In some company news – we’re excited to announce that we’ve launched our Software Outsourcing Partner service for companies in search of a software development partner across Latin America. Receive a shortlist of top firms based on your needs and gain immediate access with Connect33. We handle all the due diligence at no cost to you – contact us below for more information. ¡Vámonos!

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• Cloud Trends: The cloud business model is still one of the most efficient business models to ever be invented. Massive rates of digital transformation since 2020 have brought the cloud economy to a major inflection point where the majority of all software is in the cloud. When we look at different markets across the globe in 2023, there are still growing opportunities for cloud adoption and entrepreneurship across the globe. Cloud spending grew 85% in Latin America, including Mexico (LATAM), and 35% in Asia and the Pacific (APAC). 

  • Our take: Although Bessemer’s State of Cloud 2023 report lacks an in-depth analysis of Latin America – it does confirm the rapid growth of the cloud market in the region due to digital transformation. However, the current market share remains relatively low at 3.9%, showing a 1.3% increase year over year compared to global public cloud spending in other regions.

    

    In 2022, we highlighted notable investments made by well-known US tech players such as Google, Oracle, Snowflake, and Samsara, as well as local players including Ascenty (BRA), Seak (BRA), KIO (MX), VTEX (BRA), and TOTVS (BRA). These investments clearly indicate that the cloud economy in Latin America is just beginning to flourish, and we anticipate further expansions and continued growth.

• The European Expansion Report: This study analyzed 210 VC-backed B2B Software companies that expanded into Europe since 2010 gathering over 300,000 data points on these companies’ hiring patterns, their HQ location selection, and their leadership hires, to inform the insights and conclusions in this report.

  • Our take: You might wonder why we’re highlighting a report on European expansion and the reason is that our team drew many parallels to trends we’ve seen on the Latin America expansion front.

    Like Frontline’s analysis – we have observed stability in engineering-focused expansions compared to sales-focused expansions since our inception in 2020. Building high-performing engineering teams across Latin America has remained steady, while sales-focused expansions have slowed.

    Furthermore, just as London, Dublin, and Amsterdam account for 90% of companies' headquarters in Europe, we've noticed a similar concentration in Latin America. São Paulo and Mexico City have become popular choices for companies setting up operations in the region. Felicidades to Frontline Ventures for putting together this exceptional report.

• Rappi, the Colombian delivery company, acquired Box delivery in Brazil as it aims to meet growing demand from restaurants in the country. (Bloomberg Linea)

• Bring IT, an Oracle NetSuite Alliance Partner, acquired two Brazilian companies to secure a global presence and support growing customer demand. (Business Wire)

• Pentera, an Israeli cybersecurity company, announced plans to expand into Mexico and Brazil. (PR Newswire)

• KIO, the Mexican data center firm, is expanding operations to Monterrey, Mexico all while also increasing investment in Panama, Guatemala, Colombia, and Spain. (Reuters)

• Whatsapp [NYSE: META] began rolling out payments in Brazil. (Bloomberg Linea)

• Globant [NYSE: GLOB] acquired French digital transformation company Pentalog, to further accelerate its expansion in Europe. (PR Newswire)

• Revolut, the UK-based fintech, marked its debut in Latin America by launching in Brazil. (Fintech Futures)

• Brex, the US fintech, announced new global capabilities to support US multinationals operating in Brazil, Mexico, and others. (Brex)

• Eucon, a US-based digital pioneer for data and process intelligence, announced the opening of its first LatAm office in Mexico City. (PRWeb)

• Moove IT and December Labs, two Uruguayan software development companies announced a merger to become Qubika. (Business Wire)

• Microsoft [NYSE: MSFT] announced the expansion of its Airband partnership to provide high-speed internet access to 40M people across LatAm and Africa. (Microsoft blog)

• Ebury, the London-based fintech, acquired Brazilian fintech Bex as it aims to begin investing heavily across Latin America. (Pymnts)

• Liquido, the US-based paytech company, launched in Latin America following a US $26mn funding round. (Fintech Futures)

