Plata’s $250M, Chile’s Deep Tech and Colombia’s Healthtech Surge
Summary October 16-31, 2025
The past two weeks in Latin America’s startup world have been marked by record-breaking deals, cross-border ambitions, and a growing appetite for disruptive technology. Mexico stood out with Plata’s stunning $250M raise, Ginia’s push to bridge students and employers with AI, and Jalisco’s biotech delegation planting its flag on the global stage. Meanwhile, Mexico City solidified its role as an innovation hub by hosting AI Fest 2025, attracting over 1,000 ecosystem leaders and spotlighting the country’s rapid progress in enterprise software.
Elsewhere in the region, Colombia continues to capture investor attention—Akua’s $13M seed for AI-powered payments, Welli’s $75M healthtech boost, and international validation via AWS’s new backing for Synthera AI. Fintech and SaaS dominate the headlines, but acquisitions like Siigo’s of the outlet Actualícese show that consolidation is heating up as the ecosystem matures. In the face of slower macro growth predicted for Central America and the Caribbean, digital banking and talent are still breaking ground, as Nequi brings its financial platform to new markets and Guatemala’s BecaLab earns a coveted spot among MIT’s Innovators Under 35.
The accelerating pace isn’t limited to the big players: Chile leads deep tech with $607M deployed, Impactaland cements its role as the impact investing nexus, while Brazil’s startups chase growth despite punishing rates and Argentina doubles down on biotech and AI.
Mexico
Plata Raises $250M Series B at $3.1B Valuation to Become Full-Fledged Digital Bank
Mexican fintech Plata secures massive funding round as it prepares to launch comprehensive banking services following regulatory approval in December 2024. Source: Bloomberg
Ginia Closes $1.7M Pre-Seed Round Led by Wollef to Connect Students with Employment
Mexican edtech startup founded by former Zubale and Addi executives uses AI to guide students from CV creation to job placement. Source: LatamList
Jalisco Biotech Delegation Seeks Investment and Collaboration at BIOSPAIN 2025
In a move demonstrating Mexico's evolving innovation strategy, a delegation from the state of Jalisco conducted a strategic mission to Spain in October 2025. The goal was to internationalize Mexico's burgeoning biotech ecosystem, attract investment, and expand collaboration, particularly through participation in BIOSPAIN 2025. This activity signals a conscious effort to transition Mexico's global economic role from primarily a manufacturing base to a dynamic, high-value innovation hub. Source: Mexico Business News.
Mexico City Hosts AI Fest 2025, Focusing on Regional Intelligence Growth
Mexico City reinforced its position as a technological nucleus by hosting AI Fest 2025, which successfully convened over 1,000 leaders, investors, and founders. This gathering highlighted regional AI innovation, confirming Mexico’s role in the rapid adoption of AI-powered enterprise software, a key thematic trend identified by LAVCA across the region. Source: Latam Republic.
Central America & Caribbean
World Bank Forecasts LatAm/CAC Region to be the Slowest-Growing Globally in 2025
Macroeconomic forecasts from the World Bank indicate significant headwinds, projecting the Latin America and Caribbean region to grow by only 2.3% in 2025, escalating to 2.5% in 2026. This pace is the slowest among all global regions, a slowdown attributed to stubborn inflation, rising debt, and global uncertainty, directly impacting the ability of startups to raise capital. Source: World Bank.
Nequi Expands to Central America: Digital Banking Innovation Arrives in El Salvador and Guatemala
Nequi expands to El Salvador and Guatemala, bringing Colombia’s digital banking expertise and over 30 services to Central America, empowering users with financial inclusion, credit, and digital tools. Source: El Tiempo.
Guatemalan startup BecaLab recognized by MIT in the Innovators Under 35 awards
Ana Aquino, from Guatemala, founded BecaLab, an educational platform that acts as a smart matcher between student profiles and the most suitable scholarship opportunities. Source: Guatemala Portal
GET Forum 2025 in San Salvador, El Salvador
GET Forum is an event organized by IDB Lab aimed at building relationships, resources, and opportunities to foster a continuous and valuable ecosystem for participants. The event will take place from Sunday, November 30 to Tuesday, December 2. Source: Get Forum
Colombia
Paytech Akua Raises $13M Seed Round for Regional SaaS Expansion
Colombian paytech startup Akua secured an $13 million seed round, co-led by Flourish Ventures and Cathay Latam. Akua’s value proposition centers on its AI-powered Acquiring-as-a-Service (AaaS) platform, designed to process high volumes of transactions (50 million daily) and achieve significant operational efficiency by utilizing over 20 AI agents for fraud detection, automation, and cutting client costs by up to 60%. Source: Entorno.vc
Colombia's Top Startups to Watch for 2026 according to Cuantico VP
Colombia’s startup scene is booming—in this report, Cuantico VP highlights the most promising 2026 startups driving innovation and investment in the country. Source: Latam Republic
Amazon Web Services will invest in the Colombian startup Synthera AI
Daniel Saldarriaga, country manager of Amazon Web Services, highlighted the country's importance to the company with its training program in Colombia and the 'Generative AI Accelerator'. Source: La Republica.co
Actualícese is acquired by Siigo
Colombian accounting software provider Siigo has acquired Actualícese, a content platform for accounting and tax professionals in Colombia. Source: Pulso Capital
Fintech Welli raises US$75M to boost financial solutions in the healthcare sector in Latin America
Colombian Fintech Welli has secured US$75 million in structured debt financing from Community Investment Management (CIM) to expand its financial solutions across Latin America’s healthcare sector. Source: Latam Fintech Hub.
