Not so way back, the thought of public tech firms rising from Latin America appeared far-fetched, and Mercado Libre as soon as appeared as uncommon and legendary as a real unicorn. At this time, nevertheless, the area is dwelling to a number of startups which have reached billion-dollar valuations.
A few of these startups, propelled into the highlight by cross-border enlargement, are actually acknowledged past their dwelling international locations, with Nubank notably going public within the U.S.
But, there’s a broader cohort of Latin American scale-ups that deserve consideration; many in fintech, however not solely. Different vital sectors embody e-commerce, well being tech, logistics, proptech, and SaaS.
Some homegrown unicorns could at present maintain “paper valuations” from rounds that had been raised through the 2021 peak, however the level nonetheless stands: They’re value understanding, and plenty of might recuperate alongside the market, as VC funding in Latin America demonstrated resilience in 2024.
As a bunch, these unicorns additionally replicate Latin America’s a number of startup hubs. Whereas Brazil and Mexico stay leaders in numbers, unicorns have additionally emerged from Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay, additional strengthening these ecosystems.
Let’s take a more in-depth take a look at the highest Latin American unicorns by valuation — though the oldest worth tags usually should be taken with a grain of salt.
Rappi (2015): Valued at $5.25 billion in July 2021
Popping out of Colombia, Rappi is an on-demand supply platform that grew to become an excellent app and expanded into a number of international locations.
Its rise solidified earlier than the pandemic: In 2019, it raised a $1 billion funding from SoftBank. However its $5.25 billion valuation was connected to the spherical of greater than $500 million it secured in July 2021.
Since then, Rappi has operated in a tougher surroundings, conducting a number of rounds of layoffs and going through altering gig financial system laws in Mexico, the place it now plans to make investments $110 million to spice up its operations. Nonetheless, the corporate nonetheless very a lot hopes to IPO and employed a CFO to arrange for that endeavor after reaching break-even for the primary time in late 2023.
QuintoAndar (2012): Valued at $5.1 billion in August 2021
QuintoAndar is a Brazilian proptech firm centered on the rental and sale of residential actual property. With business actions in six Latin American international locations and a tech hub in Europe, it made a number of acquisitions and grew into a bunch with a headcount of greater than 3,500 individuals.
In 2021, the startup was busy on the fundraising entrance: Lower than three months after saying a $300 million Collection E at a $4 billion valuation, QuintoAndar raised a further $120 million at a $5.1 billion valuation. With $755 million raised thus far, its cap desk contains Kaszek, Normal Atlantic, SoftBank, and Tencent.
Creditas (2012): Valued at $4.8 billion in January 2022
Creditas is a Brazilian fintech participant specializing in loans, together with shopper credit score.
Its newest spherical of funding was a $260 million Collection F in January 2022 valuing the Brazilian lender at $4.8 billion, up from $1.75 billion in December 2020.
The Collection F was led by Constancy, with participation from new and present backers, together with Kaszek Ventures, QED Traders, and SoftBank. It was prolonged in July 2022 on the similar valuation, permitting Creditas to purchase the Brazilian license of Andorran financial institution Andbank for some $93 million.
Nuvemshop (2011): Valued at $3.1 billion in August 2021
Branded as Tiendanube in Spanish-speaking markets, Nuvemshop is a Brazilian e-commerce platform designed for SMEs and entrepreneurs to promote services on-line — or briefly, “Latin America’s reply to Shopify.”
Its newest identified valuation of $3.1 billion comes from the $500 million Collection E mega-round co-led by Perception Companions and Tiger International Administration that it raised in August 2021, just a few months after its Accel-led $90 million Collection D.
Wildlife Studios (2011): Valued at ~$3 billion in August 2020
Wildlife Studios is a Brazilian cellular gaming firm.
It was co-founded by Victor Lazarte, now additionally a common accomplice at Benchmark, the VC agency that led Wildlife Studios’ $60 million Collection A in 2019 at a $1.3 billion valuation. Lower than a 12 months later, the startup reached a almost $3 billion valuation from its Collection B spherical.
