🇲🇽 Revolutionizing Mexican Technology: From Mexico Tech Week to Solvento’s Fundraising.

Attending events is our cup of tea, and last month we joined Mexico’s largest tech event! It left us with plenty of insights. We’re also thrilled about Solvento’s raise-a true milestone for Mex-Tech.

Nov 21, 2024

Welcome to The Paddock, your go-to place for the latest insights and trends revolutionizing the mobility sector globally. 🚗

— Curated by Rodolfo, Enrique, Gastón, Cecy, and Bernardo: the Proeza Ventures team. 💪

📌 Do you know a startup reshaping mobility by being more efficient, safer and environmentally friendly? We want to meet them! 📩

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🪩 Proeza Ventures Spotlight

🇲🇽 WHAT A BLAST MEXICO TECHWEEK!

Our time at Mexico Tech Week was truly exciting. We had the opportunity to speak on a mobility and VC panel, sharing the stage with incredible leaders in the industry. It was a privilege to exchange ideas and insights, especially as we gave a sneak peek into the evolving trends we’re seeing in the mobility space. Connecting with the country’s top tech innovators was a highlight, and we’re eager to continue these conversations and build on the momentum of this dynamic event.

We also had the chance to travel to The Netherlands and visit our Portco, Deftpower. It was an exciting opportunity to connect with their team and see their innovative energy solutions up close.

🏆 Our PortCos News

🎉 Solvento Closes US$12.5M Series A

Kudos to the team at Solvento for securing $12.5M in Series A funding! Solvento is transforming Mexico's trucking and logistics industry with a platform that automates freight payments and provides liquidity to truckers and third-party logistics providers. This innovative solution enables shippers to make immediate payments, helping streamline operations and support the backbone of the logistics ecosystem.

It’s been impressive to see how rapidly Solvento has achieved product-market fit—so much so that even traditional financial players are eager to collaborate. We’re confident this is yet another incredible milestone in Solvento’s journey to reshape mobility.

We're incredibly proud to continue supporting outstanding founders like Jaime Tabachnik, Pedro Bosch, and Guillermo Bosch as they revolutionize the mobilitech industry in the country we all call home—Mexico. 🇲🇽 Their vision and dedication inspire us, and we’re excited to be part of their journey! 🚚💥

👉 Check out the whole news here.

🔋 Congratulations Electric Era, on Their Partnership with Costco!

We’re thrilled to share that our portfolio company, Electric Era, has partnered with Costco to deliver high-speed EV fast-charging at select Costco locations. With Electric Era’s PowerNode technology, Costco members will enjoy reliable and efficient charging, marking a big step forward in convenience for EV owners. As EV adoption accelerates, we’re proud to see Electric Era helping drive sustainable solutions in the retail space. Congratulations to the entire Electric Era team on this exciting milestone.

👉 Check out the whole article here.

🚗 Deftpower and JP Morgan: The Future of Smart EV Charging

Kudos to Deftpower for their participation in JP Morgan’s latest exploration into the future of smart EV charging. In collaboration with key industry players, Deftpower has provided valuable insights into how smart charging can reshape the EV charging experience, enhancing both efficiency and intelligence in energy use for drivers.

👉 If you’d like to read the full article, please click here.

🌎 Kigo Renewing Their Commitment to Social Responsibility!

Congrats to Kigo on renewing their recognition as a Socially Responsible Company for the second consecutive year. This accomplishment highlights their continued commitment to sustainability and the well-being of their community. Kigo is making significant strides toward a brighter future, and we're excited to see them lead with purpose in making the world a better place.

👉 Discover more here!

📯 Hot Deals

At Proeza VC we check many deals weekly. Here are the Top deals that caught our attention recently!

