Clara, the Mexican corporate expense management unicorn in Latin America, today announced the closing of a US$60 million investment round led by GGV Capital, which has also invested in Mexican credit card unicorn Stori. It also announced that Hans Tung, Managing Partner of GGV, has joined as a member of the startup’s Board of Directors. 

The capital received will be used to boost the technological development of the digital payments and expense management platform, in addition to consolidating its market leadership in the region in a challenging environment for startups around the world due to the 54% drop in venture capital investments, according to data from CB Insights.

Other new partners participating in the round include Acrew Capital, Citius, Citi Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, Ethos, Commerce Ventures, Goanna Capital, Bayhouse Capital, Fluent Ventures, and LAGO Innovation Fund. Also joining the round are Clara’s existing investors, including Monashees, Coatue, Picus Capital, DST Global Partners, Alter Global, General Catalyst, and more than a dozen angel investors.

Clara, which reached unicorn status just eight months after its founding in 2021, has been among the startups that have defied the adverse environment due to a recent lack of venture capital investment. 

In August 2022, Clara disclosed that it obtained a credit line from Goldman Sachs for US$150 million in a year in which Latin startups turned to this type of financing due to the caution of venture capitalists due to high-interest rates. 

The investment was intended to double its presence in Mexico, said Gerry Giacomán Colyer, CEO and co-founder of Clara. In Mexico and other important markets for Clara, such as Colombia and Brazil, the fintech competes directly with the unicorn Jeeves. 

Clara received this mega capital round at a time when, specifically in Mexico, the amount of venture capital investments fell 60.83% in the first three months of 2023, to US$154 million, based on the Transactional Track Record (TTR) analysis platform.

Source: Contxto - Mexico