The Big Tickets

• ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE | Investcorp led a USD130m pre-IPO round for Salla, a Saudi Arabia-based SaaS integrative e-commerce solution platform, with participation from Sanabil Investments and Saudi Technology Ventures. 
  • Salla previously raised a USD8.5m Series A in November 2020 from RAED Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and Vision Ventures Saudi Arabia.

• DEBT | Baubap, a Mexico-based microlending platform, raised a USD120m pre-Series A in debt financing from SixPoint Capital Management.
  • Baubap was founded by Luis Villarreal Castilla, Roberto Salcedo and Conrad Wilkinson Schwarz. 

• FINTECH | Uber led a USD100m Series B for Moove, a Nigeria-based vehicle financing platform for ride-hailing and delivery app workers, with follow-on from AfricInvest, Mubadala, Triatlum Advisors, Future Africa, Palm Drive Capital and thelatest.ventures. The round values the company at USD750m.

• EV | Meituan led a USD100m Series A for Zelos, a China-based L4 autonomous logistics vehicle developer, with participation from Baidu Venture, Unicorn, Xianting Fund and Seekdource, and follow-on from Blue Lake Capital and C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment.

• EV | Avataar Ventures led a USD95m Series D+ via secondary transactions for Capillary Technologies, an India-based customer analytics and marketing platform, with participation from Pantheon, 57 Stars, Unigestion and The Evolvence Group. 

• UNICORN | Teachers’ Venture Growth, the late-stage venture and growth investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, agreed to invest USD80m in Perfios, an India-based lending solutions provider. Perfios will become the second new unicorn in India this year following Krutrim in January.

• AEROSPACE | NewSpace Research & Technologies, an India-based drone manufacturer, raised a USD52m bridge round from Cornerstone Venture Partners, 360 ONE, Volrado Venture Partners and other existing investors. The round included USD19m in debt from SIDBI Ventures and SBI’s startup hub. 

• CROSSBORDER | Norfund, MUFG Innovation Partners and OP FinnFund led a USD27.5m Series B for AwanTunai, an Indonesia-based point-of-sale financing solution.
  • AwanTunai previously raised a USD8.5m Series A in March 2022 from Global Brain, Insignia Ventures Partners and the IFC.

• E-COMMERCE | Jungle Ventures led a USD27m Series C for The Ayurveda Experience, an India-based D2C skincare and nutrition provider, with participation from SIDBI Ventures and follow-on from Anicut Capital and Sharrp Ventures.

• SOCIAL NETWORKING | Alpha Wave and Hashed Emergent led a USD23m Series A for Hunch, a UAE-based social discovery app for anonymous discussion.

Deals

• CROSSBORDER | DST Global Partners led a USD25m Series A for Yuno, a Colombia-based provider of an integrated payment ecosystem, with participation from Tiger Global, and follow-on from Andreessen Horowitz, KASZEK and monashees.
  • Yuno previously raised a USD10m seed round in March 2022 from Andreessen Horowitz, KASZEK, monashees, Clocktower Technology Ventures and others.

• FINTECH | Capria Ventures led a USD23m round for Wagely, an Indonesia-based earned wage access platform.
  • Wagely previously raised a USD8.3m round in March 2022 from Integra Venture Partners, ADB, 1982 Ventures, Blauwpark Partners, Central Capital Ventura, East Ventures, Global Founders Capital and Trihill Capital. 

• FINTECH | Qapita, a Singapore-based equity management platform, raised a USD17.2m pre-Series B from Cercano Management, Citi and Analog Partners, with follow-on from East Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, Nyca Partners and Endiya Partners.

• AEROSPACE | CDH Investments and Zigong Chuangfa Construction led a ~USD14m Series A for VOLANT, a China-based electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft developer, with participation from Glacier Capital, and follow-on from Qingsong Fund. 

• CLOUD KITCHENS | The Cloud, a UAE-based cloud kitchen management platform, raised USD12m in equity and debt as part of its ongoing Series B round. MENA Moonshots participated in the latest round, with debt financing from Aluna Partners.
  • The Cloud recently acquired KBOX, a UK-based cloud kitchen platform, and has plans for further expansion into Lithuania, Belgium and the Netherlands. 

• PROPTECH | MPower Partners led a USD10.2m Series B1 for Rukita, an Indonesia-based move-in-ready apartment rental platform, with participation from Openspace Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, BNI Ventures, Shunwei Capital and others. 

• DEBT | Oikocredit led a USD10m equity and debt seed round for YoFio, a Mexico-based credit provider for MSMEs, with participation from Innogen Capital, G2 Fintech Fund, Cauris Finance, 500 Global and undisclosed angels. 

• PROPTECH | Raed Ventures and Khwarizmi Ventures led a USD9.4m seed round for Buildnow, a Saudi Arabia-based construction loan provider. The round included USD2.9m in debt.

• E-COMMERCE | Beco Capital and 9900 Capital led a USD8m Series A for BRKZ, a Saudi Arabia-based B2B marketplace for construction materials, with participation from Wa’ed Ventures, Knollwood Investment Advisory, RZM Investment and MISY Ventures. 

• HRTECH | 212 led a USD5.5m Series A for RemotePass, a UAE-based HR and payroll management platform, with participation from Oraseya Capital, Flyer One Ventures, Access Bridge Ventures, A15, Swiss Founders Fund, and follow-on from Endeavor Catalyst and Khwarizmi Ventures. 

• ENTERPRISE | Colmeia, a Brazil-based digital service automation startup, raised a ~USD5m round from Crescera Capital.

