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Global Tech Brief

Talking Shop

What does it take for tech companies to go public today? 

The IPO window remains firmly shut for many startups, forcing them to look at ways to pivot strategically.

Startup CEOs must now demonstrate to both current and prospective investors that they have what it takes to operate as a public company. Beyond the obvious need to improve their fundamentals and unit economics, late-stage companies are beginning to behave as public entities while still private. 

The goal? To build trust through performance disclosure, transparency and investor guidance—well before the moment CEOs step up to ring the opening bell. 

Case(s) in point:

Simon Borrero, the CEO of Colombian startup Rappi, which has raised more than USD2.3b from private investors since its launch in 2015, surprised the market last week by confirming the company could be IPO-ready within 12 months. It’s well known that Rappi has struggled to find a go-to-market strategy that supports its bottom line, but according to Borrero, the company’s revenue has doubled over the past three years and is now profitable. This is a strong market signal, though they’re not rushing to IPO just yet. However, the implication is clear: in today’s market, lack of guidance is the real enemy for startups, even while still private. 

A similar story is playing out at Brazilian fintech Creditas. Under CEO Sergio Furio, the company has been reporting quarterly financial results since 2020—well before an IPO was in sight, and just after surpassing a USD1b valuation in a round led by LGT Lightstone. With over USD850m raised to date, and key backers like SoftBank, Wellington Management and KASZEK doubling down, Creditas has been steadily preparing for its eventual public debut by adhering to public market rules. 

Looking forward:

This new way of operating and providing guidance to investors is likely here to stay, especially as the bar for going public–let alone at a high multiple–has never been higher. 

Are companies outside of Latin America also paving their way to a public listing by strengthening investor confidence with similar strategies? Let us know.

The Big Tickets

  • FINTECH | Ayala Corp and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial led an undisclosed round for Philippines-based digital payments platform Mynt (aka Globe Fintech Innovations), more than doubling its valuation to USD5b.
    • Mynt is a JV between Alibaba’s Ant Group, Ayala Corp and Globe Telecom.
    • Previous investors include Warburg Pincus, Insight Partners and Amplo Ventures.

  • EDTECH | Hornbill Capital led a USD210m Series B for Physics Wallah, an India-based edtech company, at a reported valuation of USD2.8b, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, WestBridge Capital and GSV.
    • Physics Wallah raised a USD100m round from WestBridge Capital and GSV at a USD1.1b valuation in June 2022. 

  • MOBILITY | WestBridge Capital led a USD200m Series E for Rapido, an India-based bike taxi startup, with participation from Nexus Venture Partners, Invus Opportunities and Think Investments. The round values Rapido at USD1.1b.
    • Rapido raised USD120m from Westbridge Capital as part of this round in July 2024.

  • FINTECH | M2P Fintech, an India-based custom financial API provider, raised a ~USD102m Series D in a primary and secondary round led by Helios Investment Partners, with participation from Flourish Ventures and several large Asian banks.

  • ROBOTICS | Quicktron Robotics, a China-based warehouse robot manufacturer, raised a USD100m+ Series D from Golden Oriole Capital, FarGlory Group, Wuxi Liangxi Technology Innovation Fund and Weifang Yuanfei Industrial Fund.

  • ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE | Whatfix, an India-based digital adoption solutions provider, raised a USD100m Series E from Warburg Pincus and Softbank.
    • Whatfix previously raised a USD90m Series D from Softbank, Eight Roads Ventures, Peak XV Partners, Dragoneer Investment Group and Cisco in June 2021.

  • FINTECH | QED Investors and Community Investment Management co-led a USD95m equity and debt Series A+ for Finkargo, a Colombia-based import financing platform, with follow-on from Quona Capital, NAZCA, ONEVC, Flybridge and MAYA Capital.

  • E-COMMERCE | Syarah, a Saudi Arabia-based online car marketplace, raised a USD40m Series C equity round led by Artal Capital, with participation from Impact46, Derayah Ventures and Elm. 
    • DEBT | Partners for Growth provided USD20m in venture debt financing.

Deals

  • E-COMMERCE | Bicycle Capital led a USD55m Series B for Cayena, a Brazil-based procurement platform for restaurants, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst, Canary, Norte Ventures, Globo Ventures, and follow-on from Astella Investimentos, Clocktower Ventures, FJ Labs, Endeavor Catalyst, FEMSA Ventures and Picus Capital.

