Latin America AI startups pulled in $5.44B across 151 deals between January 2023 and March 2026. That figure covers only companies applying or building artificial intelligence, not the broader VC market. Mexico led on dollars ($1.86B), Brazil led on deal volume (66 deals), and Argentina drew 3.1% of the region’s AI capital despite its density of deep tech founders.
Our analysis breaks down where the money went, who wrote the checks, and how Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina each built a different kind of AI market.
On this page
- Latin America AI Funding Hit $5.44B Across 151 Deals: Key Findings
- Brazil AI Startups: 66 Deals and the Region's Deepest Pipeline
- Mexico AI Startups: $1.86B in Funding and the Nearshoring Catalyst
- Argentina's AI Paradox: 30% of LATAM Deep Tech, 5% of VC Dollars
- LATAM Venture Capital: Who's Backing AI in Latin America
- Top 14 LATAM AI-Related Rounds by Funding
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Methodology
Latin America AI Funding Hit $5.44B Across 151 Deals: Key Findings
Bot Memo tracked $5.44B across 151 Latin American AI deals between January 2023 and March 2026. All 151 carry a disclosed funding amount.
The median deal landed at $12.5M against an average of $36.05M. A handful of mega-rounds sit at the top of the table, and a thick pipeline of sub-$20M seed and Series A rounds runs underneath.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Deals | 151 |
| Total Funding | $5.44B |
| Deals with Amounts | 151 |
| Median Deal Size | $12.5M |
| Average Deal Size | $36.05M |
| Countries Represented | 8 |
Source: Bot Memo analysis of 151 LATAM AI deals, January 2023 to March 2026
The trajectory is accelerating. Deal counts rose from 21 in 2023 to 48 in 2024 to 72 in 2025, and the first quarter of 2026 added 10 more. FinTech dominated with 66 deals (44% of the total), followed by Enterprise Software (31) and Health & Biotech (14).
For context, total LATAM venture capital reached $4.126B across 681 rounds in 2025, up 13.8% on 2024. AI-related deals are a concentrated slice of that market.
The pattern mirrors what we documented in Southeast Asia’s AI startup corridor, where fintech AI similarly captures the largest funding share in emerging markets.
Brazil AI Startups: 66 Deals and the Region’s Deepest Pipeline
Brazil AI startups accounted for 66 of 151 deals, the largest share by volume, while pulling in $1.38B. That combination of deal count and capital gives Brazil the most balanced AI startup pipeline in Latin America.
| Country | Deals | Funding | Avg Deal Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 66 | $1.38B | $20.88M |
| Mexico | 33 | $1.86B | $56.45M |
| Colombia | 14 | $638.5M | $45.61M |
| Chile | 16 | $226.51M | $14.16M |
| Argentina | 9 | $167.25M | $18.58M |
Source: Bot Memo analysis of 151 LATAM AI deals, January 2023 to March 2026. Five largest markets shown, of eight countries in the dataset.
Brazil’s average deal size of $20.88M sits well below Mexico’s $56.45M, which reflects a deeper early-stage pipeline rather than a weaker market. Seed and Series A rounds made up the bulk of Brazil’s deal flow, against Mexico’s concentration in later stages.
Omie closed a $160M secondary transaction led by Partners Group, building cloud ERP software for SMBs from Sao Paulo. Arvo raised R$106M (approximately $20M) in a Series A for healthcare payment AI, also from Sao Paulo. Matera pulled in $100M in growth funding from Warburg Pincus for banking infrastructure software.
The infrastructure story is even larger. ByteDance committed R$200B (approximately $38B) to build a data center complex in Ceará, partnering with Casa dos Ventos and Omnia.
Microsoft added R$14.7B (about $2.7B) over three years in cloud and AI infrastructure. On the public side, Brazil’s federal government launched a $350B national infrastructure program (PAC) in 2023 that includes digital infrastructure components.
CRMBonus raised a $75M Series B led by BOND for its loyalty and giftback platform. Starian secured $115M in strategic funding from General Atlantic for vertical SaaS out of Florianopolis, which puts a nine-figure round well outside Sao Paulo.
Brazil takes 44% of the region’s AI deal count and 25% of its AI dollars. More companies get funded there than anywhere else in Latin America, at round sizes that have not caught up to Mexico’s.
Mexico AI Startups: $1.86B in Funding and the Nearshoring Catalyst
Mexico AI startups collected $1.86B across 33 deals, the highest funding total in our dataset despite half of Brazil’s deal count. The $56.45M average deal size reflects a market defined by large, late-stage rounds.
In Q2 2025, Mexico surpassed Brazil in quarterly VC dollars for the first time since 2012, with Mexican startups raising $437M against Brazil’s $350M. Brazil reclaimed the lead in Q3, but the 13-year pattern had broken.
