April was a bustling month in Latin America, quite in Brazil, where companies have been in a rush to get things finished before a FIFA World Cup. Here’s a news we don’t wish to miss:
Big players
Chinese tech hulk Huawei has changed a Latin American domicile from Brazil to Argentina, where it already had offices, InfoTechnology reported. The pierce will reportedly cost $20 million and beget 200 additional jobs in Argentina.
Samsung is rising a new plan called Ocean Brasil, Brazilian media opening Tela Viva News reported. It consists of earthy training centers for developers, a initial one of that will be located in São Paulo, followed by a new bend in Manaus in a second half of 2014. These will be a company’s initial training units outward of South Korea. Both will horde courses to learn students, developers and wannabes how to formula for Samsung mobile inclination and TV sets. The association also skeleton to pierce a Developer Day to São Paulo for a initial time in a entrance months.
Intel is putting an finish to some of a operations in Costa Rica and expelling 1,500 jobs, Reuters reported. A orator explained that a chipmaker would pierce public and contrast tasks to existent sites in China, Malaysia and Vietnam. 1,000 employees remaining in Costa Rica will concentration on engineering, finance, HR and RD. The chipmaker also expects to supplement another 200 “high-value positions” in a nation after this year, nonetheless it is still shortening a workforce on a tellurian turn in an try to cut costs.
Google skeleton to use the .soy TLD (“I am” in Spanish) to aim a US Hispanic market, a Google executive disclosed during a row contention during a Hispanicize 2014 conference in Miami final month. According to a Miami Herald, the domain “will be targeted during bilingual, bi-cultural Hispanics, and will have calm in both Spanish and English.”
The association is also rolling out a Google Transit use into 6 additional Brazilian cities forward of a FIFA World Cup: Salvador, Brasilia, Manaus, Recife, Natal and Cuiabá. The travel formulation covering is now accessible within Google Maps for 22 Brazilian locations, including a large event’s 12 horde cities.
The state of São Paulo will join army with Microsoft and deposit R$9.7 million ($4.3 million USD) to rise a crime information assembly and research height called Detecta, ZDNet reported. The record behind Detecta has been in place in New York City given 2012, though it will be a initial time it will be used outward of a Big Apple.
Brazil is one of a 4 countries in that Twitter is rolling out a TV review targeting’ tool, alongside Canada, France and Spain. This use allows networks and brands to aim viewers with Promoted Tweets and comes on time for a FIFA World Cup in a country. In addition, Twitter is beta contrast a apparatus in Argentina, Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan and Mexico, with some-more countries to follow.
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi reliable a skeleton to expand to 10 some-more countries this year, starting with Malaysia, a Philippines, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, followed by Russia, Turkey, Brazil and Mexico.
Music video use Vevo launched a possess services in Mexico, MusicWeek reported. The nation was already pushing a second largest array of views for Vevo videos on YouTube, a partnership that is set to continue. A few weeks ago, Vevo also released a redesigned iOS app in a 13 countries where it was already present: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, a Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, a UK and a US.
Meanwhile, Spotify is reportedly carrying problems with a designed rollout in Brazil. According to Estadão’s tech blog, Link, it had to postpone a aim launch date to May 20 due to problems with remuneration methods and delays in a negotiations with song labels. As we reported final month, beta testers testified that flattering many all else seemed already in place for a large day, including translations, pricing and even internal advertising.
Yelp’s reviews are now accessible in Mexico, following an progressing launch in Brazil, CNET reported. The association put many of a concentration on building calm for Mexico City. While it usually has one Mexico-based employee, it also bought information from a third-party association and hired internal temps to check info, take cinema and infrequently write reviews, CNET explained.
Startups expanding
Square launched a indicate of sale and apartment of business collection in Spanish and hold a networking eventuality for Miami-based tiny businesses, the Miami Herald reported. The mobile payments startup is anticipating it will assistance enroll Latino sellers opposite a United States.
Chilean information broadcasting classification Poderopedia is branching out into Colombia and Venezuela with internal partnerships, PulsoSocial reported. It will get internal support from IPYS Venezuela, Transparencia Venezuela and Consejo de Redacción. As we might remember, Poderopedia won a Knight News Challenge in 2012 for a work on mapping connectors between a domestic and business sectors (see a prior story).
Voice behaving marketplace VoiceBunny is rising in Spanish, a owner Alex Torrenegra told Pulso Social. According to a Colombian entrepreneur, a startup skeleton to go global, and a enlargement from a US into Latin America is usually a initial step.