  • INSURTECH | Onsurity, an India-based employee health insurance provider, raised a 45m Series B led by Creaegis, with follow-on from IFC, Quona Capital and Nexus Venture Partners.
    • Onsurity raised USD24m in the first tranche of its Series B from IFC, Quona Capital and Nexus Venture Partners in October 2023.

  • FINTECH | Flexiloans, an India-based digital lending platform for SMEs, raised a USD34.5m Series C from Accion, Nuveen, Fundamentum and Maj Invest.
    • JM Financial Group provided USD9m in debt financing in August 2024.

  • FINTECH | BECO Capital led a USD34m pre-Series A for FlapKap, an Egypt-based SME lending platform, with participation from Pact VC, A15, Nclude and QED Investors.
    • DEBT | Channel Capital provided debt financing as part of the round.

  • CLEANTECH | Qiming Venture Partners led a ~USD28m+ pre-Series B for Marvel-Tech, a China-based hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives-fueled gas turbine, with participation from Fortune Venture Capital, Orient Renaissance Capital, GL Ventures and Shunwei Capital.

  • FINTECH | Altos Ventures led a USD22m Series A for Ziina, a UAE-based payments solutions provider, with participation from Fintech Collective, Avenir Growth, Activant Capital, Y Combinator, FJ Labs, MEVP and Jabbar Internet Group.

  • FINTECH | EBRD Venture Capital led a USD22m Series B extension for Paymob, an Egypt-based payments provider, with participation from existing investors Helios Digital Ventures, BII, FMO, Endeavor Catalyst, Nclude, Paypal Ventures and A15.
    • Paymob raised a USD50m Series B in May 2022, led by Paypal Ventures and Clay Point.
    • CVC | Paypal Ventures has previously been active in Africa, with investments in companies such as Flutterwave and Stitch. 

  • FINTECH | Fido, a Ghana-based digital lending platform, raised a USD20m Series B equity round with participation from BlueOrchard and FMO.
    • DEBT | Stanbic Bank Ghana and Growth Investment Partners provided an additional USD10m in debt financing.
    • Fortissimo Capital and Yard Partners led Fido’s USD30m Series A in June 2022.

  • FINTECH | Lightspeed Ventures led a USD20m Series B round for Centricity, an India-based wealth management platform for investment professionals, with participation from Paramark Ventures, NB Ventures and others. 

  • HEALTHTECH | Matrix Partners led a ~USD19m Series B for Mevo (formerly Nexodata), a Brazil-based drug prescription platform, with participation from Jefferson River Capital.
    • This is Matrix Partners’s first known investment in a Latin American startup. 

  • FAITH | Fundamentum led a USD18m Series B for AppsForBharat, the parent company of India-based devotion platform Sri Mandir, with participation from Susquehanna Asia VC, as well as follow-on from Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners and Mirae Asset Global Investments.

  • FINTECH | SNB Capital led a ~USD17.3m Series A for Malaa, a Saudi Arabia-based financial management platform, with participation from Derayah Financial, Khwarizmi Ventures, Impact46 and WKN.

  • CVC | PayPal Ventures led a USD15m Series A for Ume, a Brazilian PIX-based lending platform.

  • EV | E Daddy, a UAE-based manufacturer of two-wheel electric vehicles, raised a USD15m round with participation from Kabeer and Kabeen Khader (Euroblast Middle East).

  • FINTECH | Platina Capital led a ~USD13.3m Series A for PastPay, a Hungary-based B2B payments solutions provider, with participation from Advance Global Capital, STRT, Quantic Financial Solutions, MBH Bank, BnL Start Partners and angel investors.

  • SUPER APP | VentureSouq led a USD12m pre-Series B for Pathao, a Bangladesh-based consumer tech startup, with participation from Openspace Ventures, Anchorless Bangladesh, Osiris Group, South Asia Tech and others. Pathao provides logistics, ride-sharing and food delivery services.
    • The funding will be used to expand its recently launched digital wallet and BNPL operations.

  • REWARDS | Resal, a Saudi Arabia-based e-gifting platform, raised a USD9m round with participation from VentureSouq, NOMD Holding, Derayah Venture Capital, Bugshan Investment, Ad Diriyah Asset Management and Al-Wafra Al-Thanya.

  • AUTO | Bateriku, an Indonesia-based provider of on-demand car battery replacement and roadside assistance, raised a USD7.4m Series B from KWAP, Gobi Partners and VentureTech.

  • FINTECH | Fairown, an Estonia-based subscription-based solution to hardware waste, raised a ~USD5.7m seed round led by BonVenture, with participation from existing investors STIHL Ventures, Neosfer and Gateway Ventures.