Nearshoring AI in Mexico is the catalyst. AWS pledged $5B in data center infrastructure, and CloudHQ committed $4.8B for six facilities in Queretaro.
Kavak raised $300M in a Series F led by Andreessen Horowitz and WCM Investment Management. It was a16z’s largest single investment in a Latin American company. Kavak runs a used car marketplace from Mexico City and reached its first month of consolidated global profitability in December 2025.
VEMO closed $250M from Vision Ridge Partners for clean mobility and EV infrastructure. MAC Hospitals raised $160M in growth funding from General Atlantic for a private hospital chain. Plata pulled in $160M in a Series A from Kora for fintech credit cards.
The fintech AI in Latin America story is strongest here. Kapital raised $100M in a Series C from Tribe Capital and Pelion Ventures for SMB digital banking. Klar secured $100M in debt from Victory Park Capital. Aplazo closed a $70M Series B led by QED Investors for buy-now-pay-later.
Nearshoring in Mexico and AI investment in Latin America run on the same track. US companies moving production and digital infrastructure closer to North American markets pull AI startup funding along with them.
Argentina’s AI Paradox: 30% of LATAM Deep Tech, 5% of VC Dollars
Argentina produced 9 deals totaling $167.25M in our dataset, or 3.1% of total LATAM AI funding. The talent numbers run the other way.
OpenAI’s own assessment of the Argentine market puts Argentina at 30% of Latin America’s deep tech startups against 5% of the region’s VC investment. That is a six-to-one gap between where the deep tech companies are and where the money goes.
The AI infrastructure pipeline may close it. In October 2025, OpenAI and the Argentine energy developer Sur Energy announced a letter of intent for “Stargate Argentina,” a Patagonia data center project carrying a headline figure of up to $25B and up to 500MW of capacity. No construction start has been confirmed since.
Argentina’s advantage is talent density. Buenos Aires universities produce a disproportionate number of AI researchers relative to population, and the country’s historic strength in mathematics and engineering feeds a startup pipeline that skews toward core AI and infrastructure, the categories that attract the least early-stage VC.
Argentina builds the technology that other LATAM countries commercialize. Until local data center capacity creates local demand for that talent, the funding gap holds.
A similar dynamic plays out across Africa, from Nigeria to South Africa, where deep talent pools coexist with underdeveloped local capital markets.
LATAM Venture Capital: Who’s Backing AI in Latin America
LATAM venture capital flows through a mix of US crossover funds, regional specialists, and growth-stage investors. LATAM startup funding patterns reveal who backs what at each stage.
Growth-stage dominance by US funds: General Atlantic led multiple LATAM AI rounds including MAC Hospitals ($160M), Starian ($115M), and Jüsto ($70M). Victory Park Capital led three debt rounds, Habi, Klar, and Addi, each at $100M.
a16z’s LATAM push: The Kavak Series F ($300M) was Andreessen Horowitz’s largest single Latin American investment.
| Investor | Rounds Covered | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| General Atlantic | 3 | Growth equity |
| Victory Park Capital | 3 | Venture debt |
| a16z | 1 | Growth equity |
| Warburg Pincus | 1 | Growth equity |
| QED Investors | 1 | Fintech specialist |
| Tribe Capital | 1 | Series C+ |
Source: Bot Memo analysis of 151 LATAM AI deals, January 2023 to March 2026. Counts cover the rounds named in this analysis.
Regional funds fill the early-stage gap. Caravela Capital led OCN‘s $86M Series A for car rental fintech serving gig workers. BOND led CRMBonus’s $75M Series B. These are LATAM-focused funds with the local knowledge to underwrite market-specific models.
US mega-funds write the $100M+ checks for proven models, while regional specialists back the $10M to $50M rounds that build the pipeline.
Middle East AI startups in the UAE and Saudi Arabia follow a similar shape, with sovereign and institutional capital at the top and specialist funds filling the early stages.