…and new ventures
Space Monkey announced that a make of a personal cloud storage hardware would move from Shanghai, China to comforts in Guadalajara, Mexico. According to a CEO of a Utah-based company, Clint Gordon-Carroll, “competitive pricing, easier logistics, peculiarity labor, and reduced shipping costs all mix to make this choice a no brainer.” Its new ties to Mexico don’t stop there: it also announced a new turn of appropriation led by Monterrey-based account Alta Ventures, that it expects “to accelerate adoption of [its] use in Latin American markets and beyond.”
Bitcoin safe and wallet association Xapo announced a upcoming recover of a MasterCard withdraw card connected to a users’ wallet for online and offline spending. As we reported, Xapo is a latest try of Argentine sequence businessman Wences Casares. It raised a $20 million turn led by Benchmark, with Fortress Investment Group and Ribbit Capital also partipating.
French engineer Philippe Starck and a common of artists launched TOG, a platform for customizable, 3D printed furniture. The initial TOG earthy store is scheduled to open in São Paulo in a few months. As for a Web platform, it is reportedly set to turn some-more open-source in a future, with users uploading and pity their possess designs.
Some got acquired…
Latin America’s e-commerce hulk MercadoLibre will compensate about $40 million to acquire VMK, a association that possess dual vital genuine estate websites in Chile and Mexico, DealBook reported. $5 million of that money transaction depends on VMK’s properties assembly certain milestones, CEO Marcos Galperin told DealBook.
Uruguayan mobile payments startup Micropagos was acquired by mobile services actor IN Switch Solutions. The selling association is headquartered in Florida though has clever ties to Montevideo, where a expansion and support core is located.
Brazilian VC organisation Ideiasnet sole a infancy interest in iMusica to mobile conduit Claro, that will now have full control of this digital song placement service. Based on confidence filing, this transaction values a association during R$49.1 million, around $22 million USD.
Brazilian IT solutions organisation Stefanini acquired an undisclosed though poignant interest in Datastorm, a newly launched try that will offer tailored large information analytics to Latin American companies opposite a far-reaching operation of sectors, from telecom to finance. While numbers sojourn confidential, Datastorm’s CEO Leandro Faria described a understanding as a homogeneous of “skipping seed turn and array A.” In unsentimental terms, Datastorm will work underneath a possess code and with apart operations in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Still, it expects to advantage from a placement network and imagination of a corporate partner, that controls dual seats in Datastorm’s board.
…and some got funded
British VC organisation Amadeus Capital Partners done a initial investment in Latin America, DealBook reported. The account led an $8.9 million investment turn in Brazilian online word cost comparison and brokerage startup Bidu. Previous investors Monashees Capital, Bertelsmann Group and Otto Capital also participated.
Spanish Uber-like use Cabify lifted a $8 million array A round, TechCrunch reported. It will use this new appropriation to accelerate a expansion in Latin America.
Tengelmann Ventures invested in several of Rocket Internet’s portfolio companies, Deutsche Startups revealed. Beneficiaries embody Carmudi, Clickbus, Easy Taxi and Lamudi, that all have operations in Latin America.
Fashion e-commerce actor E2E perceived R$5 million ($2.25 million USD) from A5 Internet Investments, Startupi reported. In addition, A5 also invested R$3,5 million (around $1.6 million USD) in e-commerce height 4Good The venture’s portfolio was already gearing towards conform and e-commerce, including companies such as ClickOn, DressGo, Guiato, Mercado.etc, OQVestir and Uselets.
Motorcycle bearer online height Rapiddo received a R$5 million investment ($2.25 million USD) from Brazilian mobile heavyweight Movile, that has been on a selling debauch lately.
Mexican car-sharing use Carrot.mx lifted a $2 million array B round, TechCrunch reported. The turn was led by Venture Partners, with appearance from prior backers Auria Capital and Mexico Ventures. As we might remember, Carrot was one of TNW Conference Latin America’s Startup Battle’s finalists final August. This new turn brings a sum appropriation to $3.5 million.
Chilean account InverSur Capital invested in Spanish-born healthy denunciation estimate startup Inbenta‘s $2 million array A round.The association has offices in Chile, France, a Netherlands, Spain and a US. Inversur’s appropriation comes from Amérigo Chile Early Stage Growth Fund, that it manages on interest of Telefónica.
Alta Ventures invested $1 million in a EyeDetect technology to financial a commercialization. Developed by 5 scientists from a University of Utah, it is reportedly able of detecting 16 greeting types interjection to an infrared camera that monitors eye movements.
