Startup World

Not so long ago, the idea of public tech companies emerging from Latin America seemed far-fetched, and Mercado Libre once appeared as rare and mythical as a true unicorn.
Today, however, the region is home to several startups that have reached billion-dollar valuations.Some of these startups, propelled into the spotlight by cross-border expansion, are now recognized beyond their home countries, with Nubank notably going public in the United States Yet, there is a broader cohort of Latin American scale-ups that deserve attention; many in fintech, but not exclusively.
Other important sectors include e-commerce, health tech, logistics, proptech, and SaaS.Some homegrown unicorns may currently hold paper valuations from rounds that were raised during the 2021 peak, but the point still stands: They are worth knowing, and many could recover alongside the market, as VC investment in Latin America demonstrated resilience in 2024.As a group, these unicorns also reflect Latin Americas multiple startup hubs.
While Brazil and Mexico remain leaders in numbers, unicorns have also emerged from Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay, further strengthening these ecosystems.Lets take a closer look at the top Latin American unicorns by valuation although the oldest price tags often need to be taken with a grain of salt.Rappi (2015): Valued at $5.25 billion in July 2021Coming out of Colombia, Rappi is an on-demand delivery platform that became a super app and expanded into multiple countries.Its rise solidified before the pandemic: In 2019, it raised a $1 billion investment from SoftBank.
But its $5.25 billion valuation was attached to the round of more than $500 million it secured in July 2021.Since then, Rappi has operated in a more challenging environment, conducting multiple rounds of layoffs and facing changing gig economy legislation in Mexico, where it now plans to invest $110 million to boost its operations.
However, the company still very much hopes to IPO and hired a CFO to prepare for that endeavor after reaching break-even for the first time in late 2023.QuintoAndar (2012): Valued at $5.1 billion in August 2021QuintoAndar is a Brazilian proptech company focused on the rental and sale of residential real estate.
With commercial activities in six Latin American countries and a tech hub in Europe, it made several acquisitions and grew into a group with a headcount of more than 3,500 people.In 2021, the startup was busy on the fundraising front: Less than three months after announcing a $300 million Series E at a $4 billion valuation, QuintoAndar raised an additional $120 million at a $5.1 billion valuation.
With $755 million raised to date, its cap table includes Kaszek, General Atlantic, SoftBank, and Tencent.Creditas (2012): Valued at $4.8 billion in January 2022Creditas is a Brazilian fintech player specializing in loans, including consumer credit.Its latest round of funding was a $260 million Series F in January 2022 valuing the Brazilian lender at $4.8 billion, up from $1.75 billion in December 2020.The Series F was led by Fidelity, with participation from new and existing backers, including Kaszek Ventures, QED Investors, and SoftBank.
It was extended in July 2022 at the same valuation, allowing Creditas to buy the Brazilian license of Andorran bank Andbank for some $93 million.Nuvemshop (2011): Valued at $3.1 billion in August 2021Branded as Tiendanube in Spanish-speaking markets, Nuvemshop is a Brazilian e-commerce platform designed for SMEs and entrepreneurs to sell products and services online or in short, Latin Americas answer to Shopify.Its latest known valuation of $3.1 billion comes from the $500 million Series E mega-round co-led by Insight Partners and Tiger Global Management that it raised in August 2021, only a few months after its Accel-led $90 million Series D.Wildlife Studios (2011): Valued at ~$3 billion in August 2020Wildlife Studios is a Brazilian mobile gaming company.It was co-founded by Victor Lazarte, now also a general partner at Benchmark, the VC firm that led Wildlife Studios $60 million Series A in 2019 at a $1.3 billion valuation.
