1 – The first time is one you never forget
This week Nubank makes its first acquisition, the consulting firm Plataformatech, with the goal of incorporating its employees: talented engineers and developers, as well as agile methodology practices and their market insights — what is also known as acqui-hiring. Some of these professionals had already spent months at Nubank as consultants. The acquisition is strategic for the digital bank, aimed at attracting technology talent.
2 – Nubank receives $400 million investment
Nubank, the largest fintech in Brazil and Latin America, has just widened its lead over competitors even further.
The startup received $400 million in a Series F funding round. This was the largest investment the company has ever received — and it values the company at $10 billion.
In roughly one year and four months, Nubank multiplied its market value by 10. This is because the company became a unicorn in March of last year — meaning it was valued at $1 billion. Now, at the end of July 2019, the valuation stands at specifically $10.4 billion, according to sources who informed Bloomberg.
2019 has been a particularly important year for Nubank. This year, the fintech announced the beginning of its international expansion — and chose to start with Mexico and Argentina. In addition, the company launched this month a a business account for entrepreneurs and small companies. Until then, the fintech had no products aimed at this audience.
This is just one of the company's opportunities to attract new customers. At the moment, Nubank has reached the milestone of 12 million consumers — and this number is expected to grow rapidly. In addition to the international expansion and business account, the fintech eliminated the credit card waitlist (which had existed since the company's early days). Applicants will now know immediately whether they have been approved or not.
What is most interesting is that the startup has reached this level yet still has no financial return — although revenue continues to grow. Nubank disclosed that in 2018, it doubled its revenue and reduced its losses by 14.3 percent.
This is not uncommon among startups — major companies such as Uber and Lyft even went public but still do not generate profit. This happens because startups tend to prioritize exponential growth before reaping the rewards.
Nubank is one of the greatest Brazilian startup success stories, but it is far from the only one. The expectation is that Brazilian startups will continue to receive investment.
Major investors such as SoftBank have been paying increasingly close attention to the region — as evidenced by the creation of a fund specifically for Latin America.
Indeed, SoftBank itself has launched Vision Fund 2, its new venture capital fund valued at $108 billion — and this time, startups from around the world are expected to feel the impact, with Apple and Microsoft among its investors.
And you — are you confident about the future of startup investment?
3 – Nubank arrives in Mexico
Six weeks ago, Nubank arrived in Mexico. This week, the digital bank's expansion reached Argentina — and so the conquest of Latin America continues. The fintech sees Argentina as a market with great potential, where only 24% of the population holds a credit card. Nubank's goal: to win over the Americas and 3 more territories of its choosing.
4 – The emperor has no clothes
This week the NuBank team took another step in their plans to dominate the financial market in Brazil. They announced the creation of NuConta, a fee-free checking account with certain advantages that traditional banks are unable to offer.
The startup only operates in Brazil, but the story gained coverage even in the New York Times.
Recently David Vélez, founder of NuBank, spoke with ACE startups about how he turned a 12-slide deck into a company so beloved by consumers.