Travel hunt engine Voopter lifted a array A turn from Global Founders Capital, TechCrunch reported. Its accurate volume wasn’t disclosed.
German holding Project A Ventures invested R$800k ($360k USD) in SaaS logistics resolution Intelipost. Project A has been behaving both as a account and as a association builder in Brazil, and Intelipost is led by one of a former employees.
Medellin-based startup MYTIC raised around $100k from GITP Ventures, a private equity organisation led by sequence businessman and financier Michael Puscar. MYTIC’s flagship product is loan facilitating height Finaxion. This is GITP’s second understanding this year, following an earlier investment in English news announcement Colombia Reports.
More acceleration and incubation
Latino-focused acceleration module Manos Accelerator launched a call for applications for a second edition; as we might remember a initial collection graduated final September. In addition, it also announced that it had extended a partnership with Google for a subsequent dual years.
The Government of a City of Buenos Aires is putting a module in place to deposit in startups, in partnership with 5 accelerators it will shortly start to shortlist. According to Apertura, a accelerators will be in assign of determining that teams should accept appropriation as partial of Buenos Aires Emprende.
Brazilian accelerator Aceleratech is set to accept appropriation from Acelera Partners, a new entity and accelerator network combined by AgeRio, Banco Espírito Santo’s arm BESAF, Microsoft Ventures and Qualcomm. Aceleratech is one of Start-Up Brasil’s partner accelerators and is now usurpation applications for a fourth batch. In a initial phase, a partnership will indirectly yield financing to 50 early-stage companies. In addition, Acelera Partners might make follow-on investments in a favorite teams.
Argentine accelerator NXTP Labs announced a list of 25 startups that assimilated a sixth batch (disclosure: my startup MonoLibre is one of them). In addition, it stretched over Buenos Aires, Montevideo and San Francisco with a launch of internal operations in Chile, managed by Argentine sequence businessman Tiburcio de la Cárcova. The new account will dedicate $15 million to early-stage startups, interjection to support from a Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO).
Hardware-focused accelerator HardTech Labs welcomed a “class zero” of 4 startups, 3 formed in a US and one in Mexico. According to Fox Business, a idea is to bond San Diego’s tech enlightenment with Tijuana’s production skills.
Mexican corporate accelerator naranya*LABS selected 9 startups to attend in a subsequent batch. They come from Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Guatemala, and will pierce to Monterrey to join a four-month program.
In a eye of a law
USAID publicly denied several elements from progressing AP reports alleging that a group had personally combined a amicable media height dubbed “Cuban Twitter” to foster disturbance on a island. However, it reliable that it had saved a microblogging platform, called ZunZuneo, whose operations were formed in Costa Rica. According to USAID, a height had around 68,000 users during a peak.
São Paulo welcomed two-day tellurian discussion NETmundial, that saw governments, NGOs and entities from all around a universe discuss Internet governance. Unfortunately, a final matter was criticized by Internet activists, among other things for a vagueness on net neutrality and mass surveillance.
The prominence of a eventuality came from Brazil itself, with President Dilma Rousseff putting her final signature to a country’s landmark check on Internet, famous as Marco Civil, that covers beliefs such as net neutrality, leisure of countenance and right to privacy. After 4 years of negotiation, a plan had perceived a immature light from Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies final March, followed by a Senate’s capitulation final month.
Also on TNW:
Accelerator as a service: Should determined companies sinecure accelerators to run their programs?
Facebook paid 330 confidence researchers $1.5M in 2013; adds Instagram, Parse, Atlas, Onavo to Bug Bounty program
WhatsApp passes 500 million active users, says over 700 million photos and 100 million videos are common daily
Good reads from opposite a Web:
Alexander Torrenegra: Why We Stopped Pretending We Could Copy Silicon Valley [WSJ- The Accelerators]
Are Wearable Technologies a Reality in Latin America? Globant Says Yes [Pulso Social]
Bolha.com.br? [Exame, in Portuguese]
eBay y su estrategia de mercados emergentes en América Latina [Pulso Social, in Spanish]
Ecuador inaugura su ‘Silicon Valley’ [El País, in Spanish]
In Latin America’s Tech Ecosystem, Are a Right (or Real) Problems Being Solved [PulsoSocial]
Kriptonita para startups [LatAm.VC, in Spanish]
Start-Up Chile prevé levantar collateral por US$ 100 millones en 2014 [La Tercera, in Spanish]
The Startup From Ipanema [Re/Code]
Torsten Kolind: A Growing Startup Scene in Chile [WSJ - The Accelerators]
Image credit: Rodrigo Prieto on Flickr