Less than a year later, the startup reached a nearly $3 billion valuation from its Series B round.In a candid conversation onstage at Slush 2023, Lazarte said that, in retrospect, raising too much capital at too high a valuation so fast was a mistake.
In June 2023, the company announced that former Amazon executive Peter Hill would replace Lazarte as CEO.
It also conducted several rounds of layoffs.Loft (2018): Valued at $2.9 billion in April 2021Loft is a Brazilian proptech company supported by big Silicon Valley names since its genesis in 2018.Lofts $175 million Series C was co-led by a16z and Vulcan Capital in 2020.
A $425 million Series D led by New York-based D1 Capital Partners followed in March 2021, and its extension in April 2021 valued the company at $2.9 billion.The digital real estate platform wasnt immune to the market turn.
It conducted two rounds of layoffs in 2022 but denied having raised a down round in November 2022.
In 2023, after fresh funding from a sovereign fund in the Middle East at an undisclosed valuation and another round of layoffs, it claimed to have reached break-even.Unico (2007): Valued at $2.6 billion in April 2022Unico is a Brazilian ID tech startup, and one of Latin Americas largest SaaS companies.Its $2.6 billion valuation is more recent than many on this list.
It came from the $100 million Series D the company raised in April 2022.
The round was led by Goldman Sachs, with participation from existing investors General Atlantic and SoftBank Latin America Fund.C6 Bank (2018): Valued at $2.28 billion in December 2020C6 Bank is a Brazilian digital bank.
Unlike some competitors, it hasnt expanded beyond Brazil, where it has more than 35 million clients.C6 was valued at $2.28 billion in December 2020, six months before JPMorgan Chase acquired 40% ownership of the neobank in 2021.
After increasing its stake in 2023, it now owns 46% of C6, which had its first-ever profitable year in 2024.Kavak (2016): Valued at $2.2 billion in April 2025With backers including General Catalyst and SoftBank, Kavak is a Mexico-based e-commerce platform to buy and sell used cars online.Once valued at $8.7 billion after a Series E round that doubled its valuation in 2021, Kavak saw its valuation slashed by $6.5 billion following expansion difficulties and layoffs.
After raising a $127 million equity round and securing two $200 million debt facilities in March 2025, the company aims to position itself for a potential IPO within the next three to five years.Bitso (2014): Valued at $2.2 billion in May 2021Bitso is a Latin American cryptocurrency exchange that also facilitates cross-border payments.In May 2021, it secured a $250 million Series C round valuing the company at $2.2 billion and co-led by Tiger Global and Coatue, with participation from new and existing investors, including Kaszek and QED.CloudWalk (2013): Valued at $2.15 billion in November 2021Known for its InfinitePay and Jim.com brands, CloudWalk is a Brazilian payment infrastructure company (not to be confused with the Chinese facial-recognition software company by the same name).CloudWalks $2.15 billion valuation resulted from a $150 million Series C led by Coatue in November 2021.
Since then, CloudWalk achieved its first full year of profitability in 2023 and closed 2024 with $497 million in revenue.Clip (2012): Valued at $2 billion in June 2024Briefly known as BlitzPay and founded by former PayPal employees, Clip is the Square of Latin America, with POS devices and fintech solutions for businesses.Clip became a unicorn in 2021 following a $250 million round led by SoftBank and Viking, and maintained this status since then.
The $100 million round it raised in June 2024 confirmed its $2 billion valuation as the company was on the brink of profitability, its CEO told Bloomberg.Loggi (2013): Valued at ~$2 billion in March 2021Loggi is a Brazil-based logistics company known for its focus on last-mile delivery.Its backers include Monashees, Qualcomm Ventures, and SoftBank.
Its latest funding round was a $205 million Series F led by CapSur Capital in March 2021 at a valuation close to $2 billion.Bets are still open on who may join the list and how the rankings might be reordered, so well make sure to keep it updated.





