The Big Tickets

• AI | Zhipu AI, a China-based AI technology developer, raised a USD400m round at a reported valuation of USD3b, with participation from Prosperity7 Ventures.

• SPACETECH | Space Pioneer, a China-based developer of reusable rockets, raised a ~USD208m Series C+ from Broad Vision Funds, Hongfu Investment and others.

• E-COMMERCE | Lenskart, an India-based eyewear retailer, raised USD200m from Temasek and Fidelity at a reported valuation of USD5b.
  • Lenskart raised USD100m from ChrysCapital in June 2023.

• FINTECH | Clip, a Mexico-based POS payments platform, raised USD100m from  Morgan Stanley Tactical Value and an undisclosed investor. The round values Clip in line with a USD2b valuation from its USD250m Series D led by Viking Global and SoftBank in 2021. 
  • Morgan Stanley Tactical Value will join Clip’s board. Clip secured a USD50m revolving credit facility from Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and HSBC in September 2022. 

• E-COMMERCE | Purplle, an India-based beauty marketplace, raised USD100m from ADIA through primary and secondary investments. 

• EV | LeapFrog Investments led a USD65m Series B for Battery Smart, an India-based network of battery swapping stations for electric two and three-wheelers, with participation from MUFG Bank and Panasonic, with follow-on from Blume Ventures, Tiger Global, Ecosystem Integrity Fund and BII.
  • Battery Smart raised a USD33m pre-Series B from Blume Ventures, BII and Tiger Global in July 2023.

• AUTOMOTIVE | Vision Plus Capital led a ~USD56m Series B for GMT Automation Technology, a China-based global provider of integrated smart manufacturing solutions for the automotive industry, with participation from Changxing Economic and Technological Development Zone, Haibang Ventures and Orient Jiafu Asset Management Company.

• FINTECH | Nium, a Singapore-based cross-border payments platform, raised a USD50m Series E from BOND, NewView Capital and Tribe Capital. The round valued Nium at USD1.4b.
  • Nium raised a USD200m Series D from Atinum Investment, Beacon Venture Capital, Gokul Rajaram (DoorDash), Riverwood Capital, Rocket Internet, Temasek Holdings, Vertex Ventures and Visa in July 2021.

• CLEANTECH | A.P. Moller Holdings led a USD30m Series A for Tenderd, a UAE-based heavy equipment management platform, with participation from Quadri Ventures, Wa’ed Ventures, SOMA Capital, Nakhla Ventures and others.

• PROPTECH | BECO Capital and Middle East Venture Partners led a USD4m pre-Series A for Keyper, a UAE-based rent-now-pay-later (RNPL) solution, with participation from Annex Investments, Pin Investment and Al Qahtani Investment, with follow-on from Vivium Holding, Jabbar Group and Signature Developers. The round included USD30m in Shariah-compliant Sukuk financing from Franklin Templeton Investments.

Deals

• EV | Piramal Fund Management led a ~USD24m Series C for Euler Motors, an India-based commercial electric vehicle manufacturer, with participation from Blume Ventures and BII.

• FINTECH | KASZEK led a ~USD20.5m Series A for Kanastra, a Brazil-based capital markets infrastructure startup, with participation from Atlantico and follow-on from Valor Capital, QED Investors and Quona Capital.

• AGTECH | Ecosystem Integrity Fund led a USD16m Series A for Iyris (fka Red Sea Farms), a UAE-based developer of an agroclimatic technology designed to increase crop yields, with participation from Global Ventures, Dubai Future District Fund, Kanoo Ventures, Globivest and Bonaventure Capital.

• LOGISTICS | Delivery Hero Ventures led a USD16m debt and equity Series A for OneOrder, an Egypt-based tech-enabled supply chain and logistics solution for the hospitality industry, with participation from Norrsken22, Nclude and A15.
  • OneOrder raised a USD3m seed round from Nclude, A15 and Delivery Hero Ventures in December 2022.

• FINTECH | Félix, a Mexico-based chat-based money transfer service for cross-border payments, raised a USD15.5m Series A from Castle Island Ventures, Switch Ventures, HTwenty, Contour Venture Partners and Mercado Libre’s MELI Capital.

• SOFTWARE | Jahez led a USD15m Series B for GrubTech, a UAE-based unified commerce platform for F&B and quick commerce companies, with participation from Addition and Hambro Perks.

• FINTECH | Anfa led a USD15m Series A for Sipay, a Turkey-based online and offline payments service.

