The Brazilian market layout has long known that Softbank has done a good job.

Softbank “Latin America Team” added another member.

On October 7, Softbank announced that it will lead the B-round financing of Buser, the Brazilian intercity bus online booking platform, with investors including Canary, Monashees, Valor Capital and Brazilian transportation giant Grupo Globo. The specific amount has not been disclosed.

Latin American local media LABS speculates that this amount will not be less than BRL 300 million (approximately $73 million), given that Buser founder Marcelo Abrittaz has stated that the company plans to invest the above amount in business and cooperation areas. Funds.

On September 21, Softbank revealed that there will be another big move in investment in about two weeks. Buser is considered “Berber Uber” in the local area.

Curious next star player: Sniper Latin America next unicorn!

Buser What is sacred?

Founded in Sao Paulo in 2016, a new member of Softbank’s Latin American portfolio, Buser’s business model is not complicated – by providing multiple bus operators to provide customers with cheaper booking services. The company claims that it is half the price on the platform.

According to Reuters and Contxto, Buser currently has 250,000 users and has successfully established a partnership with 40 bus companies and a 100-level fleet.

This volume is far from meeting the expectations of company co-founder Marcelo Abritta. He set the daily average order volume to 30,000, which is ten times the current level. “Our goal is to expand to more than 200 cities in 20 states in the next 12 months,” Abritta said. At present, the company’s business scope covers more than 50 towns.

The other players on the same track in the Brazilian market include ClickBus and Click Fretado, which also support bus bookings and online comparisons. According to the company’s official website, ClickBus, which was established in 2013, has also launched its business in Mexico and Turkey.

The Contxto report also pointed out that there is potential for collaboration between Buser and Softbank’s portfolio companies. In addition to Buser, Softbank also holds Uber, Didi Travel, Grab and other taxi applications, Latin American errands Rappi and other related lines.Start-up in the industry.

Softbank’s Brazilian footprint

In September, Softbank made three investments in the Brazilian market.

On September 17, Softbank led a $120 million round of financing for the “Brazil version of Wayfair” furniture e-commerce company MadeiraMadeira. The total financing of all previous rounds of the company was only slightly higher than one-third of the current round, and the last round of C round financing was a total of $27.3 million.

The light capital operation model eased the financial pressure on the company. According to Reuters, MadeiraMadeira does not hold commodity inventory as a three-party platform, but instead docks orders to producers. This home appliance platform has launched millions of home improvement products and manages 450 third-party warehouse centers.

In the middle of the month, Softbank increased its shareholding in Banco Intel, a Brazilian listed digital bank, with a shareholding ratio of 14.94%, approximately double the previous one.

Before, Softbank was once reported to have contacted Nubank, a Brazilian financial technology company invested by Tencent, but did not participate in Nubank’s July F round of financing.

On September 9, Softbank led a $250 million Series D round of financing for the rental platform QuintoAndar. “This company is at the heart of the global transformation of the real estate industry,” said Softbank International CEO Marcelo Claure.

According to Latin American local media Latamlist, QuintoAndar “provides end-to-end services for long-term rentals.” In the past year, the company has achieved five times the number of its homes, three times the increase in revenue, and is seeking cooperation with offline real estate companies to further expand.

In July this year, Softbank’s Vision Fund led a $233 million financing from Creditas, a Brazilian online lending platform. Latin American local media Contxto It is reported that “the Brazilian lending market is still an area that the big banks rarely get involved, which has sparked interest in Softbank.”

The first phase of the Vision Fund led three Brazilian start-ups – the fitness platform Gympass, the online loan platform Creditas and the express application Loggi.

Where is the good appetite?

Softbank’s appetite for Latin America’s technology is no longer a miracle. As early as March of this year, I went to the sea and reported that Softbank launched a $5 billion innovation fund, promised to invest in Latin American start-ups.

On October 2, Softbank announced the appointment of Ralf Wenzel as the Softbank Latin American incubator Tech HubThe CEO helps the Softbank Vision Fund’s portfolio to establish a joint venture in Latin America. Ralf Wenzel is the founder of global takeaway giant Foodpanda and European e-wallet Skrill.

The Softbank official website announced that “the goal is to establish 50 joint ventures in the next five years”. This move is echoing the “bringing” signal released at the end of September – “Softbank will bring 40 companies with high growth potential to Brazil”.

Choose Brazil is not a coincidence, and it is likely to be the main battlefield for venture capital in Latin America.

According to data from the Latin American Private Capital Investment Association (LAVCA), last year’s venture capital investment in the Brazilian market totaled 1.3 billion US dollars, accounting for more than half of the total investment in the Latin American market, a year-on-year growth rate of 52%.

The refinement to the investment round, the Brazilian market is also far ahead, and the number of transactions in Mexico’s second financing stage is only half that of Brazil.

In the top 14 companies ranked by LAVCA in terms of investment amount, there are 9 Brazilian companies on the list, including 4 financial technology companies including Nubank, Creditas, Ebanx and ContaAzul, “Brazil Edition”, iFood, and Express application Loggi, shared travel company Yellow, smart freight company CargoX and rental platform QuintoAndar.

The Brazilian unicorn company is half of the Latin American market. According to Latin American local media Contxto, as of April this year, there were 19 unicorns in Latin America, and Brazil accounted for 10 of them.

Betting early, buy off.

The correct posture for early financing: From Seed Round to Round A: Latin American Startups Financing Overview

文 | 锅沉@出海

编 | Zhao Xiaochun@出海

Figure | Unsplash

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新欢?老爱? What startups did Softbank hit in Brazil in 2019?

新欢?老爱? What startups did Softbank hit in Brazil in 2019?