Unlimited Portal Access + Monthly Magazine - 12 issues


Contribute US to Start Broadcasting - It's Voluntary!


ADVERTISE


Merchandise (Peace Series)

 


Insta360 drops significant summer upgrades for the X5 cam


More VMware cloud partners axed as Broadcom releases new invite-only program


2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA feels like a genuine cars and truck, not a science experiment


Google finds customized backdoor being installed on SonicWall network devices


Steam punish some sex games to appease payment processors


Permit for xAI's data center blatantly breaches Clean Air Act, NAACP states


Linda Hamilton rocks Stranger Things' S5 extended teaser


Introducing the Ars Technica Posting Guidelines version 3.0


Trump sues Corporation for Public Broadcasting directors who declined to be fired


Amazon's ride on the rocket merry-go-round continues with SpaceX launch


YouTuber faces jail time for revealing off Android-based gaming handhelds


Mac graphics settings for Cyberpunk 2077 aim for console-like simplicity


Stellantis abandons hydrogen fuel cell development


Rough roadway to energy dominance after GOP kneecaps wind and solar


Donkey Kong Bananza is a worthy follower to Super Mario Odyssey's tradition


There could be “dark main sequence” stars at the galactic center


Hackers make use of a blind spot by hiding malware inside DNS records


The ISS is nearing retirement, so why is NASA still gung-ho about StarlinerOne downside of


Airplane Teams with Kratos to Supply to German Air Force


DARPA Axes Giant Liberty Lifter Wing-In-Ground Effect Seaplane


EuroUSC Italia Rebrands as Unifly Consulting


New Algorithm for Vehicle Detection in Drone Aerial Views


1,500 Drone Light Show at Chongqing Low-Altitude Economy Expo


Three new DJI drones just dropped-- but not for you


Intuitive demos 4,000-mile telesurgery with da Vinci 5 surgical robot


After Intel exit, RealSense maps its own future in 3D vision


Unveiling the Tree of Robots: A new taxonomy for understanding robotic diversity


Diligent Robotics completes 300,000 drug store shipments with Moxi


Scale AI lays off 14% of staff, largely in data-labeling business


Ex-Waymo engineers launch Bedrock Robotics with $80M to automate construction


Transit software startup Via confidentially files for an IPO


Rex Salisbury’s Cambrian Ventures raises new fund, bucking fintech slowdown


Hugging Face bets on charming robots to bring open source AI to life


Medieval preacher invoked chivalric hero as a meme in preaching


Large research study squashes anti-vaccine talking points about aluminum


Congress moves to reject bulk of White House’s proposed NASA cuts


Seagate's enormous, 30TB, $600 hard disks are now readily available for anybody to buy


Chinese companies hurry for Nvidia chips as US prepares to raise ban


Corporate insufficiency has actually rendered my preferred discovered device ineffective


From the healthcare facility to the automobile plant: What is GM making with CT scanners


Grok's MechaHitler disaster didn't stop xAI from winning $200M military deal


GOP's pro-industry crypto bills might economically mess up millions, lawmaker alerts


'Not that into peace doves': The Apollo-Soyuz spot NASA rejected


BYD has caught up with Tesla in the global EV race. Here's how.


We saw the heart of Pluto 10 years earlier-- it'll be a long haul to see the rest


Pebblebee tracker’s new SOS alert reminds us that updates can be good for gadgets


Merger of 2 huge black holes is one for the record books


Reddit's UK users must now prove they're 18 to view adult material


Study finds AI tools made open source software designers 19 percent slower


Nvidia chips become the very first GPUs to fall to Rowhammer bit-flip attacks


Cosmetic surgeon off the hook for supposed COVID fraud, injecting kids with saline


Why Gov. Greg Abbott won't release his e-mails with Elon Musk


Office issues on Windows 10 Microsoft's response will soon be upgrade to 11.


ZenaTech Creates First Quantum Computing Prototype Enabling Disruptive AI Drone Speed and Precision


German AI Strike Drones Maker Stark Acquires Berlin AI Startup


Super Quiet Special Operations Drones Being Modified to Launch Smaller Drones


Accompanying Drone Swarm Formation


Wingtra Launches WingtraRAY


UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesía Provides the Flight Control System for French Fire-Fighting Missions


UK Royal Navy Tests Malloy Drone for Maritime Logistics on HMS Prince of Wales Aircraft Carrier


Vodafone and Manna Test Drone Home Delivery


Ukraine Captures Russian Troops Using Only Drones and Robots


Department of Homeland Security Issues Drone as First Responder (DFR) Systems Tech Note


Joby Aviation to double eVTOL production across two states, leveraging Toyota's proficiency


