Here are the highlights on Brazil’s tech and business scene in May:
May 27
São Paulo-based protech startup Quinto Andar closed a $300 million Series E led by Silicon Valley-based Ribbit Capital. With the new funds, the company now is valued at $4 billion.
May 24
Latin America pioneer tech VCs Hernan Kazah and Nicolas Szekasy, co-founders of KASZEK, announced they raised US$1 billion in two funds to invest in companies in LatAm companies. Almost half of it will go to its “early-stage fund, with check sizes ranging from US$500,000 to US$25 million”.
May 24
Brazilian payments company Stone to invest in digital bank Inter. Stone announced it’ll buy up 4.9% stake at about $471 million. As a result, Inter shares surged 23%, 2nd largest daily rise in a year. The bank Inter separately announced plans for a Nasdaq listing.
May 21
Shopper, a startup that offers a monthly supply service for supermarket items, received an investment of R$ 120 million in a series B round. The investment was led by venture capital funds Quartz and Minerva, with the participation of the Americans FJ Labs and Floating Point VC among other investors.
May 14
Indicator Capital, BNDES and Qualcomm Ventures launch the first fund in Latin America with a focus on Internet of Things (IoT).
May 12
Hashdex Gestora de Recursos raised about US$26 million of new funding from venture capital firm Valor Capital Group, SoftBank and Coinbase Ventures, an arm of the U.S.’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. Other investors included Brazil’s Igah Ventures, Globo Ventures and Canary.
May 11
Brazilian API startup Sensedia announced it had secured a R$120 million round led by Riverwood Capital. The funds will be used to expand the startup’s product offering and toward its internationalization strategy.
May 11
CloudWalk, the São Paulo-based payment technology network, raised US$ 190 million in Series B funding led by Coatue, with participation from DST Global and existing investors such as FIS, The Hive Brazil and Valor Capital.
May 6
Sky.One, a startup specialized in the development of technological platforms for the modernization of management software, received a financial investment of R$45 million in a Series B round led by the Inovabra Ventures fund.
May 5
Even before making its official debut, insurtech 180⁰ Seguros announced a seed investment of R$44 million, led by funds Canary, Dragoneer and Rainfall.
May 4
alt.bank, a Brazilian neobank targeting the unbanked, announced a US$5.5 million Series A led by Union Square Ventures (USV). Today, the company’s core offerings include the debit card, a prepaid credit card, Pix, a savings account and even telemedicine visits.
May 4
The fintech a55, focused on credit for technology companies, announced an investment of US$35 million in a round led by Accial Capital, E3 Negócios and Mouro Capital. The company had already raised, in May and October 2020, respectively, US$5 million with the venture capital arm of Santander and US$2 million from E3 Negócios.
May 4
Méliuz announced the acquisition of Grupo Acesso, a fintech specialized in payment solutions, for R$324.5 million.
May 3
Sallve, digital cosmetic brand raised R$110 million in a series B led by Atlantico fund. Quartz, Red Swan, Endevour Catalyst and the series A investors Astella, Kaszek, Canary and Waldencast Ventures also joined the investment.
