to beef up its AI capabilities and expand, reported StartupsLatam.
The round is said to be the highest ever closed for this funding stage in Ecuador.
The 2023-founded company focuses on personal finance and is reportedly preparing to launch a financial prevention platform powered by AI.
Vixtra cashes big in credit and VC
Vixtra, a fintech specializing in providing credit for importers, raised 180mn reais in both a credit rights investment fund collection and in a new pre-series A round.
The proceeds will be used to enhance the platform and diversification of credit offered to the sector, in addition to regional expansion.