  • UNICORN | Moneyview, an India-based consumer finance startup, raised USD4.7m at a USD1.2b valuation from Accel and Nexus Venture Partners.
    • MoneyView previously raised a USD75m Series E in December 2022 at a USD900m valuation, led by Tiger Global with participation from Apis Partners, Evolvence and Winter Capital.
    • Moneyview is India’s sixth unicorn of 2024.

  • HEALTHTECH | Canary and K50 Ventures co-led a ~USD4.4m round for Arvo, a Brazil-based healthcare payments platform, with participation from Latitud, Preface and Endeavor Scale-Up Ventures. 

  • E-COMMERCE | Genesis Growth Equity led a ~USD4.4m Series A for Knihobot, a Czech Republic-based second-hand books platform, with participation from Miton.

  • BLOCKCHAIN | Permutation Ventures led a USD4m seed round for Blocksense, a Bulgaria-based decentralized and permissionless protocol for oracle data feeds, with participation from a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator and others.

  • HRTECH | Purple Ventures II led a ~USD4m round for Sloneek, a Slovakia- and Czech Republic-based human resource management platform, with participation from Venture to Future Fund and Vision Ventures. 

  • AUTOMOTIVE | Letven Capital invested ~USD3.5m in ACTIO Mobility Technologies, a Turkey-based sustainable vehicle and automotive tech provider.

  • EDTECH | Reach Capital led a USD3.4m round in LabLabee, an Algeria-based telecom network training platform, with participation from Classera, Brighteye Ventures and e& capital. 

  • CLEANTECH | Ogre AI, a Bulgaria-based AI energy forecasting and management platform, raised ~USD3.3m led by Verbund, with participation from Soulmates Ventures, Sofia Angels Ventures and Early Game Ventures.

  • FINTECH | Indus Valley Capital led a USD3.2m Series A for Qist Bazaar, a Pakistan-based BNPL platform, with participation from Gobi Partners.

  • ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE | Sadu Capital led a USD3m seed round for Reachware, a Saudi Arabia-based automation and system integration startup, with participation from 500 Sanabil Investments and Elm Company. 

  • SEMICONDUCTOR | Vertex Ventures led a USD3m seed round for BigEndian, an India-based fabless semiconductor design startup.

  • CYBERSECURITY | Osavul, a Ukraine-founded cybersecurity startup targeting disinformation threats, raised a USD3m seed round from 42CAP and u.ventures, as well as follow-on from SMRK.

  • CLIMATE | Intudo Ventures led a USD2.1m seed round for CarbonEthics, an Indonesia-based developer of nature-based projects and carbon consulting services.

  • FINTECH | Happy Pay, a South Africa-based BNPL platform, raised a USD1.8m pre-seed round led by E4E Africa and 4Di Capital, with participation from DotExe Ventures, Launch Africa, Equitable Ventures, Felix Strategic Investment and Gaingels.

  • PROPTECH | Placy, a Cyprus-based AI-enabled real estate assistant, raised a ~USD1.1m seed round from Zubr Capital. 

  • FINTECH | TPG’s The Rise Fund led a Series C for BillEase, a Philippines-based digital consumer finance platform, with follow-on from Burda Principal Investment.

  • IoT | 216 Capital and Lateral Frontiers led an undisclosed round for Wattnow, a Tunisia-based IoT energy management solutions provider, with participation from Outlierz Ventures, Stagana, Octerra Capital, Karim Beguir (InstaDeep) and Guillaume Amblard.
    • Wattnow raised a USD1.3m pre-Series A from Crossboundary, Katapult, 216 Capital, Launch Africa Ventures and Oman Technology Fund in March 2022. 

  • ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE | Primavera Venture Partners and Fortune Venture Capital led a pre-Series A round for Vast, a China-based 3D model design content creation platform, with participation from Tsinghua Capital and Innoangel Fund.

  • AV | Hyperview, a China-based autonomous driving solutions provider, raised follow-on capital from Prosperity7 Ventures and Walden International.

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

Funds

  • Hidden Hill Capital reached a CNY1.1b (~USD156m) final close for its first venture capital fund, targeting early-stage logistics and supply-chain technologies in China.

  • Playbook Partners secured a USD130m first close for its debut fund with a target of USD250m. The vehicle focuses on growth-stage, tech-enabled businesses in India.

