Earlier this month, Pitchbook released its Q2 2021 Global League Tables recognizing Gunderson Dettmer as the #1 VC Law Firm Globally. In addition, the PitchBook database confirms that Gunderson handled more venture and growth equity transactions in Latin America for the first half of 2021 than any other law firm in the world. A deeper dive into the Gunderson Dettmer PitchBook profile can be found here.

According to PitchBook, the financings handled by Gunderson Dettmer in Latin America included over 50 companies, nearly 225 investors, and over $4 billion raised for the most promising companies in the region, double the amount raised in all of 2020. For comparison, Gunderson Dettmer represented clients who raised over $2 billion for companies in Latin America in 2020, further demonstrating the practice's leadership and the region’s rapid market growth.

"Latin America is a culture where there is a deep trust that you can build with your clients. Our clients are often in situations where there is no clear best answer.  Fortunately, our expertise, focus and credibility within the tech and venture capital industry have helped our clients tremendously as they navigate through this rapidly growing market," said Dan Green, co-head of the Latin America practice.

Client Highlights

Below are details on several noteworthy transactions in 2021 among numerous early stage and late stage transactions focused on Latin America:

• Gunderson Dettmer represented client Elo7, a marketplace for unique, handmade items, in its $217 million acquisition by Etsy. 
• Gunderson Dettmer represented client Kavak, an online platform for buying and selling secondhand cars, in its $485 million Series D financing, bringing the company’s valuation to $4 billion. Gunderson has represented Kavak in multiple deals including its acquisition of Checkars and its Series C financing that led the company to become Mexico’s first tech unicorn after reaching a $1.15 billion valuation in September 2020. With the contribution of the Gunderson Latin America team, Kavak was able to expand its market from Mexico to Argentina through its merger with Checkars.
• Gunderson Dettmer represented Brazilian fraud and identity startup, idwall, in its $38M Series C round led by Endurance. GGV Capital, monashees, Canary, Qualcomm Ventures LLC, ONEVC, Peninsula and Norte also participated in the funding, bringing its total raised to nearly $50 million.
• Gunderson Dettmer represented long-time client Cornershop, a grocery delivery platform, as it was acquired by Uber just one year after Uber acquired a majority stake in Cornershop. Cornershop is very active in the Latin American market and touches not only Chile but Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Canada and the U.S.
• Gunderson Dettmer represented client NotCo, a food technology company making plant-based milk and meat replacements, in its $235 million Series D financing led by Tiger Global, bringing the company’s valuation to $1.5 billion.
• Gunderson Dettmer represented cryptocurrency platform, Bitso, in its $250 million Series C financing co-led by Coatue and Tiger Global. The funding brings the company’s valuation to $2.2 billion, making it one of the largest fintech companies in the region and Latin America’s first crypto unicorn.
• Gunderson Dettmer also represented a number of major investors in their financings of companies including Nubank, Loft, and Tiendanube.

Gunderson Dettmer is the only business law firm singularly focused on the global venture capital and emerging technology marketplaces. With more than 350+ attorneys in ten offices worldwide, Gunderson promotes innovation, entrepreneurship and technology by representing investors and companies at every stage in the growth lifecycle.