Here are the highlights on Brazil’s tech and business scene in November of 2017:
Nov 1
TheVentureCity launched a $100 million fund for tech entrepreneurs. Investments in Brazil include RecargaPay, Emprego Ligado e Stayfilm.
Nov 5
The Brazilian Senate tacked on amendments on a bill that could cripple the Uber’s model due to licensing requirements. That kicked the legislation back to the House — and gave the company time to fight an effort by taxi unions to drive it and other app-based services out of the market.
Nov 6
Accion Venture Lab and Canary Ventures made an undisclosed seed investment in SmartMEI, a fintech startup servicing micro-entrepreneurs in Brazil.
Nov 7
Goldman Sachs led a US$20M Series C investment in Brazilian trucking startup CargoX, with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, Soros, and existing investors Valor Capital, Agility Logistics, and Uber co-founder Oscar Salazar. This Series C funding round follows CargoX’s Series A and B rounds in which the company raised its total funding of $34M.
Nov 7
GVAngels and Bossa Nova Investimentos invested R$600 Brazilian Reais in Standout. Integrated with more than 45 virtual stores, Standout makes it easier to publish products, be it photo, video, and text content without need to involve IT staff. (article in Portuguese)
Nov 9
Grupo ASSA, specializing in business digital transformation, announced the creation of Parabolt, a company focused on incubating innovative ideas of Brazilian and Latin American entrepreneurs. The fund plans to invest more than R$ 30 million in three years. (article in Portuguese)
Nov 13
Domo Invest made an undisclosed investment in the Brazilian Fintech Noverde, an online lending platform focused on the low-income public, granting credit from R$ 1,000 to R $ 4,000. In one year of operation, the company registered 70 thousand requests, which totaled R$ 100 million. (article in Portuguese)
Nov 16
Trocafone, the online marketplace for used electronics, has raised $15 million in new financing to expand its reach beyond Brazil and Argentina into other emerging markets. The company, which raised $7 million in a previous round of financing last year, said the new money came from Callfort, MIT Castor Ventures Fund, FJ Labs, Rocketship, Mercado Libre Fund and other undisclosed investors.
Nov17
ZAP and Viva Real merge with major potential to disrupt the real estate industry in Latin America. ZAP is a Grupo Globo company, with a presence in more than 20 cities nationwide and the most recognized brand in the Brazilian real estate market. Viva Real, launched in 2009, received more than US$ 70 million through six investment rounds from various local and American funds, such as Monashees, Kaszek, Valiant, Dragoneer, Spark Capital and Lead Edge.
Nov 17
According to the head of Brazil’s lower house of Congress, car-hailing apps should be regulated by the municipal authorities of each city as proposed in the original bill submitted to the chamber, before lawmakers added amendments stipulating more onerous regulations.
Nov 17
Nubank and GuiaBolso are in the list of 100 most innovative fintechs in the world, according to The Fintech100, a study by H2 Ventures and KPMG on the annual ranking of the most innovative finance startups in the world. Nubank was ranking in the 12th place and GuiaBolso in the 48th place.
Nov 28
InstaCarro, a Brazilian-based marketplace for buying and selling used cars, has raised a whopping $22 million in its first institutional round of venture financing. Through FJ Labs, InstaCarro managed to net what was one of the largest seed rounds in Brazil, a $3.5 million investment in 2016. The new round, co-led by FJ Labs and new investor Lumia Capital, was raised over two tranches.
Nov 28
Peixe Urbano and Groupon Brazil announced the merger of their operations. The process was led by the Latin American investment fund Mountain Nazca, which in February acquired Groupon’s Latin American. Peixe Urbano is controlled by the Chinese Baidu, since 2014. (article in Portuguese)
Nov 29
Brazil-based Mindset Ventures is seeking to raise around $25 million for its second fund. The fund will focus on investing between $200K and $1 million in startups in the U.S. and Israel.
Nov 29
BNDES announces R$ 40 million Brazilian Reais fund for incubators and technology parks. The sectors targeted are information technology and communication, energy, sustainability and creative economy. (article in Portuguese)
Nov 29
Movile announced a new investment of R$ 15 million Brazilian Reais in Sympla, an event website and ticket sales portal. Considering all investments, Movile has invested more than R$ 28 million Brazilian Reais in Sympla.
