Nowports Hits Unicorn Status At $1 Billion Valuation With New Funding

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Digital freight forwarder Nowports announced Tuesday it has secured $150 million in a funding round led by Softbank Latin America Fund.

The series C round has landed the company a $1.1 billion valuation, helping Nowports become one of the most valuable companies in Mexico.

"We are excited to earn the trust of large investment funds and join the short list of unicorns in Latin America," Alfonso de los Ríos, co-founder and CEO of Nowports, said in a statement. "This enhances our commitment to transforming the region's supply chains with technology and agile access to financing for companies that import or export goods."

Nowports aims to digitally streamline the import and export processes of Latin American companies, especially small and midsize enterprises, by improving supply chain visibility. The company also provides customers with financing services and cargo insurance. 

Monterrey, Mexico-based Nowports currently has offices in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru and Brazil. Since the company's founding in 2018, Nowports has grown to more than 500 employees.

Nowports is one of a handful of unicorns, companies valued at more than $1 billion, in Mexico. Other Mexico-based unicorns include Bitso, Clara, Konfio, Merama and Kavak, according to multiple news outlets.

"We are excited to invest once again in Nowports, a company that is revolutionizing its industry," said Juan Franck, managing partner of SoftBank Latin America Fund. "In addition to the increasing focus on artificial intelligence, big data and IoT to improve the entire import and export chain, we believe the investment will help Nowports to consolidate its presence in the Brazilian market and create new services and solutions."

The series C funding will be used for expanding Nowports' financing services in Latin America and opening additional offices in Brazil, Mexico and Chile. The company will also use the funds to expand its staff to include more engineers for technological development.

In addition to Softbank Latin America Fund, the series C round included investors Tiger Global, Foundation Capital, Monashees, Soma Capital, Broadhaven Ventures, Mouro Capital, Tencent, and Base10 Partners. 

In December, Nowports closed a series B funding round, securing $60 million, led by Tiger Global.

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