Top 14 LATAM AI-Related Rounds by Funding
These are the largest disclosed AI-related rounds in our dataset, ranked by round size. The list mixes AI Native companies that build the models with AI Augmented and AI Adjacent companies that run AI inside a fintech, health, or mobility business, which is why a hospital chain and a used car marketplace sit alongside pure software plays. At this scale, Latin American AI-related rounds are predominantly fintech and enterprise software.
| Rank | Company | Funding | Stage | Lead Investor | City | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kavak | $300M | Series F | a16z, WCM | Mexico City | FinTech |
| 2 | VEMO | $250M | Undisclosed | Vision Ridge Partners | Mexico City | Energy |
| 3 | MAC Hospitals | $160M | Growth | General Atlantic | Celaya | Health & Biotech |
| 4 | Plata | $160M | Series A | Kora | Mexico City | FinTech |
| 5 | Omie | $160M | Secondary | Partners Group | Sao Paulo | Enterprise Software |
| 6 | Starian | $115M | Strategic | General Atlantic | Florianopolis | Enterprise Software |
| 7 | Habi | $100M | Debt | Victory Park Capital | Bogota | Real Estate |
| 8 | Klar | $100M | Debt | Victory Park Capital | Mexico City | FinTech |
| 9 | Matera | $100M | Growth | Warburg Pincus | Sao Paulo | FinTech |
| 10 | Addi | $100M | Debt | Victory Park Capital | Bogota | FinTech |
| 11 | Kapital | $100M | Series C | Tribe Capital | Mexico City | FinTech |
| 12 | OCN | $86M | Series A (equity and debt) | Caravela Capital | Mexico City | FinTech |
| 13 | Kiwi | $80M | Mixed (equity and debt) | i80 Group | San Juan, PR | FinTech |
| 14 | CRMBonus | $75M | Series B | BOND | Sao Paulo | Marketing & Sales |
Source: Bot Memo analysis of 151 LATAM AI deals, January 2023 to March 2026. Mixed rounds list the lead on the largest tranche.
Six of the 14 are headquartered in Mexico City, three in Sao Paulo, two in Bogota. FinTech accounts for 8 of 14, which tracks the wider market, where fintech took roughly six in ten LATAM venture dollars in 2025.
The top 14 account for $1.886B of the $5.44B total, or 34.7% of all LATAM AI startup funding in 14 rounds.
For context on how this compares globally, see our global AI funding breakdown by city.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much venture capital has been invested in Latin American AI startups?
Our analysis tracked $5.44B across 151 AI-related deals from January 2023 through March 2026. This covers only startups building or applying artificial intelligence. Total LATAM venture capital reached $4.126B across 681 rounds in 2025 alone.
Which country leads AI startup funding in Latin America?
Mexico leads on total dollars ($1.86B across 33 deals). Brazil leads on deal volume (66 deals, $1.38B). Mexico’s lead is driven by large late-stage rounds averaging $56.45M, while Brazil’s pipeline runs deeper at the seed and Series A level.
What sectors attract the most AI investment in LATAM?
FinTech dominates with 66 of 151 deals (44%), followed by Enterprise Software (31 deals) and Health & Biotech (14 deals). Fintech AI in Latin America accounts for 8 of the 14 largest rounds in our LATAM startup funding dataset.
Is Mexico overtaking Brazil in AI startup funding?
In Q2 2025, Mexico briefly surpassed Brazil in quarterly VC for the first time since 2012. Brazil reclaimed the lead in Q3. Our data shows Mexico AI startups lead on cumulative funding dollars, but Brazil’s deal count advantage and deeper early-stage pipeline make this a two-horse race, not a handoff.
How does Latin America AI funding compare to other emerging markets?
Three infrastructure commitments separate LATAM from other emerging AI markets: ByteDance’s approximately $38B of Brazil data centers, AWS’s $5B Mexico investment, and the announced $25B Stargate Argentina project. AI investment in Latin America totaled $5.44B across 151 deals in our dataset, comparable to or exceeding AI-specific funding tracked in Africa, Southeast Asia, and parts of the Middle East.
What are the biggest AI startup rounds in Latin America?
The five largest AI startup rounds in Latin America were Kavak ($300M Series F, Mexico), VEMO ($250M, Mexico), MAC Hospitals ($160M growth, Mexico), Plata ($160M Series A, Mexico), and Omie ($160M secondary, Brazil). Six of the top 14 rounds originated in Mexico City.
Methodology
This analysis covers 151 AI-related startup funding deals across Latin America announced between 1 January 2023 and 31 March 2026. Companies were identified through public funding announcements and classified by AI involvement (AI Native, AI Augmented, AI Application, AI Adjacent, Core AI). Funding amounts are in USD, and local currency rounds were converted at the exchange rate on the announcement date. All 151 deals carry a disclosed funding amount. Sector classifications follow the Bot Memo classification system. “AI-related” covers companies where artificial intelligence is core to the product, a significant feature enhancement, or where the company builds enabling infrastructure for AI applications.
About the author
Editorial Staff
The Editorial Staff at Bot Memo is a team of writers, analysts, and AI agents dedicated to mapping the global AI startup ecosystem. Led by Chintan Zalani, the team tracks thousands of funding rounds, classifies companies across verticals, and distills it all into actionable intelligence for investors and founders.