• PROPTECH | Middle East Venture Partners led a USD14m Series A for Stake, a UAE-based real estate investment platform, with participation from Wa’ed Ventures, Mubadala and Republic.

• EV | ENEOS Corporation led a ~USD14m Series C for Zypp Electric, an India-based provider of an electric vehicle ecosystem for last-mile logistics, with follow-on from Indian Angel Network, Venture Catalysts, We Founders Circle and others.

• AGTECH | Bidra Innovation Ventures led a USD13m Series B for Niqo Robotics, an India-based developer of agricultural robotics, with participation from Fulcrum Global Capital and follow-on from Omnivore.
  • Niqo Robotics raised a USD5m Series A from Blume Ventures, Omnivore and FMC Ventures in August 2021.

• CRM | Alistithmar Capital i-Cap led a USD12m pre-Series B for Merit, a Saudi Arabia-based operator of a customer and employee engagement platform, with follow-on from Tech Invest Com and Hambro Perks.
  • Merit raised a USD5m Series A from Arzan Venture Capital, Hambro Perks, Impact46 and Tech Invest Com in November 2021.

• DIGITAL MEDIA | Burda Principal Investments led a USD12m pre-Series A for Kasagi Labo, a Singapore-based Japanese anime studio, with participation from CMT Digital, Superscrypt, Hashed, Sfermion and Gold House.

• FINTECH | Sanabil Investments and RAED Ventures led a USD10m seed round for SiFi, a Saudi Arabia-based financial management platform, with participation from anb Capital, Rua Ventures, Byld, KBW Ventures and follow-on from Khwarizmi Ventures, Seedra Ventures and Tech Invest Com.

• E-COMMERCE | Vigo Retail, a Vietnam-based B2B e-commerce startup, raised USD9.4m towards its Series A from Argor Capital, Wavemaker Partners and Patamar Capital.

• LOGISTICS | Fintech Collective led a USD8m Series A for WheeKeep, a Saudi Arabia-based logistics startup specializing in mobile self-storage solutions. 

• LOGISTICS | Wavemaker Partners led a ~USD7.8m Series A for XSQUARE Technologies, a Singapore-based warehouse automation company, with participation from SEEDS Capital and Goldbell. 

• AGTECH | Al Mada Ventures led a USD7m pre-Series A for YoLa Fresh, a Morocco-based platform to connect farmers with retailers, with participation from FMO, Algebra Ventures, E3 Capital and Janngo Capital.

• AGTECH | ALB Investments led a USD6m pre-Series B for AgroUrbana, a Chile-based vertical farming company. 

• WOMEN-LED | Atlántico led a USD6m Series A for Worky, a Mexico-based HR and payroll software solution, with participation from ADP Ventures.
  • Worky was co-founded by Maya Dadoo and Carlos Marina.

• FINTECH | Monk’s Hill Ventures led a USD5.3m pre-Series A for iPiD, a Singapore-based global payments platform, with participation from QED Investors and Quona Capital, as well as follow-on from Jungle Ventures, 1982 Ventures, Saison Capital and Resolution Ventures.
  • iPiD raised USD3.3m from 1982 Ventures, Jungle Ventures, Raypd Ventures, Resolution Ventures and others in August 2022.

• HEALTHTECH | Specialist VC led a ~USD1.9m round for Nanordica Medical, an Estonia-based developer of antibacterial products, with participation from Superangel and Amalfi.
  • WOMAN-LED | Nanordica Medical was co-founded by Anna-Liisa Kubo, Olesja Bondarenko and Grigory Vasiliev.

• DATA | Lune, a UAE-based data analytics startup, raised a USD1.5m seed round from Dubai Future District Fund, Plus Venture Capital, Reach International and Judah Ventures.

• DIGITAL SECURITY | Norrsken22 led a USD550k pre-seed round for Orca Fraud, a South Africa-based fraud detection platform for banks and fintechs, with participation from First Circle Capital, Musha Ventures, Kara Ventures and others.
  • WOMEN-LED | Orca Fraud was co-founded by Carla Wilby and Thalia Pillay.

• CLEANTECH | Wavemaker Impact Partners invested USD550k pre-seed round in Octayne Green Fuels, a Singapore-based alternative fuel developer as a drop-in replacement for coal.

• FOODTECH | Peruvian Veef, a Peru-based producer of plant-based alternative meat products, raised a USD320k seed round from Sustainable Food Ventures and Ahimsa Capital. 