In a candid dialog onstage at Slush 2023, Lazarte stated that, looking back, elevating an excessive amount of capital at too excessive a valuation so quick was a “mistake.” In June 2023, the corporate introduced that former Amazon government Peter Hill would change Lazarte as CEO. It additionally performed a number of rounds of layoffs.
Loft (2018): Valued at $2.9 billion in April 2021
Loft is a Brazilian proptech firm supported by huge Silicon Valley names since its genesis in 2018.
Loft’s $175 million Collection C was co-led by a16z and Vulcan Capital in 2020. A $425 million Collection D led by New York-based D1 Capital Companions adopted in March 2021, and its extension in April 2021 valued the corporate at $2.9 billion.
The digital actual property platform wasn’t resistant to the market flip. It performed two rounds of layoffs in 2022 however denied having raised a down spherical in November 2022. In 2023, after contemporary funding from a sovereign fund within the Center East” at an undisclosed valuation and one other spherical of layoffs, it claimed to have reached break-even.
Unico (2007): Valued at $2.6 billion in April 2022
Unico is a Brazilian ID tech startup, and certainly one of Latin America’s largest SaaS firms.
Its $2.6 billion valuation is newer than many on this listing. It got here from the $100 million Collection D the corporate raised in April 2022. The spherical was led by Goldman Sachs, with participation from present traders Normal Atlantic and SoftBank Latin America Fund.
C6 Financial institution (2018): Valued at $2.28 billion in December 2020
C6 Financial institution is a Brazilian digital financial institution. In contrast to some rivals, it hasn’t expanded past Brazil, the place it has greater than 35 million purchasers.
C6 was valued at $2.28 billion in December 2020, six months earlier than JPMorgan Chase acquired 40% possession of the neobank in 2021. After rising its stake in 2023, it now owns 46% of C6, which had its first-ever worthwhile 12 months in 2024.
Kavak (2016): Valued at $2.2 billion in April 2025
With backers together with Normal Catalyst and SoftBank, Kavak is a Mexico-based e-commerce platform to purchase and promote used vehicles on-line.
As soon as valued at $8.7 billion after a Collection E spherical that doubled its valuation in 2021, Kavak noticed its valuation slashed by $6.5 billion following enlargement difficulties and layoffs. After elevating a $127 million fairness spherical and securing two $200 million debt services in March 2025, the corporate goals to place itself for a possible IPO inside the subsequent three to 5 years.
Bitso (2014): Valued at $2.2 billion in Might 2021
Bitso is a Latin American cryptocurrency change that additionally facilitates cross-border funds.
In Might 2021, it secured a $250 million Collection C spherical valuing the corporate at $2.2 billion and co-led by Tiger International and Coatue, with participation from new and present traders, together with Kaszek and QED.
CloudWalk (2013): Valued at $2.15 billion in November 2021
Recognized for its InfinitePay and Jim.com manufacturers, CloudWalk is a Brazilian fee infrastructure firm (to not be confused with the Chinese language facial-recognition software program firm by the identical title).
CloudWalk’s $2.15 billion valuation resulted from a $150 million Collection C led by Coatue in November 2021. Since then, CloudWalk achieved its first full 12 months of profitability in 2023 and closed 2024 with $497 million in income.
Clip (2012): Valued at $2 billion in June 2024
Briefly often called BlitzPay and based by former PayPal staff, Clip is the Sq. of Latin America, with POS gadgets and fintech options for companies.
Clip grew to become a unicorn in 2021 following a $250 million spherical led by SoftBank and Viking, and maintained this standing since then. The $100 million spherical it raised in June 2024 confirmed its $2 billion valuation as the corporate was “getting ready to profitability,” its CEO instructed Bloomberg.
Loggi (2013): Valued at ~$2 billion in March 2021
Loggi is a Brazil-based logistics firm identified for its deal with last-mile supply.
Its backers embody Monashees, Qualcomm Ventures, and SoftBank. Its newest funding spherical was a $205 million Collection F led by CapSur Capital in March 2021 at a valuation near $2 billion.
Bets are nonetheless open on who could be part of the listing and the way the rankings is perhaps reordered, so we’ll be certain to maintain it up to date.
