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In the world · Entrepreneurship · 18 February 2026

Venture capital in Latin America: LAVCA's 2026 snapshot

LAVCA's 2026 report shows a more selective venture capital market, Mexico closing in on Brazil and US$ 2.2 billion in early-stage rounds in 2025.

bairogonzalez.com team, drawing on Bairo's story · Published

The 2026 Trends in Tech report from LAVCA, the association for private capital investment in Latin America, published on February 18, 2026, shows that venture capital in the region held steady in value in 2025, but with fewer rounds and larger checks. Early-stage rounds totaled US$ 2.2 billion, 52% of the total, the highest value at that stage since 2022. And Mexico closed in on Brazil: Mexican startups raised 21% more than the year before and ended up just 14% behind Brazilian ones.

What happened

LAVCA has tracked venture investment in Latin American startups for years. The highlights of the report on 2025:

  • Selective investment. The amount invested held up, but the number of deals fell. Money is more concentrated, in larger checks and in fewer companies;
  • US$ 2.2 billion in early-stage rounds, 52% of the total;
  • five companies concentrated about 25% of all venture capital for the year: Plata, ADDI, Klar, Omie and Kavak;
  • half of the early-stage checks between 2023 and 2025 were follow-on rounds for companies already in the portfolio;
  • more than US$ 2 billion in debt, through credit lines, structured debt and FIDCs (Brazilian receivables investment funds), was raised by startups that already had venture backing, to gain runway without diluting shareholders;
  • venture-backed artificial intelligence startups in the region are concentrated in enterprise applications.

Mexico's advance had already shown up mid-year. In August 2025, NeoFeed showed, with LAVCA data, that in the first half of 2025 Mexican startups had raised more than Brazilian ones, with 46% of the region's capital against Brazil's 23%.

Why it matters

For those building businesses in Brazil, the snapshot has two readings. One is about the market: the money exists, but it has become more demanding. Funds prefer to back those already in their portfolio rather than bet on new names, and they demand traction before the check. The other is about the country: high interest rates and the business environment weigh on the decisions of foreign investors, and Mexico's economic proximity to the United States has become a competitive advantage.

The growth of debt as a source of capital also says a lot. Startups are seeking credit so as not to sell equity cheaply, which requires organized cash and predictable revenue. In a scenario like this, financial discipline stops being a detail and becomes a condition for access.

In Bairo's view

For Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez, a more selective market does not close the door; it changes the question one asks before knocking on it. He says he built the foundation of what would become CEASA Bank in six months, at home, without knowing how to code, and that he heard from banks that they would not integrate the solution. Every no is the ground of a yes: in his reading, the investor who says no is usually pointing to the proof that is still missing.

In Bairo's view, Latin America has exactly what the reports show to be valuable: real problems, from the real economy, waiting for technology. The Seventh Attempt Method proposes proving small before asking for capital, with conversations, commitments and real numbers. It is not a promise of fundraising or of money. His trajectory, with the falls and what came after, is in The founder.

Where this meets the ecosystem

The fronts Bairo founded rest on the region's real economy. CEASA Bank, an agribusiness financial platform that operates on the infrastructure of an authorized institution, looks at the wholesale supply centers, where the country's food circulates. Expansion to other countries in the region, such as Bolivia, appears as a project under construction. Xperienc Global Labs, an R&D lab registered in London, works at the intersection of health and technology.

None of these fronts is presented here as an investment opportunity: the text describes proposals and vision.

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