• PROPTECH | Balderton Capital led an investment in Huspy, a UAE-based mortgage provider, with participation from Fifth Wall.
  • Huspy raised a USD37m Series A from B&Y Venture Partners, Breyer Capital, Chimera Capital, COTU Ventures, Fifth Wall, Founders Fund, Peak XV Partners, VentureFriends and VentureSouq in June 2022.

• FINTECH | Innogen Capital led an undisclosed round for Ginih, a Honduras-based payment gateway solution, with participation from Grupo Agrisal and Grupo Steiner.

/ For more Latin American deal activity, subscribe to LAVCA’s LatAm Venture Bulletin.

Funds

• StepStone reached a USD3.3b final close for StepStone VC Secondaries Fund VI. The fund will provide liquidity to founders and early investors in mature venture-backed companies, purchase interests in venture capital funds from limited partners and assist fund managers with structured solutions.

• Leo Capital reached a USD75m final close for its third seed-stage fund to invest in India, Southeast Asia and the United States. The fund received a commitment from the Dubai Future District Fund – its first deployment in the region – to explore the UAE-India corridor.

• Semilla Ventures reached a USD9.3m first close for its debut industry-agnostic fund to invest in pre-seed stage startups across Latin America.

• Glint Ventures reached a USD3m first close for its second fund to invest in early-stage startups in Egypt.

• Shorooq Partners reached a first close for its second venture debt fund, Nahda Fund II, to continue investing in the MENA tech ecosystem. The fund is targeting USD100m. 

• OpenseedVC reached a first close for its USD10m angel-style early-stage fund to invest in startups across Africa and Europe.

• Index Ventures is looking to raise a combined USD2.3b in fresh capital across a late-stage (USD1.5b) and early-stage fund (USD800m). 

• General Catalyst acquired India-based Venture Highway to strengthen its foothold in the country. The firm plans to invest USD500m-USD1b into early- and late-stage startups in India.

IPOs, M&As and Exits

• Brass, a Nigeria-based payroll and expense management service provider, was acquired by an investment consortium led by Paystack. The acquisition included participation from PiggyVest, Ventures Platform, P1 Ventures and angel investors Oo Nwoye and Olumide Soyombo.

• Santam, a South Africa-based short-term insurer, acquired Kandua, a South Africa-based online marketplace for home services. Earlier investors in Kandua included Knife Capital, IDF Capital, E Squared Investments, Catalyst Fund, and others.

• Evertec, a leader in fintech solutions in the Caribbean and Latin America, has acquired Zunify, a Costa Rica-based digital payments network provider. 

• PayRetailers, a Barcelona-based payments platform, acquired Transfeera, a Brazil-based payments management and processing system.
  • Transfeera raised ~USD1.3m from Bossa Invest, Curitiba Angels Investimentos, GooDz Capital, Honey Island Capital and Opus in December 2022.

News

• BIG PICTURE | Governments around the world continue to see key leadership changes amid the biggest election year in history.

• MEXICO | Claudia Sheinbaum won the presidential election in Mexico, becoming the country’s first female president.
  • Sheinbaum’s interest in climate infrastructure and her scientific background are viewed positively. However, concerns arise over her party’s influence and supermajority in Congress. 

• INDIA | Narendra Modi consolidated his leadership in India through the victory of the National Democratic Alliance. 
  • It was a bittersweet victory for Prime Minister Modi, who had expected to win 370 seats but secured only 240. 
  • For the first time, Modi’s party failed to secure a majority of its own. Despite this, Modi now ranks as the third longest-serving Prime Minister in India’s history, following Nehru (16 years) and Gandhi (15 years).

• SOUTH AFRICA | The African National Congress, once led by Nelson Mandela, lost its majority for the first time since winning the inaugural post-apartheid elections 30 years ago. 
  • President Cyril Ramaphosa faces an uphill battle to form a government based on the results. 

• Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures is rolling back its fintech investment team to focus on AI, per Forbes. 

• DIGITAL CURRENCIES | Hong Kong launched a pilot program to test out the Chinese central bank’s digital yuan for retail purchases and cross-border payments.

• Rest of World: Singapore doubles down on lab-grown meat as Silicon Valley backs off
  “The biggest obstacle to cultivated meat reaching the masses … is the broad underinvestment in R&D and manufacturing infrastructure, especially from governments.”