  • Genesis Alternative Ventures reached a USD125m final close for its second Southeast Asia-focused venture debt fund. The vehicle received commitments from Aozora Bank, Korea Development Bank, Mizuho Bank, Silverhorn and OurCrowd.

  • Shang Qi Capital, the corporate venture arm of SAIC Motor, held a CNY598m (~USD84m) first close for its latest fund, which focuses on early- to mid-stage startups in China’s AI automotive industry chain.

  • Glory Ventures reached a USD120m final close for its third USD-denominated fund, targeting early-stage investments in China. Unicorn Capital Partners is the fund’s anchor LP.

  • z21 Ventures secured a USD20m first close for its second fund, aimed at pre-seed and seed-stage startups in India, with a focus on artificial intelligence, enterprise software and healthcare.

  • The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) committed USD20m to Openspace Ventures IV, to support early-stage startups in Southeast Asia.
    • This is JICA’s first venture commitment in Southeast Asia.

  • Leo Capital, a Singapore-based early-stage investor in B2B startups across India and Southeast Asia, reached a first close for its maiden Nordic Fund.
    • Leo Capital secured a USD75m final close for its third seed-stage fund to invest in India, Southeast Asia and the United States in June 2024.
    • Leo Capital’s portfolio in Asia includes DeZy (Singapore), BeatO (India) and CoLearn (Indonesia).

  • Sororitêlaunched its inaugural fund with a ~USD5m target to invest in Brazilian early-stage startups with at least one woman co-founder.

  • Salesforce Ventures committed an additional USD500m to its generative AI fund, bringing its total capital allocated to AI innovators to USD1b in the past 18 months.
    • Salesforce Ventures invests across multiple verticals, in addition to AI, including commerce, fintech, healthtech and security, with portfolio companies such as Atlan (Singapore), Mews (Czech Republic), Crehana (Peru) and Flutterwave (Africa).

M&As, Listings and Exits

  • M&A | Chinese EV maker BYD has agreed to acquire its German distributor Hedin Electric Mobility, as BYD looks to establish itself as a major EV maker in Europe.

  • EXIT | Peak XV Partners, Sofina, Stellaris Ventures and Fireside Ventures sold shares worth ~USD222m of Mamaearth, an India-based e-commerce platform for personal and beauty products.

  • EXIT |  Bessemer Venture Partners sold shares worth USD69m of Medi Assist, an India-based administer for employee health plans. Bessemer continues to hold a 15.7% stake in the company.

  • EXIT | SP Ventures exitedInCeres, a Brazilian soil nutrition management platform, via a sale to Husqvarna, a publicly listed Swedish outdoor and lawn machinery manufacturer.
    • SP Ventures invested in InCeres in a ~USD500k round in 2016.

  • M&A | Unico, a Brazilian digital identity protection platform, acquiredTrully, a Mexican KYC and identity theft prevention platform.

  • EXIT | US-based cybersecurity provider Kiteworks acquired Romanian web survey creator 123FormBuilder, facilitating exits for 212 and Catalyst Romania. 

  • M&A | Tabby has agreed to acquireTweeq, a Saudi Arabia-based fintech.
    • Investors in Tweeq include RAED Ventures and Saudi Technology Ventures.
    • Tabby closed several funding rounds in 2023, including a USD250m Series D and USD700m in debt financing from J.P. Morgan. Its investors include Wellington Management, Bluepool Capital, STV, Mubadala Investment Capital, PayPal Ventures and Arbor Ventures.

News

  • CLEANTECH | Brookfield Asset Managementwill invest up to USD1.1b to support the expansion and deployment of global initiatives by Infinium, a US-based producer of ultra-low carbon eFuels.
    • Infinium’s eFuel can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by ~90% compared to conventional fuels. 
    • Ayesha Choudhury of Infinium took the stage alongside James Blake of Breakthrough Energy at the GPC Conference 2024 to share the latest advancements of the company’s global platform. Join us next year, 7-9 April in New York.

  • SUPER APP | Rappiexpects to be IPO-ready in 12 months, according to CEO Simon Borrero.
    • Rappi has doubled its revenue in the past three years and is now profitable after raising USD2.3b in total funding since 2015.

  • CROSSBORDER | Supy, a UAE-based B2B food marketplace and inventory management platform for the food and beverage industry, has launched its operations in the UK through a partnership with Lightspeed Commerce, a local POS company.
    • BECO Capital led a USD8m seed round for Supy in 2022, with participation from Global Ventures, AMK Investment Office, COTU Ventures and Valia Ventures.