As far as the innovation and venture capital investment ecosystem in Latin America is concerned, 2021 is being touted as the “year of records” – and, in fact, almost turning into 2022, the year still brought a few surprises, such as Facily‘s $135 million Series D extension, which turned the startup into a Brazil’s newest unicorn on Christmas Eve.
According to the Brazilian intelligence platform Sling Hub, as of November 30, Latin America‘ startups had already received investments estimated at $16.9 billion (the year’s total volume, including the many rounds that were held in December, such as Merama, Addi, and Alice, to name just a few examples, will be consolidated in early January).
In such a thrilling year, we wondered: Which startups raised the largest rounds? Which startups, in which sectors, were able to secure more venture capital to continue to drive their expansion? LABS asked Sling Hub for the list of the biggest funding rounds in 2021 – the survey closed on December 20 and the full list is below.
READ ALSO: All I want for Christmas is… funding. Some funds gave many gifts to Latin America in 2021
The main podium illustrates the new economy business potential in the entire region: first, second, and third place are taken respectively by a Brazilian, a Mexican, and an Argentine startup.
Brazil stands out on the list, with five of the largest investment rounds having been raised by Brazilian startups. Two of them went to the same company, Nubank. The fintech‘s Series G-II, by the way, was the biggest round in Latin American history. Let’s remember that after two major funding rounds in the year, the digital bank ended 2021 with its double debut on the stock exchange, on NYSE (United States), and B3 (Brazil).
Looking at the sectors that attracted the most investment, the list is well balanced between fintechs, retail techs, real estate, and logtech. Sling also highlighted that the Mexican Kavak‘s round was the largest ever raised by a retail tech in Latin America so far (Kavak, by the way, also appears twice on the list), while the Brazilian Loft, got the biggest investment ever made in a real estate company in the region.
Top 10 largest funding rounds for startups in Latin America – 2021
- Nubank (BRA / fintech) – Séries G-II – $750 million
Investors: Sands Capital Ventures, Berkshire Hathaway, Verde Asset Management, Absoluto Partners. - Kavak (MEX / retailtech) – Séries E – $700 million
Investors: General Catalyst, Tiger Global Management, Spruce House, D1 Capital Partners, Founders Fund, Ribbit Capital, SoftBank. - Nuvemshop (ARG/BRA / retailtech) – Séries É – $500 million
Investors: Tiger Global Management, Insight Partners, Accel, Sunley House Capital Management, Qualcomm Ventures, Kaszek Ventures, Alkeon Capital, VMG Partners, Owl Rock Capital, ThornTree, Capital Partners. - Rappi (COL / logtech) – Séries F – $500 million
Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, DST Global, GIC, Octahedron Capital, SoftBank, Sequoia Capital, T. Rowe Price, Y-Combinator, Third Point Ventures. - Kavak (MEX / retailtech) – Séries D – $485 million
Investors: Ribbit Capital, Founders Fund, D1 Capital Partners, Bond. - EBANX (BRA / fintech) – Séries C – $430 million
Investors: Advent International. - Loft (BRA / real estate) – Séries D – $425 million
Investors: D1 Capital Partners, QED Investors, Advent International, DST Global, GIC, SilverLake, Tarsadia Investments, Tiger Global Management, Fifth Wall, Monashees, Vulcan Capital, Altimeter Capital, CPPIB, Caffeinated Capital, Zigg Capital. - Nubank (BRA / fintech) – Séries G-I – $400 million
Investors: Invesco, GIC, Whale Rock, Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group, Ribbit Capital. - Ualá (ARG / fintech) – Série D – $350 million
Investors: Tencent, SoftBank, Goldman Sachs, Ribbit Capital, Monashees, D1 Capital Partners, Endeavor. - QuintoAndar (BRA / real estate) – Séries E-I – $300 million
Investors: Ribbit Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group, Qualcomm Ventures, Kaszek, SoftBank.
