Contributions stood at US$ 505.20 million last month compared to 356.7 million in April;
The increase in the volume invested is linked to large rounds, with emphasis on Brazil, where 33 businesses were mapped;
Brazil represented 52.3% of the rounds and 45.9% of the investment volume made in May in the Latin American ecosystem.
The Latin American startup ecosystem registered 63 rounds of investments in May that totaled US$ 505.20 million, according to a monthly Venture Capital survey carried out by Distrito, the main platform for emerging technologies in Latin America. This is the best result since October 2022, when US$ 517 million was raised.
The increase in the volume invested is related to an important movement of large rounds that took place in the sector, with emphasis on that of the Brazilian company, CRM&Bonus, which raised US$ 78 million. “Late-stage companies returned to raising large rounds. This is a sign that indicates a return in the funds' appetite for good opportunities and signals the resilience of good startups that adapted to the most challenging moment in the market and are now capturing resources again”, explains Gustavo Gierun, CEO and co-founder of Distrito.
The volume of resources increased significantly in both the monthly and annual comparisons. In April this year, Latin American startups raised US$ 356.70 million; in May 2023, these companies had contributions of US$ 195.73 million. Despite this greater contribution, May saw a drop in the number of rounds: last month's 63 deals represented a drop of 12.5% compared to the 72 registered in April. In May 2023, 73 rounds were scheduled.
Volume of Investments and Rounds: 2023 x 2024*
| Year | Month | Volume in (US$ million) | Number of investments |
| 2.023 | 1 | 353,69 | 70 |
| 2 | 167,94 | 45 | |
| 3 | 138,31 | 67 | |
| 4 | 195,73 | 72 | |
| 5 | 190,89 | 73 | |
| 6 | 382,93 | 72 | |
| 7 | 240,56 | 60 | |
| 8 | 441,35 | 70 | |
| 9 | 333,23 | 62 | |
| 10 | 457,27 | 72 | |
| 11 | 238,22 | 73 | |
| 12 | 225,97 | 57 | |
| 2.024 | 1 | 321,74 | 65 |
| 2 | 413,47 | 57 | |
| 3 | 209,78 | 65 | |
| 4 | 356,70 | 72 | |
| 5 | 505,20 | 63 |
*comparison between January 2023 and May 2024
In May, the highest concentration of deals is in the Early-Stage, with 43. Then comes the Pre-Seed and its 14 rounds. In the Late-Stage, it reached 6 rounds in this period. The sectors with the highest number of rounds were: FinTech (11), HealthTech (6) and Real Estate (6). The segments with the largest volume of resources invested were EnergyTech (US$ 117.07 million), FinTech (US$ 105.85 million), MarTech (US$ 78 million) and HealthTech (US$ 26.85 million).
Outstanding Investments in Latin America
Last month, startup Indicium, founded in Florianópolis in 2017, announced the raising of a series A round of US$ 40 million (more than R$ 200 million), through North American venture capital manager Columbia Capital, to strengthen its expansion strategy in the US market, where it has been operating since 2021.
Still in Brazil, as mentioned, the startup CRM&Bonus, focused on loyalty programs for retail, announced the raising of US$ 78 million (R$ 400 million) in a series B investment round, led by the international Bond fund.
Aplazo, a company based in Mexico, raised US$ 70 million in equity financing, including US$ 45 million in Series B, to continue building its omnichannel payment platform.
Investments in Brazil
Investments in Brazil totaled 33 deals and US$ 232.1 million in volume contributed, representing 52.3% of rounds and 45.9% in investment volume in Latin American startups. The volume of May in Brazil surpassed the months of April this year, which had contributions of US$ 174.6 million, and May 2023, with its US$ 118.4 million.
The drop in the number of rounds seen in Latin America was also seen in Brazil. The 33 rounds mapped in May showed a drop of 32.6% in the number of deals compared to the same month in 2023, when 49 deals were registered. In relation to April this year, which had 43 rounds, the low was 23.2%.
M&A in Latin America
The District's report also highlights the mergers and acquisitions activities in May, which showed 21 M&As carried out in the Latin American startup ecosystem, 17 of them in Brazil, two in Chile, one in Uruguay and one in Costa Rica.
| Acquired | Sector | Acquirer | Country |
| Prepare | RetailTech | BuzzMonitor | Brazil |
| Zunify | FinTech | Evertec | Costa Rica |
| DM Card | FinTech | Omni Financial Solutions | Brazil |
| FideliZii | MarTech | Accelerator Group | Brazil |
| Transfeera | FinTech | Payretailers | Brazil |
| EntrySoftware | DeepTech | DocService | Brazil |
| Jobconvo | HRTech | Senior Systems | Brazil |
| Sysvision | DeepTech | Deal Technologies | Brazil |
| Bee Vale | HRTech | Somapay | Brazil |
| LiveCo | RetailTech | NetShow | Brazil |
| Inswitch | RetailTech | TransNetwork | Uruguay |
| CredValue | RegTech | PX Judicial Assets | Brazil |
| Quantum | RegTech | PX Judicial Assets | Brazil |
| ASIS | RegTech | Sankhya | Brazil |
| Ray | Supply Chain | Clicoh | Chile |
| Regulatory More | RegTech | CELCOIN | Brazil |
| By bus | TravelTech | Travelier | Brazil |
| SKOOB | Communication | Skeelo | Brazil |
| Ecocopter | Mobility | Helisul Aviation | Chile |
| Soko | MarTech | Accenture | Brazil |
| Bluseedy | FinTech | KATE Capital | Brazil |