🚀 Jüsto, the Mexican online grocery startup has secured US$70 million in funding as part of its Series C round, led by General Atlantic. Of the total amount raised, US$50 million came from investors, while US$20 million is a loan provided by HSBC. The company, celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2024, plans to use the funds to accelerate growth and strengthen its operations within Mexico. (21.Oct.2024)

🚀 INSHUR, the US based embedded insurance provider to the on-demand economy, closes fundraising round, led by Viola Growth, to continue to strengthen market position across the US and Europe, securing USD $19m – bringing total funding to USD $78.5m since 2019. (16.Oct.2024)

🚀 Cartage, the freight coordination software provider announced that it has closed a $3.3 million investment round led by Y Combinator, Garage Capital, Wayfinder Ventures, Northside Ventures, Pioneer Fund and Ritual Capital. The funding will be used to automate freight operations for both shippers and carriers. (10.Oct.2024)

🚀 Lidwave, a five-year-old Jerusalem startup that develops LiDAR chips for various applications, including autonomous vehicles, robotics, and industrial automation, raised a $10 million seed round. Jumpspeed Ventures and Next Gear Ventures were the co-leads. (15.Oct.2024)

🚀 Liminal, a nine-year-old startup based in Emeryville, CA, that develops advanced inspection systems combining ultrasound technology and machine learning to evaluate the quality and performance of battery cells during production, raised a $10 million round. LG Technology Ventures was the deal lead, with Chailease Holdings, ArcTern Ventures and other investors. (21.Oct.2024)

🚀 Agtonomy, a three-year-old South San Francisco startup developing AI-driven autonomous equipment to allow farmers to remotely control and automate tasks like mowing, spraying, and transporting through a mobile app, raised a $10 million Series A extension round, bringing total funding to $32.8M led by Autotech Ventures, with Rethink Food, Allison Transmission, and Black Forest Ventures as well as previous investors Toyota Ventures, Flybridge, and Cavallo Partners also piling on. (16.Oct.2024)

🚀 Fin, a London startup that provides logistics and delivery services using electric cargo bikes and vans, primarily in urban areas, raised a $7 million seed round led by MaC Venture Capital, with additional funds provided by Side Door Ventures, Pearls Capital, and Simplex Ventures. (16.Oct.2024)

🚀 Treehouse, a San Francisco startup that assists electricians in installing modern technologies such as electric vehicle chargers and heat pumps by using AI to streamline the design and installation process, raised a $16.6 million Series A round led by Flourish Ventures, with Acrew Capital, CarMax, Eaton, Holman, Invest Detroit, inVest Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, Montage Ventures, Veriten, and Virta Ventures also participating. (16.Oct.2024)

🚀 BackOps.ai, a San Francisco-based AI-driven supply chain logistics and operations automation platform, raised $2 million in pre-seed funding. Gradient led the round and was joined by 10VC. BackOps is leading the way in supply chain automation, leveraging advanced AI to help logistics teams achieve peak efficiency. (16.Oct.2024)

🚀 Nevoya, the US-based EV truck startup raised $3 million in seed funding led by Third Sphere and RedBlue Capital, with Necessary Ventures, Ciri Ventures, and Never Lift coming aboard as well. (21.Oct.2024)

🚀 WarrCloud, the automotive industry’s leading automated warranty processing platform, today announced it has raised $20 million in Series B funds led by Centana Growth Partners. WarrCloud will use the funds to further develop its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities with a focus on bolstering automotive warranty claims automation and strengthening customer success capabilities. (22.Oct.2024)

🚀 Adden Energy, a three-year-old startup based in Waltham, MA, that is developing solid-state batteries with the aim of eliminating the risk of fires or explosions and potentially charging an electric vehicle fully in minutes, raised a $15 million Series A round led by At One Ventures and including Primavera Capital Group, Rhapsody Venture Partners, and MassVentures. (23.Oct.2024)

🚀 Outrider, a startup developing autonomous driving trucks for supply chain operations, raised a $62 million Series D led by Koch Disruptive Technologies and NEA. This funding will drive the commercial scaling of Outrider’s autonomous yard operations as a service with Fortune 500 customers in 2025 and solidify its position at the forefront of logistics automation. (24.Oct.2024)

🚀 Infinite Machine, the New York based startup has closed a $9 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s American Dynamism team as it preps for production and initial deliveries next year of the $10,000 “launch edition” of its P1 scooter. Also participating in the round were VC firms Adjacent and Necessary Ventures, as well as the founders of womenswear company Reformation, software platform Replit, and AI startup Hugging Face.(29.Oct.2024)

🚀 Third Wave Automation, a Union City, Calif.-based autonomous forklifts developer, raised $27 million in Series C funding. Woven Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors Innovation Endeavors, Norwest Venture Partners, and Qualcomm Ventures. (30.Oct.2024)

