When it comes to international players investing in Latin American startups, US investors dominate the list, representing 67% of all global investors into LatAm startups since 2013.

The list of US funds investing in Latin American startups includes some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names: Andreessen Horowitz, Accel Partners, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Social Capital, Y Combinator, and others. These players are investing opportunistically across financing stages and sectors, with a preference for deals in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.

Sequoia Capital made its inaugural investment in Brazil in Brazilian fintech Nubank, founded by former Sequoia partner David Velez, in 2014. Tiger Global led Nubank’s Series B the following year; by 2016 Founders Fund led a US$52m Series C, and Redpoint Ventures and DST Global joined Nubank’s US$80m Series D.  (invested previously in Scanntech in Uruguay)

Andreessen Horowitz made its inaugural investment in Latin America in Rappi, a last-mile delivery service operating in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil, alongside Sequoia Capital, DST Global and others in 2016; Sequoia Capital invested in Rappi the following year. Rappi is in the process of raising a US$130m+ round from existing and new investors.

Also notable is Accel Partners’ inaugural Mexican investment in delivery startup Cornershop in 2016; Accel returned to lead a US$21m Series B in 2017. Accel also has investments in Brazilian startups EduK and Neoway.

A separate group of US-based investors dominates the list of most active investors in LatAm startups, and includes a diverse set of investors across all stages, from accelerators Y Combinator and 500 Startups to private equity firm Riverwood Capital, investment firm Tiger Global, The International Finance Corporation (IFC), impact investor Omidyar Network, and Endeavor Catalyst, a co-investment vehicle supporting Endeavor entrepreneurs.

By deal count, these are the most active US-based investors in LatAm startups (2013-2017):

HIGHLIGHTED US INVESTMENTS IN LATAM STARTUPS (2013-2017)

Investments took place during the period 2013-2017 and include verified LAVCA Industry Data on fund manager transactions, as well as other investor types from public sources.

This information has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable and from secondary sources that were checked whenever possible, but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. LAVCA shall not be responsible for any inaccuracy unintentionally included in this publication. Readers should consult and rely solely on their own advisers regarding all pertinent information, legal, and accounting issues.

*Investments include the following stages:

• Seed/Incubator: Startup capital for companies to incubate an idea into a company or product.
• Early Stage: Startup capital for companies.
• Expansion Stage: Capital for companies that have reached a sustainable level of development and may be shipping products.
• Growth Financing: Non-control equity investment in an existing company to finance growth strategy.