• Lemon, an Argentinian crypto company, expanded into Mexico (LatamList)

• Shein, the Chinese fast fashion giant, announced plans to build a Mexican factory to service the Latin America region. (Reuters)

• Tata Consultancy, the IT service multinational, announced the opening of a new office in Monterrey, Mexico its fourth office in the country. (Mexico News Daily)

• Strike, the global money app startup, announced the expansion of its ‘Send Globally’ product to Mexico in order to serve the largest market for remittances from the US. (Business Wire)

• Oracle [NYSE: ORCL] announced plans to open a new data center in Monterrey, Mexico as nearshoring demand surges. (Milenio)

• TikTok, the social media platform, stepped up its Latin America expansion with new office openings in Colombia and Argentina. (Bloomberg Linea) 

• Digibee, an integration platform as a service company, raised US $60mn to further expand into Latin America (Business Wire)

• Visa [NYSE: V] announced its acquisition of Brazilian payments infrastructure startup Pismo for US $1bn. (Techcrunch) 

• Stripe opened an operations center in Mexico as part of their continued expansion and plans to build a 100-person team over the next three years. (Iupana)

Additional stories we’re reading:

• 10 Most Innovative Companies in Latin America 2023 (Fast Company)

• Which LatAm Countries Rank Highest on the Economic Complexity Index? (Linea)

• Github CEO Sees Brazil’s Potential as a Growing Market for Developers (Linea)

• Next Wave of Remote Work is About Outsourcing Jobs Overseas (WSJ)

• Latin America Shows Investment Promise But Challenges Remain  (Forbes)

• Clara secures $60M amid rapid transaction growth in LatAm (TechCrunch)

Job Board

LatAm-focused roles at top tech companies. 

• WISE is hiring a Senior Product Manager Brazil 

• Revolut  is hiring a Head of HR - US & LATAM 

• Datadog is hiring a Manager, Enterprise  CS LATAM 

• Darktrace is hiring a Customer Success Director - LATAM

• Chegg is hiring a Senior BD Manager LATAM

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This year we’re looking to hear from you on what Latin America expansion insights you’re interested in so don’t be shy and hit the Reply button up above. ¡Vámonos!

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• Nearshoring On Overdrive: According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), medium-term nearshoring opportunities for LATAM will reach US$78 billion in new exports of products and services by 2023. Of this figure, Mexico would be taking US$35 billion, making it one of the biggest beneficiaries in the region. 

  • Our take: Tense US-China relations and the pandemic supply chain disruption, among other factors, have resulted in a surge in nearshoring primarily across logistics, transportation, and manufacturing with Mexico’s Economy Minister recently stating that more than 400 North American companies intend to relocate from Asia to Mexico.

    This influx of companies is leading to a talent search for highly specialized labor such as technology, where experts say supply is scarce. In a recent report, Adecco highlighted the following core specializations as the most in demand for the nearshoring boom: (1) software development, (2) industrial skills in manufacturing, (3) bilingualism, and (4) project management. As we stated in our previous writeup – it will be crucial for foreign companies to understand their talent pool and allocate part of their investment to training programs in order for these companies to scale their local teams.

• Deel’s State of Global Hiring: Deel’s 2023 annual report revealed that LatAm continues to be one of the most sought out regions to hire from with Argentina ranking third in the world for recruiting remote talent. The top countries recruiting remote talent in Argentina include Uruguay, Mexico, and the United States.

  • Our take: Given the country was one of the earliest adopters of nearshoring and is home to the second largest tech talent pool in LatAm this comes as no surprise. Argentina continues to be a popular market for international companies to hire in given the country’s high English proficiency and software readiness scores as well as the time zone alignment with the US.

    One interesting trend to keep an eye on is the the country’s drastic increase in hiring by its neighboring country of Uruguay. As the economic and political crises continue in Argentina – Uruguay is seeing a tech migration with recent visa statistics showing a 6x increase in temporary or permanent residency between 2020-2021 by Argentines. Something tells us top-performing remote contractors in Argentina may receive a relocation offer at some point in the near future.

