Chile’s Buk, which has developed a human resources management platform for Latin American companies, announced today that it has raised $50 million in a Series A funding round that values the company at $417 million. There are a few notable things about this financing. For one, it represents one of the largest (if not the) […]
SoftBank-backed Oyo files for $1.16 billion IPO
Oyo is ready to explore the public markets. The eight-year-old Indian budget hotel giant has filed the paperworks (PDF) with the local market regulator for an initial public offering, in which it is seeking to raise about $1.16 billion. The Gurgaon-headquartered startup — which offers an operating system of sorts to help hoteliers accept digital bookings, payments, […]
Latin America finds a champion in SoftBank Group International CEO Marcelo Claure
Since first announcing it was planting a stake in the ground in the region in early 2019, SoftBank — from its own balance sheet, it says — has plugged more than $5 billion into the region, and it expects that number to top $8 billion by year’s end.
India’s Oyo to file for $1 billion IPO
Indian budget hotel chain startup Oyo is looking to file for an initial public offering as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch, joining a handful of firms in the world’s second-largest market that are working to explore the public markets. The seven-year-old startup, founded by 27-year-old Ritesh Agarwal, is planning […]
SoftBank’s Marcelo Claure is coming to Disrupt next week
SoftBank has been on a tear in Latin America. The Japanese investment conglomerate just announced it has launched its second Latin America-focused fund with a $3 billion capital commitment from the company that may grow as the fund explores “options to raise additional capital,” according to SoftBank. The vehicle follows hot on the heels of […]
Whoop raises another $200M for its athlete-focused fitness wearable
Founded in 2012, Whoop is far from a household name in the world of fitness trackers. But over the years, the company has attracted its share of converts. It hasn’t had any issue attracting venture capital over the years, either. Last time we checked in on the Boston-based company was in late-2019, when it raised […]
Foreign investors have a bigger role to play in growing Latin America’s startup ecosystem
There has been significant hype around Latin America’s startup success. For good reason, too: Startups have raised $9.3 billion in just the first half of 2021, almost double the amount in all of 2020.
Brazil’s Petlove raises $150M from Riverwood, SoftBank to sell pet products and services online
Petlove&Co, a São Paulo-based digital platform for products and services for the pet market, announced today that it has raised about $150 million (R$750 million) today in a funding round led by Riverwood Capital. The round is nearly double that of what Petlove has raised in its history. The company started its life as PetSuperMarket […]
Picsart raises $130M from SoftBank, becomes unicorn on the back of its visual creator tools
Picsart COO Tammy Nam said it was now past a $100 million run rate, and that it was worth more than $1 billion after the SoftBank round. That was the extent of our ability to mine her for details.
Why global investors are flocking to back Latin American startups
The Latin America startup ecosystem is having a great year, with mega-rounds being announced at breakneck speed and new unicorns minted almost monthly. This is mostly due to the clearly maturing startup scene in the region, with proven successes such as Nubank, Cornershop, Gympass and Loggi helping to bolster LatAm’s credibility. Interestingly, many of the […]