Kavak, a Mexico City-based startup that operates a pre-owned car marketplace in Latin America, announced that it has raised a massive $700 million in a Series E round that more than doubles the company’s valuation to $8.7 billion.
This news is notable for a few reasons. For one, it’s a staggering sum for any startup, much less one based in Latin America. Also, news of this raise comes just five months after Kavak raised $485 million in a Series D at a $4 billion valuation. The investment also marks the second time this year that Kavak has doubled its valuation. (The company only achieved unicorn status last October.) And lastly, the round makes Kavak the second most valuable startup in all of Latin America — the first being Brazilian fintech Nubank, which earlier this year was valued at $30 billion. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based General Catalyst led Kavak’s Series E, which brings the company’s total raised to over $1.5 billion since its 2016 inception. Tiger Global, Spruce House, D1, SEA, Founders Fund, Ribbit Capital, SoftBank and others also participated.