• Foxconn announced plans to increase production capacity in Mexico to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles and servers to be made in North America. (Reuters)

• phdata, a full-service machine learning and data analytics consulting company, expanded into Latin America via an acquisition of Nooka Labs based in Uruguay. (Newswire)

• Netskope plans to increase its headcount in Latin America and expand its regional data center infrastructure following a US $401mn funding round. The company currently operates in five Latin American countries – Bogotá, Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasiília. (BN Americas)

• Nowports, the Mexican unicorn startup, expanded operations to Miami. (Refresh Miami) 

• KLYM, the Colombian fintech, raised US $27mn to boost its growth in Latin America across Colombia, Chile, and Mexico. (Bloomberg Linea)

• Mastercard [NYSE: MA] & Binance launched a prepaid card in Brazil as part of the crypto giant’s efforts to “broaden the connection between traditional finance and crypto”. (Reuters)

• Dyninno Group, a global technology group of companies that provides products and services in the travel, fintech, and entertainment technologies sectors, expanded into São Paulo, Brazil, creating over 100 jobs.  (PR Newswire)

• RobotLAB, the world’s largest robotics integrator company, announced its new expansion to Bogota, Colombia. (Investor Observer)

• Ascenty, the Brazilian data center company, began building four new data centers to capitalize on the growing demand for cloud services. These centers will be based in Santiago, Bogota, São Paulo, and Queretaro. (Nearshore Americas)

• Planet42, a South Africa-based rent-to-buy car firm, raised US $100mn in debt and equity financing and expanded into Mexico. (Bloomberg Linea)

• MercadoPago, the fintech division of MercadoLibre [NASDAQ: MELI] launched a new credit card in partnership with Visa. (Business Insider)

• SesameHR, a Spanish human resources management software company, announced the start of its international expansion into Mexico. (Mexico Business)

• Tesla [NYSE: TSLA], announced plans to build a US $5bn plant in Monterrey, Mexico. The company has begun ramping up hiring for its new factory. (FT)

• Thunes, a Singapore-based global cross-border payments company, announced its expansion into Latin America with the hiring of a new Head of LatAm based in São Paulo. (PR Newswire)

• Equisoft, a Montreal-based insurance and investment software developer, raised US $125mn to fuel international expansion. The company’s LatAm team is spread across Mexico, Colombia, Panama, and Brazil. (TechCrunch)

• Clara, the Mexican fintech, announced a US $90mn debt funding round to expand further into Brazil & Colombia where it has seen strong growth. (Reuters)

• CourtAvenue, a US-based global digital transformation agency, launched its new Latin America office in Mexico City. (PR Newswire)

• Seak Sistemas, a Brazil-based firm specializing in IoT and mobility projects, is readying an expansion into Mexico likely targeting edge data centers and cloud. (BN Americas)

• MercadoLibre [NASDAQ: MELI], Latin America’s leading e-commerce company, to invest US$1.6B in Mexico this year. (Mexico News)

• Cabify, Spain’s ride-sharing app company, raised US $110mn in funding. Funds will be used to grow in existing Latin American markets; Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. (Bloomberg Linea)

• EpicQuest Education [NASDAQ: EEIQ], a provider of comprehensive education solutions for domestic and international students interested in college and university programs announced expansion into Mexico. (PR Newswire)

• MiX Telematics [NYSE: MIXT], a leading provider of connected fleet management SaaS solutions, announced 3,000 new subscribers across Latin America. (PR Newswire)

Additional stories we’re following:

• 10 Most Innovative Companies in Latin America 2023 (Fast Company)

• Major Risks Facing LatAm Countries in 2023 (Bloomberg Linea)

• Globant Reports Best Year So Far in 2022 (Bloomberg Linea)

• Shein Names Ex-SoftBank Exec to Head LatAm Business (WSJ)

• DHL to boost Mexican investment after cargo flights move (Reuters)