Chile
Chile Leads Latin America in Deep Tech Investment with $607M Raised
NotCo ($466M), PhageLab ($41M), and Botanical Solutions ($23M) concentrate 87% of national deep tech funding. Source: Bloomberg Línea
Four Chilean Startups Compete for Global eAwards 2025 Representation
Pegasi, Bluera, TwinViz, and SafetyMind selected as finalists; winner receives $10M and represents Chile in Peru in November. Source: El Mostrador
Impactaland 2025: Latin America’s largest impact investing hub
Impactaland 2025 returns this November as one of the most anticipated gatherings for venture capital and entrepreneurship in Latin America. Source: Latam Republic.
Magnar AI raises USD 300K with support from Buenaonda and Platanus Ventures
Chilean startup Magnar AI has raised US$300,000 in its first funding round to boost its AI-powered legal platform and begin expansion into Peru, Colombia, Uruguay, and Mexico. Source: Entorno.vc
Agtech Emerges as a Key VC Vertical for Chile in 2024 VC Metrics
Sector-specific data, while reflecting 2024 activity, underscores Chile's strategic focus. LAVCA data showed that Agtech received $29 million in venture investment in 2024, confirming its position as a key vertical alongside Fintech, which received $46 million in the same period. This emphasis on Agtech aligns with the broader regional resurgence in funding for sustainable agriculture solutions. Source: LAVCA.
Peru
Peru Startup Ecosystem Grows 20.2% Annually, Ranks 67th Globally
Country demonstrates resilience with 151 tracked startups; Lima maintains position in top 1000 global startup cities. Source: StartupBlink
Wallib expands to Mexico, Peru and Central America
In less than two years, Wallib has exceeded US$500 million in transaction volume and has a team of 20 collaborators, offering blockchain-based financial solutions. Source: Pulso Capital
Argentina
Deep Tech Investments Accelerate in Argentine Ecosystem
Argentina positions as second-largest deep tech market in Latin America behind Chile; AI and biotech startups attract capital. Source: Bloomberg Línea
What is Picante, the Argentine fund that has landed in Uruguay in search of talented and resilient young entrepreneurs
With investments in eight pre-seed stage startups (including Uruguayan company Viatik), the fund and accelerator Picante advances its regional expansion and focuses on developing operations in Uruguay. Source: Forbes Uruguay
A Uruguayan startup that created an AI agent to collect debts without insults or fights arrives in Argentina
The company Mozart developed conversational agents trained to generate empathy with their human interlocutors. They are also used for sales and call center support. Source: Ambito.com
Brazil
Lastro Raises $15M Series A Led by Prosus Ventures for AI Real Estate Platform
Brazilian proptech's AI assistant Lais engages 2M+ property seekers; serves 1,000+ brokerages through WhatsApp automation. Source: LatAm Republic
BNDES Commits $950 Million to Variable Income, Half Directed to Green Innovation
Brazil’s state development bank, BNDES, launched one of its largest public investment initiatives in nearly a decade, committing R$10 billion (approximately $950 million) in variable income through 2025. Critically, R$5 billion is directly allocated to companies driving decarbonization, innovation, and ecological transition projects, marking a massive public capital injection into climate technology. Source: ESG News
Kanastra Closes $30M Series B from F-Prime for Private Credit Infrastructure
Fintech reaches $7B in assets under service across 250 facilities; grows 150% in past 12 months serving major Brazilian banks. Source: LatamList
High 15% Interest Rate Continues to Throttle Startup Growth Despite Strong Fundamentals
Investors attending the Corporate Venture in Brasil conference highlighted that the persistently high national interest rate, hovering around 15%, is the primary external factor inhibiting market growth. Despite Brazil possessing strong foundational elements—such as a large tech-savvy workforce and available capital—the high cost of money creates significant margin pressure and reduces valuations across the ecosystem. Source: Global Venturing.
Nekt Secures R$1.3M Seed Round for Data and AI Platform
Florianópolis-based startup helps growing companies unify data infrastructure; targets SME market with cloud-native solutions. Source: The SaaS News
Rest of Latin America
LatAm Startup Funding Reaches $1B in Q3 2025, Up 21% YoY
Total investment across seed-through-growth stages demonstrates ecosystem resilience; late-stage deals surge 176% annually. Source: Crunchbase
GoPersonal Closes $300K Round with 500 Global to Accelerate Its AI in E-commerce
The Uruguayan e-commerce startup, GoPersonal, announced the successful closing of a seed funding round for $300,000, led by venture capital fund 500 Global. The resources obtained will be strategically allocated to the development and expansion of its artificial intelligence platform, called Calvin, focused on optimizing operations for companies in the retail sector. Source: Hyper Latam