United States releases national security probe into DJI, Autel drones


Republicans demand urgent review of DJI, Autel drones [Updated]


DJI’s next product launch is all about digital worlds


SS Innovations exceeds 100 surgical robot implementations


maxon Group obtains minority stake in Synapticon


Inside Advanced Navigation's coral loss discovery in the world's southernmost reefs


XTEND secures extension to Series B to scale self-governing tactical robots


Zimmer Biomet to acquire Monogram Technologies for $177M


Liquid AI releases on-device foundation model LFM2


Global industrial robot market contracted 5.8% last year, reports Interact Analysis


MOTOR Ai gets seed funding towards explainable self-driving software application


A former OpenAI engineer describes what it’s really like to work there


Rwazi raises $12M Series A to assist companies with consumer insights and intelligence


China’s Geely is officially bringing its luxury EV startup Zeekr private


Auriga Space raises $6M to shoot rockets off an electromagnetic launch track


A Technology NewsRoom All Stage introduces in Boston today-- do not miss what founders are discovering


As the internet browser wars heat up, here are the most popular alternatives to Chrome and Safari in 2025


Rainmaker partners with Atmo to squeeze more rain from clouds


The votes remain in: A Technology NewsRoom Disrupt 2025 Audience Choice winners exposed for roundtables and breakouts


Tomorrow: A Technology NewsRoom All Stage launches in Boston — and ticket prices rise


Species at 30 makes for a great guilty pleasure


A new Martian climate model suggest a mostly cold, harsh environment


Pharm Robotics advances automated dairy cow healthcare


Meta acquires voice startup Play AI


The countdown’s almost over: 2 days until A Technology NewsRoom All Stage 2025 kicks off in Boston


5 huge EV takeaways from Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill


AI therapy bots fuel delusions and provide harmful recommendations, Stanford study discovers


Male's heart stopped after typical bacterium triggered ultra-rare infection


New Windows 11 build adds self-healing “quick machine recovery” feature


Belkin shows tech firms getting too comfortable with bricking customers’ stuff


Evaluation: Stellar cast makes Superman shine bright


Trump's DOJ appears irritated about having to authorize T-Mobile's most current merger


A mess of its own making: Google nerfs second Pixel phone battery this year


RFK Jr. may be about to destroy preventive health panel, health groups fear


Lamborghini follows effective racing Huracan with new Temerario GT3


Rocket Report: SpaceX to make its own propellant; China's largest launch pad


In the Southwest, photovoltaic panels can help both photovoltaics and crops


It’s hunting season in orbit as Russia’s killer satellites mystify skywatchers


It's a heist : Senator calls out Texas for trying to steal shuttle from Smithsonian


Lady takes 10x dose of turmeric, gets hospitalized for liver damage


Almost everyone opposes Trump's strategy to eliminate area traffic control program


Pro basketball gamer and 4 youths jailed in connection to ransomware crimes


Police officers' preferred AI tool immediately erases proof of when AI was utilized


T-Mobile follows orders from Trump FCC, ends DEI to get 2 mergers approved


Life after two-stroke: Rotax energizes its bike and kart powertrains


Shield AI V-BAT Selected by Netherlands Ministry of Defence for Navy and Marine Corps


DARPA Picks Bell Textron for New Runway-Less Drone X-Plane


TEKEVER to Build New Centre of Excellence in France


Turkey's Baykar Kemankeş-1 Loitering Munition Adds Air-to-Air Strike Role


Bio-Hybrid Drone Uses Silkworm Moth Antennae to Navigate Using Smell


The Plane With the Most Dangerous Wing in the World


A-10 Warthog Already Has Capability to Use Laser-Guided Rockets to Down Drones


New Ukrainian Jammer Blasts Radio Noise in a Powerful Stream to Deflect Russia's 'Miracle' Glide-Bombs


NTT Demonstrates World’s First Successful Lightning Triggering and Guidance Using a Drone