• EV | Dodai, an Ethiopia-based electric motorcycle manufacturer, raised a USD4m Series A from Nissay Capital, Musashi Seimitsu, and follow-on from Inclusion Japan. This marks Nissay Capital’s first venture investment in Africa.

• HEALTHTECH | Aruwa Capital and Newtown Partners led a USD3m pre-Series A for MDaaS Global, a Nigeria-based operator of tech-enabled diagnostic centers, with follow-on from Ventures Platform. 

• FINTECH | Capria Ventures led a USD2.95m round for Bfree, a Nigeria-based credit management and debt collection startup, with participation from Angaza Capital, Modus Africa, Axian CVC, with follow-on from Launch Africa Ventures and Greenhouse Capital.
  • BFREE previously raised USD1.7m from 4Di Capital, Logos Ventures, Octerra Capital, VestedWorld and Voltron Capital in January 2022.

• FINTECH | 1Long, a Vietnam-based wealth management platform, raised a USD500k pre-seed round from Monk’s Hill Ventures, Iterative Capital, Orionis Capital and R2VP. 

• AI | CopyBase, a Brazil-based provider of AI tools for marketing teams, raised a USD200k seed round from DOMO with participation from Rodrigo Tognini (Conta Simples), Rodrigo Ricco (Octadesk), Pedro Sant’Anna (allu), Bruno Portnoi (Sem Parar Empresas) and other angels.

• DEBT | Partners for Growth invested in SimpliRoute, a Chile-based startup specializing in optimization, logistics and big data.

• LOGISTICS | PIESHIP, a Saudi Arabia-based logistics platform serving e-commerce companies, raised a pre-seed round from SEEDRA Ventures and Nama Ventures.

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

Funds

• Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is in talks to launch a USD40b AI-focused fund. NYT reports that PIF has met with Andreessen Horowitz to discuss a potential partnership.

• Horizon Capital reached a USD350m final close for its fourth fund focusing on fast-growing tech and export-oriented companies in Ukraine and Moldova. The fund had a USD250m target.

• Jada Fund of Funds, a subsidiary of Saudi’s Public Investment Fund, made an undisclosed commitment to Partners for Growth’s seventh flagship venture debt fund.
  • Recent PFG investments in the Middle East include Silkhaus, Tabby, TruKKer and Opontia. 

• Cactus Venture Partners reached a ~USD76m final close for its debut fund to invest in early-stage startups in India.
  • Investments made from this fund already include Kapture, Vitraya Technologies, AMPM, AURIC and Lohum Cleantech.

• Sauce.vc reached a ~USD30m final close for its Sauce Continuity Fund. The vehicle will invest in Series A to Series C rounds of select Indian startups from its seed funds.
  

• Sunicon Ventures reached a ~USD10m final close for its debut seed and early-stage fund to invest in startups in India.
  

• ADB Ventures, the tech investment arm of the Asian Development Bank, launched a USD200m fund to invest in early-stage climate-focused startups in Asia. 

• Silicon Valley’s Tribe Capital launched its inaugural India-dedicated fund with a target of USD150m.
  • Tribe Capital has already been active in India through its global fund with investments in Clinikally Digital Health (healthech), HireSure (enterprise software) and Mudrex (fintech). 
  • Tribe Capital was co-founded by former Social Capital partner Arjun Sethi.

• Peak XV Partners (fka Sequoia India) launched Peak XV Anchor Fund, an internally financed evergreen fund to support the firm’s future vehicles. 

• Don’t Quit Ventures launched a USD10m fund to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage AI companies in the Middle East and emerging markets.

IPOs, M&As and Exits

• Deel, a US-based payroll and compliance platform, is acquiring PaySpace, a South Africa-based payroll and HR software company. 

• Ant Group sold around a 2% stake in Zomato, an India-based online restaurant guide and food ordering platform, for ~USD341m. 

• Ziff, a Mexico-based financial solutions provider, acquired Arrenda, a Mexico-based lending platform providing rent advances for residential landlords.
  • Fasanara Capital led a USD26.5m equity and debt round in Arrenda in August 2022.

News

• AI | Temasek is in active discussions to invest in OpenAI, per FT.
  • Temasek would be the first state-backed group investing directly into OpenAI. 
  • OpenAI was most recently valued at USD80b after closing its latest round led by Thrive Capital in February. 

• AI | The AI and Advanced Technology Council, an Abu Dhabi-based advisory board led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, announced the launch of MGX, an investment platform backed by Mubadala and G42, to invest in data centers, semiconductors and core AI models.
  • The AI and Advanced Technology Council was just launched in January. 

• POLICY | The European Union is the first to pass significant AI legislation globally.
  • The legislation applies to AI tech operating in the EU market, regardless of where it was developed. 
  • The framework focuses on banning certain AU use cases, introducing transparency rules, and requiring frequent assessments for AI-driven models considered high-risk. 

• EV | Rest of World reviews the challenges faced by Tesla as it competes in China with homegrown companies like Nio, Li Auto and BYD: “Musk has talked a lot about his respect for Chinese brands, but Tesla hasn’t done anything to actually compete with them.”

Investors

• Foxmont Capital partnered with BCG to launch its annual VC report on the state of the market in the Philippines. Highlights in this year’s report include:
  • The resilience of VC investment in the Philippines amidst a global market correction, with only a 14% decrease in overall startup funding compared to 2022. 
  • Insights on key drivers behind the momentum in the local landscape, drawing parallels with prior ecosystem development stages in Indonesia, China and India.
  • The role of government-sponsored policies that have enabled the growth of the local technology landscape.  

• CLEANTECH | Spain-based bank BBVA launched a specialized cleantech division expected to provide debt financing and advisory services to climate-related projects across the 25 markets it operates.