The startup received over a dozen aggressive term sheet offers from top VCs.

Ecommerce platform Nuvemshop, which is said to be the Latin American version of Shopify (NYSE: SHOP), announced today its $500 million Series E funding co-led by Insight Partners and Tiger Global Management, with significant participation from Alkeon and Owl Rock. Other investors that joined the round included Sunley House Capital and VMG Partners, as well as existing investors Accel, Kaszek, Kevin Efrusy, Qualcomm Ventures LLC, and ThornTree Capital. (CISION PRNewswire)

The round valued Nuvemshop at over $3 billion, admitting the startup to the hallowed “unicorn” club. The funding came within just five months of the firm’s Series D round of $90 million. Total funding, in a mere 10 months, now stands at $620 million.

According to BusinessInsider, which reported on an exclusive interview with Nuvemshop CEO and Co-founder Santiago Sosa, the round was so hotly contested that one VC offered a term sheet in just four hours. In total, Sosa said he received about a dozen “aggressive” term sheet offers from bulge bracket VC firms.

Nuvemshop

The firm helps businesses build their online presence and serves more than 90,000 merchants across Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, ranging from direct-to-consumer (DTC) startups to large, established brands.

“We envision a world in which anybody can convert a passion project into a thriving business,” said Santiago Sosa, CEO and co-founder of Nuvemshop in a statement. “From the start, we have focused on building solutions tailor-made for Latin American merchants. This singular purpose has cemented Nuvemshop as the standard for merchants in this region to build direct relationships with their customers.”

Nuvemshop also provides support to its merchants for deliveries of their products. For the purpose the firm has set up partnerships and tie-ups to create a network from within the region’s highly fragmented logistic space.

The ecommerce startup has commenced a beta version of its payments solution with an eye on a Latin American buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) offering that will cater to consumers’ penchant for paying down retail purchases over time.

Latin America: the fastest growing e-commerce market in the world

“With 650 million consumers, Latin America is not only a huge market, but it is the fastest growing e-commerce market in the world,” said Matt Gatto, managing director at Insight Partners. “By offering its powerful and easy-to-use platform, built and tailored specifically for Latin America, Nuvemshop is uniquely poised to continue to lead the region’s digital transformation.”

“Nuvemshop not only has the technology and services that Latin American businesses require but an intimate insider’s understanding of the cultural subtleties that will drive its customers’ market success,” said John Curtius, Partner at Tiger Global Management.

The latest funding will boost the company’s growth in its present markets and also support the company’s geographic expansion into new countries such as Colombia, Chile and Perú. The company also plans to use the new funds for “M&A opportunities.”

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