Estonia’s Marduk Participates in Swedish C-UAS Demonstration


New FAA leader faces big drone decisions ahead


This DJI Mini 3 drone offer simply got even less expensive


WingtraRAY: New study drone ends waiver delays and rework


DJI Mavic 3 Pro utilized in Cape Canaveral drone spying case


Is this drone tracker a threat to your safety


DJI releases Power 1000 V2, but not for United States buyers


Why DJI Neo is the very best pocket drone deal this Prime Day


HoverAir X1 drone gets enormous 33% Prime Day discount


DJI's biggest Prime Day sale ever: From $159 drones to $319 power stations


Save 15% on dual-camera DJI Air?3 drone this Prime Day


Prime Day: Save $90 on DJI Mini 4K Fly More Combo


Get a DJI drone for $159-- yes, truly


Apera AI updates Apera Forge design and AI training studio


BlackBerry QNX is positive on robotic surgical treatment however states autonomy isn't here yet


Patterns in supply chain robotics with John Santagate of infios


Kraken Robotics nets $115M for marine systems in public offering


TRI: pretrained large behavior models accelerate robot learning


Hugging Face launches Reachy Mini robot as embodied AI platform


Diligent Robotics hires 2 former Cruise execs to scale Moxi


Connect Analysis slashes its mobile robotic outlook amid tariff uncertainty


Outrider styles security system for autonomous yard trucks


GFT Technologies and NEURA Robotics partner to build software for physical AI


Nimble moves to cloud-based PTC development tools for logistics robots


Johns Hopkins teaches robotic to carry out a gallbladder elimination on a practical patient


Cobionix ready to expand with $3M for healthcare robotics


Augmentus raises Series A+ funding to reduce robot programming complexity


JAXA tests PickNik's MoveIt Pro software in multi-armed robotic system for the ISS


Simply 3 days left to conserve before A Technology NewsRoom All Stage 2025 illuminate Boston


AI leadership development platform Praxis Labs sells to Torch


A cloud-seeding startup did not trigger the Texas floods


Hugging Face's new robot is the Seinfeld of AI gadgets


Goldman Sachs is testing viral AI agent Devin as a ‘new employee’


Medium’s CEO explains what it took to stop losing $2.6M monthly


Startups Weekly: Still running


Julie Wainwright is building what comes next — join her fireside chat at A Technology NewsRoom Disrupt 2025


Humanoids, AVs, and what's next in AI hardware at A Technology NewsRoom Disrupt 2025


Helios wants to be the AI operating system for public policy professionals


Just 4 days until A Technology NewsRoom All Stage kicks off in Boston-- and the lowest ticket rates disappear


Where AI fulfills style: Runway co-founder Alejandro Matamala Ortiz takes the AI Stage at A Technology NewsRoom Disrupt 2025


How to really raise a seed round: Actionable advice from leading investors at A Technology NewsRoom Disrupt 2025


5 days till A Technology NewsRoom All Stage-- save as much as $475 before costs increase


Knox lands $6.5M to compete with Palantir in the federal compliance market


Why Cluely’s Roy Lee isn’t sweating cheating detectors


SaaS is in the past. The future belongs to representatives, states Narada AI's CEO.


Pinecone founder Edo Liberty checks out the genuine missing link in enterprise AI at A Technology NewsRoom Disrupt 2025


Get your exhibit table at A Technology NewsRoom Disrupt 2025


Discover how to prevent the mistakes that stall start-up fundraising at A Technology NewsRoom All Stage on July 15


Rivian spinoff Also raises another $200M to build e-bikes and more


LangChain is about to become a unicorn, sources state


Thank you to the visionaries: Celebrating the partners behind A Technology NewsRoom All Stage


Wayve CEO Alex Kendall brings the future of autonomous AI to A Technology NewsRoom Disrupt 2025


The complete Side Events lineup at A Technology NewsRoom All Stage 2025


Exploring the future of voice AI with Mati Staniszewski at A Technology NewsRoom Disrupt 2025


Moonvalley's 'ethical' AI video design for filmmakers is now publicly readily available


Jeff Chow of Miro shares how group intelligence drives better product-building at A Technology NewsRoom All Stage


7 days until doors open at A Technology NewsRoom All Stage-- and approximately $475 in ticket cost savings disappear