🚀 MobilityPlus, a nine-year-old Belgian startup that provides smart EV charging services primarily for corporate fleets, real estate companies, and property managers, raised a $43.2 million round led by Suma Capital, with previous investor Concentra also taking part. (25.Oct.2024)

🚀 Bifrost AI, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that provides synthetic data generation tools for training AI models, particularly in robotics and autonomous systems, raised an $8 million Series A round led by Carbide Ventures, with Airbus Ventures, Peak XV, and Wavemaker Partners also stepping up. (30.Oct.2024)

🚀 Motormia, a Scottsdale, AZ-based provider of an automotive enthusiast platform, raised $8M in funding. Backers were Lerer Hippeau, Seedcamp, QP Ventures, Verissimo Ventures, State of Mind Ventures, Deftly.vc and Alumni Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts. (31.Oct.2024)

🚀 BANF, the Korea-based startup raised a $5 million pre-Series A last year, and is close to closing a $12 million Series A round. BANF aims to begin trading on Korea’s stock exchange at the end of 2027, and then try its hand at a U.S.

🚀 Carvis, the California based startup has secured $1.2M in pre-seed funding, led by Trucks Venture Capital. Carvis mission is to empower auto repair technicians with intelligent diagnostics. (5.Nov.2024)

🚀 Xavveo a Berlin-based manufacturer specializing in radar systems for autonomous vehicles, has secured an $8.6 million seed round. The investment comes from prominent backers, including Vsquared Ventures and Imec.xpand. (6.Nov.2024)

🚀 OxPay, a Brazilian financial solutions platform for the road transportation sector, raised ~USD7m from SRM Ventures. Oxpay will use the funds to acquire new clients, hoping to grow its digital account’s payment volume (TPV) by 10 times by the end of next year. (6.Nov.2024)

🚀 Tozero, a three-year-old Munich startup that specializes in recycling lithium-ion batteries to recover valuable materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite, raised a $11.7 million seed round led by NordicNinja, with In-Q-Tel, Honda, and JGC Group also chiming in. (11.Nov.2024)

🚀 Vecna Robotics, a Waltham, Mass.-based material handling robotics developer, raised $14.5 million in funding from Tiger Global, Drive Capital, and other existing investors. (13.Nov.2024)

📗 Interesting Reads

🚀 Navigating the Future of the SW and Electronics Components Market

The Software and Electric Components components market is on the brink of significant growth, projected to expand at 7% CAGR by 2030. This boom is being driven by trends in autonomous and electric vehicles, with power electronics leading the charge at a 15% CAGR. As software and sensors grow in demand, fueled by advances in autonomous driving, Electronic control units (ECUs)/domain control units (DCUs) will continue to dominate the market, though at a slower pace.

But perhaps the most transformative shift is the separation of hardware and software. This change is set to disrupt traditional industry dynamics, paving the way for closer collaboration between OEMs and suppliers and allowing tech-native companies to enter the space. To succeed in this new landscape, players must embrace agility, cost control, and strategic partnerships—fostering innovation while adapting to a more competitive, evolving market.

👉 Check the full note shared by Mckinsey here.

🚚 What to expect from the end of the freight recession?

The "freight recession" that has been weighing on the industry for the past year is officially over, according to recent insights. With tighter market conditions, tender rejections are rising, signaling that carriers are gaining more negotiating power. This shift is driven by a combination of new regulations, economic adjustments, and shifting political landscapes. For shippers, it's a call to action to lock in rates now before capacity becomes even tighter.

👉 Want to learn how this impacts your supply chain strategy? Read more in this insightful piece on FreightWaves here.

💸 Minor Car Repairs Are Costing Major Dollars

Minor car repairs can be unexpectedly costly due to inflation and the sophisticated technology in modern vehicles. Costs have surged as more cars are equipped with advanced sensors and safety features, which often require recalibration after accidents. The average repair claim now approaches $4,721, partly due to the high expense of fixing components like side mirrors with integrated sensors. Industry experts note that even seasoned repair estimators are surprised by rising costs, which often exceed initial estimates.

👉For more details, see the full article here.