Ep. 111: Bridge Rounds are the new Series B
Plus, 🇲🇽 Prima raised US$19.5 million, 🇲🇽 Sofía raised US$13.5 million, Plata Card becomes a Digital Bank, and more!
Your weekly newsletter on technology, VCs, and startups in Spanish-speaking Latin America.
Follow The Money
🇲🇽 Prima raises a US$19.5 million funding round
Prima, a Mexico-based manufacturing and supply chain integrator, is on a mission of rebuilding trust in U.S.-Mexico business relationships. The team leverages technology to address challenges like undelivered orders and missed payments while providing end-to-end services for over 200 customers. Amid global supply chain shifts driven by labor shortages in the U.S. and tensions with China, Prima positions itself as a critical player in cross-border commerce. Despite challenges, including industry volatility and political uncertainties, Prima emphasizes building trust, even through mistakes, as a key to its success. This bridge round brings Prima’s total capital raised to US$42.5 million.
Sector: Manufacturing
Founders: Juan Pablo Ramos, Daniel Autrique, Patricio Servitje
Investors: Acrew Capital, Nazca, Quona Capital
🇲🇽 Sofía raises a US$13.5 million funding round
Mexican HealthTech / InsurTech startup Sofía has raised US$13.5 million in new funding, bringing its total capital raised to US$37.5 million. Sofía seeks to address Mexico's low health insurance coverage, where only 21% of adults aged 18–70 are insured, emphasizing its mission to make financial and health protection more accessible. With the new funding, the team aims to expand its reach to underserved small and medium businesses while integrating AI and telemedicine into its services. The funding round marks European VC Kfund's first investment in Mexico.
Sector: HealthTech InsurTech
Founders: Arturo Sanchez Correa
Investors: Kfund, Index Ventures, Kaszek, BID Lab
🇦🇷 Numia raises a US$3.5 million Seed round
Argentina-based Numia integrates offline and online customer interaction data into a single platform using AI, bridging the gap common in Latin America enterprises. Founded in 2014 as queue management software, it pivoted in 2020 to become a customer journey manager, connecting physical and digital channels for over 350 clients, including Santander and Allianz. Profitable and on track to reach US$5 million ARR, Numia’s new capital will serves to expand sales, marketing, and AI capabilities.
Sector: SaaS
Founders: Gustavo Lauria, Nicolás Demner, Joaquín Zoilo
Investors: Cometa, MatterScale Ventures, Boost Capital Partners
🇲🇽 Airbag raises a US$750K funding round
Mexican Insuretech Airbag develops tech-driven solutions to reduce traffic accidents, providing tools for companies to improve driver safety and operational efficiency. The round, exceeding its initial US$300,000 target, included strategic investors like Grupo Flecha Amarilla and Impacta VC. With over 200 clients and 8,000 users in two countries, Airbag aims to expand its reach, enhance its product with AI, and solidify its internal structure to drive future growth and innovation.
Sector: Insurtech
Founders: Adrián Trucios, Raúl Dávila, José Manuel Beauregard, Alonso Guzmán
Investors: Impacta VC, Grupo Flecha Amarilla, Carabela Ventures
Startups News
Plata Card becomes a digital bank in Mexico
Plata Card, a Mexican Fintech founded in 2022 and focused on credit cards, has obtained authorization from the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) to operate as a digital bank in Mexico. This milestone allows Plata Card to expand its services, including public fund collection, positioning it to compete with traditional and emerging digital banks like Banorte's Bineo and Santander's OpenBank. Committed to financial inclusion, Plata Card has grown rapidly, attracting US$100 million in investments, surpassing and 300,000 active users.
Rappi is doubling down on Turbo
Rappi is doubling down on its ultra-fast delivery service, Turbo, aiming for it to account for 40% of its sales in the coming years. Leveraging the recent acquisition of supply chain and AI specialist Fountain9, Rappi is improving inventory management and delivery efficiency, achieving an average delivery time of 8.2 minutes in Lima. The startup also unveiled “The New Rappi”, a platform update combining social interaction with delivery, marking its most significant overhaul since 2015.
VC - M&A News
Uruguay Innovation Hub mades its first investment
Uruguay's government, through the Uruguay Innovation Hub (UIH), has made its first co-investment, contributing US$100,000 to Eywa, a Biotechnology startup focused on mental health solutions. This investment, part of UIH’s Matching Funds program, aims to leverage private funding from The Ganesha Labs accelerator to support Eywa's development of a scalable and efficient psilocybin production platform for clinical use. UIH’s mission is to boost startups and attract private investment, fostering innovation within Uruguay and for foreign startups expanding operations in the country.
🇲🇽 Skydropx acquires Frenet 🇧🇷
Mexican logistics startup Skydropx has acquired Brazilian Frenet for US$5.2 million, marking its entry into the Brazilian market. Frenet, which serves 14,000 sellers, will maintain its brand while integrating with Skydropx's platform over the next two years. This acquisition revives Skydropx's international expansion strategy, delayed by the pandemic, and aims to bring its solutions for small and medium sellers in Mexico to Brazil, while adopting Frenet's features for larger clients. Skydropx previously raised US$20 million to expand into Latin America.
Economy
S&P maintains Mexico’s credit rating at ‘BBB’
S&P reaffirmed Mexico’s long-term foreign currency credit rating at ‘BBB’ and local currency rating at ‘BBB+’ with a stable outlook, citing cautious macroeconomic management and plans to gradually reduce fiscal deficits to stabilize public finances and sovereign debt over the next two years. The agency highlighted Mexico’s strong external position, investor confidence, and prudent fiscal and monetary policies, including the independence of the central bank. However, challenges such as low per capita growth, fiscal constraints from supporting state-owned enterprises like Pemex and CFE, and potential trade and immigration disputes with the U.S. could pressure economic stability.
Expansion Plans
🇧🇷 Zig is expanding into Mexico
Brazilian event tech company Zig has raised US$25 million in a Series B extension led by Kaszek, to expand into Mexico, Portugal, and Spain. Zig offers software and payment solutions for live entertainment, helping venues and event organizers streamline operations and optimize sales. Founded in 2022, Zig has supported major events like Lollapalooza and Rock in Rio, with its tools enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction in the entertainment sector.
🇨🇴 Paytech Zulu expands into UK and Southeast Asia
Colombian Paytech startup Zulu is expanding its international payment services to the UK and Southeast Asia, now supporting currencies like the British pound, Singapore dollar, and South Korean won. With the ability to process payments in over 60 countries, Zulu aims to help small and medium-sized businesses in Latin America overcome barriers to international trade, including import/export payments, supplier transactions, and payroll.
See you for the next edition. Have a question or any feedback? Just hit reply. I'd love to chat!
Check out Scenius Podcast. Follow me on Spotify & YouTube.
Want to get your brand in front of thousands of founders, investors, executives, and startup operators? Answer directly to this email.
Abrazo,
Arnaud