• Stellantis [NYSE: STLA] invests US$150 mn in Argentine copper mine (Reuters)

• Mastercard, Visa in talks to buy Brazilian Fintech Pismo (Bloomberg)

• Mexican Casai and Brazilian Nomah, two of the largest startups in short-stay rentals, shut down operations in Brazil. (Bloomberg Linea)

LatAm-focused roles at tech companies:

• Snowflake is hiring a Sales Development Representative in San Mateo

• Gitlab is hiring a Enterprise Area Sales Manager LATAM

• Sailpoint is hiring a Regional Marketing Manager (LATAM/US SOUTH)

• Preply is hiring a Head of Sales LatAm

• Apexanalytix is hiring a Regional Sales Executive (Latin America/Mexico)

• Wise is hiring a FinCrime Product Compliance Manager LATAM in Austin

• Levee is hiring a Global B2C Growth Lead

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• Driving Adoption of Emerging Technologies in Latin America: This report surveyed 316 executives across six LATAM countries (Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia) to understand how emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, 5G, biometrics, metaverse, edge computing, robotics, virtual & augmented reality are viewed and adopted at companies across industries like manufacturing, technology, and financial services.

  • Our take: Given the deployment of emerging technologies is relatively new for many LATAM organizations, 90% of respondents state that emerging tech is extremely or very important to the organization’s future success and is a step in the right direction. One key statistic that we chose to highlight –  73% of respondents stated that talent shortages and skills deficits are impeding the effective adoption of these technologies. While top tech talent continues to leave these countries, it will be key for LATAM companies to develop their talent as well as create lasting partnerships to accelerate the integration of these emerging technologies. Investing in educational programs to teach about these emerging technologies will be key to mitigating the shortage of talent for the technology sector’s most in-demand roles.

• Connect33 | Year In Review: 

• Our take: The influx of publicly-traded tech names including Amazon, Oracle, and Snowflake continued in 2022 with many expanding into multiple markets across Latin America. Given this continued growth across the software industry – smaller tech companies will face an uphill battle with hiring & retention. Recruiting for transferable skillsets and skill-building junior talent will become an essential part of scaling their respective teams.

• Synapse, a fintech firm providing US-based checking accounts to customers abroad, reached 1 million users in Brazil and is planning an expansion into additional markets across LatAm.

• Sryas, a Florida-based leading global technology company, announced the opening of a new Delivery Center in Mexico City.

• Trulioo, a leading global identity verification company, expanded access to the Dominican Republic and Uruguay and significantly strengthened its data sources in Colombia and Mexico.

• INFORM, a German software development and business process optimization specialist has established a joint venture with its long-standing partner Portia LAC in Brazil. 

• AgileThought (NASDAQ: AGIL) announced the opening of its third Latin America office in Merida, Mexico followed quickly by the announcement of a fourth Delivery Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

• Zero Hash, the leading global B2B2C crypto-as-a-service infrastructure provider, announced its expansion into Brazil.

• Ascenty, a data center, and telecom company announced a $290 million USD investment to construct 5 more data centers across Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.

• Cainiao, Alibaba’s logistics arm, announced the opening of its Latin American headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil.

• FedEx Express (NYSE: FDX) expanded its presence in Santiago, Chile, with its largest eCommerce-focused distribution center in South America.

• Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) landed in São Paulo, Brazil months after expanding into Mexico.

• DataXStream, an IT solutions company dedicated to building solutions on emerging technologies for SAP users in sales and distribution announced the opening of their new LATAM office.

• EPAM Systems (NYSE: EPAM) furthers its LatAm expansion and plants flag in Uruguay.

• KIO Networks, a Mexican data center company, is planning to expand into South America as part of its five-year expansion plan.

• Ericsson creates new state-of-the-art research center collaboration to accelerate innovation in Latin America.

• NowVertical Group, a Canadian Vertical Intelligence software, and services company, acquired A10 Group to accelerate growth across LatAm.

