99minutos, a Mexican logistic startup that offers last-mile services to e-commerce vendors, announced this Wednesday an $82 million Series C round led by OAK HC/FT, followed by existing investors Kaszek and Prosus Ventures. The company doesn’t reveal its revenue figures but says it had grown three times since May last year when it snagged its Series B round.
The startup will use the new funding to boost its expansion across Latin America in addition to scaling new business models and investing in new sustainability initiatives in line with the company’s low-carbon goals.
Founded in 2014 in Mexico City, the startup currently operates in 60 cities across Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Peru, handling more than 15 million packages per year and serving more than 8,500 online stores and platforms of all sizes. It offers four types of delivery services (less than 99 minutes delivery, same-day delivery, same-day next-day delivery, and CO2-free delivery).
Among 99minutos’ new initiatives is Punto 99, a new pickup/dropoff network capable of generating extra income for partner SMBs; new storage and picking & packing to cover the entire fulfillment process called fulfill99; and the launch of a route tracking and optimization SaaS solution for its customers called ruta99.
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“The quality and depth of the technology we have developed in the past year, coupled with the new talent we have brought on board, have enabled us to scale our operations, become more efficient, and prepare us for more structured growth,” said Alexis Patjane, CEO of 99minutos, in a statement to the press. “We are eager to continue investing in our technology and infrastructure with the goal of becoming the largest, most sustainable provider of e-commerce logistics in Spanish-speaking LatAm. These ambitions inspired us to partner with the expert team at Oak HC/FT.”
Oak HC/FT is a venture and growth equity firm with $3.3 billion in assets under management headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. Born in 2014, eyeing the healthcare and fintech industries, the firm has been diversifying its investments in recent years, aiming at other hot segments and emerging markets.
“E-commerce in LatAm has experienced exponential growth over the past few years, creating a clear need for effective technology solutions to enable a seamless process from order to delivery,” said Allen Miller, Principal at Oak HC/FT. “99minutos is meeting this need and has impressively expanded beyond its core last-mile offering to become the leading technology logistics and fulfillment company in the region. We look forward to supporting the team as the company continues its growth and expansion in LatAm.”
According to the Global Ecommerce Forecast 2022 report, issued by eMarketer | Insider Intelligence, Latin America as a whole emerges as the region with the second-highest growth potential (20.4%) this year. All Latin American countries will grow their e-commerce by at least double digits every year until 2025.
In Latin America, investors’ interest comes mainly from the booming growth of e-commerce, but not entirely. “The solutions [being developed by logtechs] are focused on e-commerce but at the same time companies are solving traditional logistics problems like making fleet management easier, improving costs for companies, making routes more efficient. There’s also a large interest in services that surround the supply chain, like insurance or fintechs focused on products for drivers. I think the entire supply chain in LatAm is about to evolve very quickly. The biggest winners will be the customers buying online since their experience will improve dramatically,” Patjane told LABS.
As the ecosystem expands, Patjane says he expects even more expertise in logistics solutions, such as routing solutions or last-mile deliveries in under 15 minutes.
