As reported by TechCrunch’s Jon Sheiber, Movile, the Brazilian mobile giant, raised another $124M, bringing its valuation close to the $1B unicorn club. Movile’s biggest investor is Naspers, the South Africa megafund.
From the TechCrunch link:
Brazil’s macroeconomic picture may be gloomy, but technology investors still see hope in the nation’s burgeoning technology sector — and a recent $124 million financing for the mobile conglomerate Movile is the latest proof that the pace of investment isn’t slowing down.
Brazil was already the hottest spot for technology investment throughout Latin America — with Sao Paulo drawing in the majority of the record-breaking $1 billion in financing that the region’s startups attracted in 2017. And with this latest funding for Movile, led by Naspers, that trend looks likely to continue.
Movile is inspired by Chinese companies like Tencent and Meituan:
Both Movile and Naspers look to Chinese companies as their model and inspiration for growth, with Bloisi saying that he’s eyeing the eventual public offering for Meituan — the Chinese online retailer as the company to emulate in the market these days.
“The Chinese companies are doing extremely well and Movile is very similar to a Chinese company,” says Bloisi. And the company’s buy and build strategy certainly mirrors that of a tech business in the world’s largest emerging market economy moreso than it does a typical U.S. startup.
For more information on Movile:
Podcast with Fabricio Bloisi, Movile CEO and cofounder