• Cognitus Consulting, a global firm specializing in SAP packaged solutions, announced its expansion into Colombia, its fifth LatAm country.

Additional stories we’re following:

• Latin America State of Disbursements Report

• CB Insights State of Venture 2022 Report

• Lula Wins Brazil Election

• Volkswagen Considers Funding Coding Schools in Mexico and Brazil 

• Beat Exits Argentina, Mexico, and Peru

• Argentina’s Inflation Spurs Exodus of Young People to Europe

• Uruguay is Plotting to Poach Argentina’s tech sector

• Tesla to Announce EV plant in Monterrey, Mexico

• Globant expands into Australia & Asia

• Minteo, LatAm’s NFT marketplace, raised a $4.3M seed round

• Xanpool accelerates expansion into Europe & Latin America

• Brazil’s Bradesco Aims to Accelerate US Expansion

• Google Mexico announces launch of Google Wallet

• Spain’s Newest Unicorn Turns Its Focus to Latin America

• Chinese Tech Giants Creating Elite Workers in Latin America

• dlocal & Deel Partner to Support Workforces across Latam, Asia, and Africa

Connect33 Job Board

LatAm-focused roles at top tech companies:

• Nintendo is hiring a Manager, Latin America Demand & Analysis in Redmond, WA

• Tenable is hiring a Head of LatAm Field & Channel Marketing in USA

• Cloudflare is hiring a Senior SASE Specialist in USA

• Airwallex is hiring a Financial Partnerships Manager in Mexico City, MX

• Carrot Fertility is hiring a Regional Coordinator, Global Solutions in USA

• Cambly is hiring an Influencer Marketing Manager in Miami, FL

• Autodesk is hiring a Sales Executive in Dallas, TX

• Preqin is hiring a Research Manager in New York, NY

• Placer is hiring a| Market Researcher in Brazil

• Databricks is hiring a Solutions Architect in San Francisco, CA

• Canonical is hiring a Sales Development Representative in Austin, TX

• Databricks is hiring a Solutions Architect in San Francisco, CA

• Dynatrace is hiring an Account Executive in Massachusetts, MA

• Datadog is hiring an Account Executive in Boston, MA

• Semrush is hiring an Account Executive in Dallas, TX

• Jamf is hiring an Inside Account Executive in USA 

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Market Trends

• Software Developer Salaries: The median annual salary for remote Latin American software developers working for local companies is $12,000 (all data in USD), while those working internationally earn $26,400. For the 64% of developers working remotely for a US-based company, the median wage is $40,000.

  • Our take: This article helps myth-bust the many tech salary reports that under-quote LATAM salaries by relying solely on local company compensation data. While LATAM tends to be a lower-cost employment option than the US, Canada, and EMEA, international companies, especially US-based, have officially disrupted the LATAM tech talent market by paying upwards of 2X above the local average. If you’re looking for tech talent with experience working remotely for internationally-based companies, you might have to pay more than what most published reports say.

• Atlantico Report 2022 Report: Atlantico’s 2022 Latin America Digital Transformation Report with new data and research on fintech, web3, software, remote work, and much more released in September.

  • Our take: This 200-slide report is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding Latin America’s investment & tech landscape. We’ve chosen to highlight two particular slides that we felt are most relevant to our audience. You can watch the live report presentation here.

The surge in Internet Penetration is a big reason we remain bullish on the region. With this rapid growth in internet penetration and smartphone adoption (driven primarily by Android), the region continues to be primed for digital transformation and foreign investment.

The shift to remote work in Latin America was welcomed with open arms, especially by software engineers and other technology professionals. Our team at Connect33 has experienced the challenges that come with scaling a team across Latin America and often advises our clients to be open to remote or hybrid working environments when building their teams. 

• LatAm SaaS Market Report: ​​Latin America is one of the fast-growing SaaS markets worldwide, and its evolution is likely to continue. The CAGR forecast reveals a hyper-growth of 27.2% by 2026, reaching USD $15.9 billion, with Brazil and Mexico as the major markets in the region. 

