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Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - Latin America, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌏️
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📰 Important News
- Mercado Bitcoin partnered with Adianta Jus to launch tokenized court-ordered payments.
- 180 Seguros appointed co-founder Franco Lamping as Chief AI Officer and former Nubank exec Bleise Cruz as the new CTO.
- XP Inc announced a partnership with U.S.-regulated platform Kalshi to become the first financial institution in Brazil to offer prediction markets.
- Yuno appointed Mauricio Schwartzmann, a veteran of Mastercard, RappiBank, and Citi, as its new Chief Banking and Financial Institutions Officer.
- Fintech Gooroo Crédito appointed Alex Stanisci, a former executive from Citi and HSBC, as its new Director of Investor Relations.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Azos closed a $24 million Series C round led by Kaszek and Kevin Efrusy to accelerate its AI-driven technological development.
- Meddi raised $7.8 million in funding from GNP Seguros and Médica Móvil to expand its digital health platform and build a preventive care model.
- Handle landed a $6 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz to expand its enterprise AI agents platform into Mexico.
- Maggu AI secured $4 million in a seed round led by DGF Investimentos to expand its AI copilot solution for pharmacies.
- Nilo attracted $2.9 million from Citrino Ventures and 14B to boost AI solutions for hospitals and enhance its SaaS platform with AI agents.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- Brazilian AI startup Adapta acquired no-code platform Skip for $5.7 million, its first strategic acquisition to expand its product portfolio and integrate Skip's team and client base.
- Salvadoran fintech MONETAE agreed to acquire electronic money provider Transferencias de El Salvador from AirPak to create a unified platform for e-money, digital assets, and Bitcoin services.
🏦 About Investors
- Mundi Ventures secured the first close for its $100 million LatAm Fund I, focusing on AI-driven fintech, insurtech, and healthtech startups in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Shiva secured $10 million to back niche AI startups, focusing on small, agile teams with monthly grants and aiming for profitable exits, challenging traditional investment models and fostering social impact.
🚀 Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Azos
Founded in 2020 in São Paulo by Daniel Lin, Samuel Costa, and Pedro Franceschi, Azos is modernizing Brazil’s life insurance market through a technology-first platform that uses artificial intelligence to streamline underwriting, policy issuance, and claims processing. The company offers customizable digital life insurance policies distributed through a growing network of brokers. Azos recently raised $24 million in a Series C round co-led by Kaszek and investor Kevin Efrusy, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst. Led by CEO Rafael Cló, the startup is expanding its AI capabilities to automate operations and scale faster, positioning itself to reshape how insurance is delivered in Brazil.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Mundi Ventures
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Madrid, Mundi Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in technology companies across fintech, insurtech, climatetech, and retailtech. Managing roughly $1.7 billion in assets, the firm has backed more than 70 startups globally, including companies such as Klarna and Job&Talent. Recently, Mundi launched LatAm Fund I, targeting $100 million to support AI-driven startups expanding access to financial and health protection across Latin America. The firm differentiates itself through deep sector specialization and partnerships with insurers and financial institutions, aiming to help build scalable digital solutions that expand protection and financial resilience across emerging markets.
🤑 Opportunities Expiring Soon
Amazon Nova AI Hackathon
- 📢 Organizer: Amazon Web Services
- 🗂️ Category: Hackathon, Award/Prize
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: AI & Data
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 17, 2026
Hack-Nation Global AI Hackathon
- 📢 Organizer: Hack Nation
- 🗂️ Category: Hackathon
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 21, 2026
Immersive Edutainment Platform Challenge
- 📢 Organizer: Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE)
- 🗂️ Category: Award/Prize, Funding, Competition/Challenge
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Education & Workforce, Media & Entertainment, AI & Data, Software & IT
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 23, 2026
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