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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
- Fintoc secured direct access to Mexico’s SPEI, becoming the first Chilean fintech linked to Banxico and boosting regulated payments infrastructure.
- Brazil’s CVM unveiled its 2026 agenda, prioritizing crowdfunding and tokenization to expand retail access and update capital markets.
- GatekeeperX announced its entry into Colombia to expand its fraud prevention and AML platform as it targets regional leadership in digital security.
- Prometeo launched Name Match across all U.S. banks, enabling account ownership verification before payments to cut ACH fraud returns.
- Brazilian insurtech 88i secured full S4 insurer approval, moving from sandbox to nationwide digital nano insurance distribution for gig economy platforms.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Jeeves secured a $100 million financing facility from Community Investment Management, raising its total credit line to $175 million.
- Kala raised $55 million in debt to expand credit access for unbanked and underbanked consumers using tech-driven lending across Colombia.
- Brazilian fintech Crown raised a $13.5 million Series A led by Paradigm at a $90 million valuation to scale BRLV a real backed stablecoin.
- Brazilian medical fintech Caveo raised about $10 million in Series A funding to expand beyond early career doctors.
- Argentine healthtech Avedian raised $2.2 million led by Meet Capital to scale its AI platforms for hospitals and payers.
💰️ Notable Exits
- Brazilian edtechs SuperAutor and Arvore merged, combining creation and digital reading platforms reaching 11,000 schools and 4 million students.
- Global crypto platform Nexo acquired Argentina’s Buenbit to accelerate LatAm expansion strengthening regulated operations in Argentina and Peru.
- Brazilian digital consultancy Nava acquired martech GH Brandtech with Crescera backing, marking its first M&A move.
- Alper Seguros acquired Elevus in a small acquihire deal to absorb founders and add risk management as a service capabilities into its corporate risk unit.
- BASE Digital acquired Atendo to add AI-driven relationship automation aiming for $9.1 million revenue while deepening enterprise client offerings.
🏦 About Investors
- Brazilian VC BluStone closed its second fund at $12.5 million backed by Grupo Ultra and Murchison to invest in underdigitized logistics and supply chain startups across Brazil and Latin America.
🚀Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Jeeves
Jeeves is a global financial infrastructure startup founded in 2019 and headquartered in Mexico City, created by Dileep Thazhmon and Sherwin Gandhi to simplify corporate spend for fast growing businesses. The company provides corporate cards, expense management, payments, treasury, and cross border financial tools used by companies across technology, logistics, mobility, and e-commerce. Jeeves secured a $100 million financing facility from Community Investment Management, increasing its total credit line to $175 million and doubling down on Mexico as its largest revenue market after 250% annual growth.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
BluStone
BluStone is a São Paulo-based venture capital firm founded in 2020 by Carlos Lopes and Pedro Vazquez, veterans of Patria Investimentos and the Delly’s logistics platform. The firm focuses on early-stage tech and tech-enabled startups tackling underdigitized logistics and supply chain sectors across Brazil and Latin America. In 2025, BluStone closed its second fund at $12.5 million, backed by Grupo Ultra and Murchison, nearly seven times its debut vehicle. The new fund is already deploying capital into OCN in Mexico and PX Center, alongside a portfolio including Zax, Cubbo, GoFlux, Elevva, and Cannect. BluStone’s mission is clear, bringing technology and efficiency to real economy sectors long overlooked by venture capital.
🤑Opportunity Radar
Call for Applications: Y Combinator Spring 2026 Batch
Applications are now open for the Y Combinator Spring 2026 Batch, a globally recognized accelerator program for early-stage startups. The application deadline is 9 February 2026 at 8:00 PM PT, and the program will run from April to June 2026, taking place in person in San Francisco. Selected founders gain access to early-stage funding, hands-on mentorship from experienced startup partners, a powerful global alumni network, and investor introductions. Early-stage founders and startup teams can begin their application now to be considered for the Spring 2026 cohort.
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