  • Our take: The rapid digitalization of Latin America has brought many international tech incumbents to the region across remote desktop software, live chat software, video conferencing, e-commerce, collaboration, and project management. We believe the influx of SaaS companies will continue given the opportunity that exists within Latin American enterprises for digital transformation and process improvement, and the SaaS companies that successfully capitalize on this opportunistic market will be those who drive a strategic, locally-tailored Go-to-market approach.

Q3 Expansion Activity

July

• Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) plans to open a new cloud region in Mexico to meet the growing demand for its cloud services. The Mexico office will be its third LatAm office along with São Paulo, Brazil, and Santiago, Chile, and follows their Q2 announcement for a $1.2B investment across Latin America.

• Cognite, a global leader in industrial software will launch new offices in Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil to support digitization in LatAm. Cognite’s LatAm partners include Microsoft, Accenture, and SKF.

• TTEC (NASDAQ: TTECC), one of the largest customer (CX) technology and services innovators for end-to-end digital CX solutions, announced the opening of its first delivery center in Colombia, initially focused on telecommunications clients.

• Evalueserve, a leading global analytics partner to more than 30% of Fortune 1000 firms, announced the opening of its first Colombia office as part of a larger in-country strategy.

August

• Serviceaide, a global provider of modern IT and enterprise service management solutions, expands into Mexico, LatAm’s second-largest IT market.

• Tubi, a Fox-owned FAST platform with a presence in Mexico, will expand into five additional LATAM countries: Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Panama.  Tubi offers viewers a mix of locally-produced content, Spanish-language favorites, and Hollywood titles on Apple TV, Google TV, and Roku in addition to several other TV device options.

September

• Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) opens its fifth LatAm cloud region and first in Colombia in partnership with Claro. This follows Oracle’s opening of their cloud region in Mexico highlighted in our Q2 newsletter.

• Amazon Web Services Mexico (NASDAQ: AMZN) to open a local hub in Mexico City along with offices in Guadalajara and Monterrey to boost bandwidth for its clients.

• Shopee (NYSE: SE) shuts down operations in 4 countries across Latin America due to elevated macro uncertainty. The news comes just 2 months after Shopee announced the opening of five new distribution centers in Brazil Latin America is Shopee’s second largest region accounting for 18.6% of revenue.

• Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW), the Data cloud company, announces Mexico expansion. The company is planning to hire across Latin America in an effort to increase sales and its client base which includes Cemex, Deacero, Reworth, and others.

• Western Union (NYSE: WU) prepares for Latin America expansion via its strategic acquisition of the Brazilian digital wallet, Te Enviei.

Connect33 News

• Our case study with Atrium is now live — find out how Atrium scaled their LatAm engineering team in 4 months here.

Additional stories we’re following:

• LAVCA Trends in Tech

• Wall Street banks funding more startups in LatAm

• VCs keep raising from LPs to invest in LatAm

• Techs Offshore Hiring Has Gone Into Overdrive 

• Bolsonaro, Lula Are Headed for a Runoff

• Argentina's inflation nears 80%

• 500 Most Influential People in Latin America

• Colombia’s leftist president presents ambitious tax plan

• IBM Global AI Adoption Index

• FANUC opening new robotics and automation headquarters in Mexico 

• Brazilian-based Fuse Capital launches web3 fund

Market Trends

• M&A activity heats up: Latin America had 26 M&A transactions in April per Slinghub highlighted by Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA) acquiring Everflow, a Brazilian software company.

  • Our take: There is an increasing appetite for international software firms to pursue M&A in the region due to the significant time investment needed to set up a large-scale operation. This strategy is also becoming more widespread among Latin American fintech companies such as Nubank which is looking to continue its M&A activity.

• LatAm hiring spree continues: Deel’s State of Global Hiring Report highlights that Latin America continues to be an attractive destination for foreign technology companies to hunt for talent with Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico leading the way. 

  • Our take: It is becoming increasingly difficult to hire and retain top talent in Latin America. Deel’s report showed a salary growth of 57% in Mexico and 21% in Argentina in 2021. With increased competition and salary increases — our team aims to educate our clients on how to build a strong culture and ensure they have the latest salary data to stay informed on labor market trends as they expand into LatAm. 

• LatAm Startup funding Shrinks Sharply in Q2: Latin American startups venture investment saw its lowest quarter since 2020. Venture investment in Latin American startups totaled just $2.3 billion in the second quarter of 2022, per Crunchbase data (see chart below). 

  • Our take: The tighter Q2 funding cycle comes as no surprise after many consecutive quarters with a high influx of capital. That being said, many deals are continuing to close for earlier-stage companies and we are continuing to observe new US VC firms scouting companies. This downturn is the first big test for many of these founders, and as Nubank CEO David Velez said in recent days: “this will enable the survival of the fittest”.

Expansion Activity

• April: Coinbase unsuccessfully explored a Latin American expansion with the acquisition of Brazilian 2TM. 

• May: Ukraine-based, Softserve, a digital authority and consulting company opened delivery centers in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Medellin, Colombia as part of its strategy to extend operations to Latin America. 

• May: Amazon Music launches in Argentina following its expansion into Colombia and Chile in Q4 of 2021.

• June: Google announces plan to invest $1.2B in LatAm over the next 5 years across four areas; digital infrastructure, digital skills, entrepreneurship, and inclusive, sustainable communities.

• June: Oracle opens its fourth LatAm cloud region and first in Mexico becoming the first major cloud provider to establish a dedicated cloud region in the country.

Connect33 News

• Amy Feldman has joined our team as Head of Research. Amy brings tremendous experience having built Terminal.io’s global talent intelligence and expansion analytics model. She currently leads global expansion, location strategy, and workforce analytics planning at Twilio. Welcome, Amy!

Additional stories we’re following:

• Headhunt for Latin American Talent Follows Wave of Startup Layoffs

• NFX: Why LatAm Is On The Rise

• Economist Intelligence webinar covering the global and domestic outlook

• SoftBank announces early-stage spinout, Upload Ventures

• Latin America Faces Unusually High Risks

• Politics can’t shake Colombia’s tech boom 

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Market Trends

• Venture Capital: Venture capital investment in Latin America’s companies more than tripled in 2021 to $15.7bn 

  • Our take: The technology boom in Latin America, driven by a Fintech-led influx of capital, positions the region as a key market for innovation; however there is still a large need for governments to step up and provide adequate infrastructure. With upcoming elections in Brazil & Colombia, it will be interesting to monitor how these new governments ensure the prosperity of the tech sector.

• Employee Stock: Latin America startups fail to grant employees stock 

  • Our take: As more international tech companies begin to enter the region, there is an opportunity to offer equity as a means of driving recruitment and improving retention. Recruitment teams should be able to explain equity very clearly when making offers as this is still somewhat new to most candidates.

Q1 Expansion Activity

• January: BigCommerce (NASDAQ: BIGC), a leader in the e-commerce SaaS space,  extended its global presence to Latin America.

• February: Bay-area-based, Brillio, a global technology consulting and technology services company focused on the implementation of digital technologies opened a delivery center in Guadalajara, Mexico.

• March: Samsara (NYSE: IOT), a leader in Connected Operations Cloud, opened its Mexico City office as part of its first expansion in the region.

• March: Endava (NYSE: DAVA), a UK-based software development outsourcing company focused on efficient automation, opened an office in Monterrey, Mexico as part of its continued expansion across LatAm.

• March: C3 AI (NYSE: AI), a provider of Enterprise AI software for accelerating digital transformation announced the opening of their Guadalajara, Mexico office with an event featuring their founder & CEO Thomas Siebel. 

Connect33 News

• Tekton Labs, a Connect33 software development partner, will be doing a roadshow throughout the US from June 6-15. Please reach out if you’re interested in meeting with them.

• We’re happy to announce our partnership with Deel which will allow our clients to leverage their remote team management platform.