The numbers behind the discount.
Drawn from a database of 2,566 LATAM deep tech ventures (data cutoff March 2025), benchmarked against global sources. Every figure links back to the report.
Showing figures current to July 22, 2026.
The capital gap
How little reaches the region, and how fast that is changing.
LATAM invests half of Europe’s level and a tenth of the United States’, per person, in USD.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourcesLatin American Dynamism Project (LADP), Accelerating Deep Tech in Latin America; Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Lab), Deep Tech: The New Wave; Sling Hub & Itaú, LATAM Startup Market 2024 in Review; Atomico, State of European Tech Report 2024
Methodology: LADP calculation from cumulative regional deep tech investment ÷ population. ledger #67: denominators are inconsistent (Asia = continent, Europe ≈ EU). Recompute with stated population bases before refreshing.
| Category | Current |
|---|---|
| United States | $153 |
| Europe | $31 |
| Latin America | $15 |
| Asia | $3 |
In absolute terms the gap is starker still: roughly USD 2.5bn for all of LATAM.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourcesInter-American Development Bank (IDB Lab), Deep Tech: The New Wave; Dealroom.co, Deep Tech in Europe, Dealroom Deep Dive
Methodology: Cumulative-to-Sept-2024 per Science|Business. ledger #65. NOT refreshed to a comparable current series ON PURPOSE: public 2025 figures use incompatible deep tech taxonomies (Tracxn US ~$179bn vs Dealroom Europe $20.3bn, not comparable) and refreshing across them would repeat the report's own error. Scale anchor for the chart caption: Europe alone was $20.3bn of ANNUAL deep tech VC in 2025 (Dealroom), against the report's $14bn CUMULATIVE, so label units explicitly and treat the four bars as a 2024 cumulative snapshot, not a live comparison. Global deep tech ~$250bn in 2025; US ~45% of deals, Europe ~30%, Asia >20%.
| Category | Current |
|---|---|
| United States | $52.0B |
| Europe | $14.0B |
| Asia | $13.0B |
| Latin America | $2.5B |
Investment grew ~600% between 2019 and 2023, reaching USD 2.5bn by late 2024. The BID projects a 20× expansion of the ecosystem by 2032.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourcesInter-American Development Bank (IDB Lab), Deep Tech: The New Wave; Sling Hub & Itaú, LATAM Startup Market 2024 in Review; Latin American Dynamism Project (LADP), Accelerating Deep Tech in Latin America
Methodology: Cumulative LATAM deep tech investment. ledger #63/#64: extend through FY2025 and H1-2026; the $2.54bn endpoint mixes an annual flow into a cumulative stock.
| Year | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $0.30B |
| 2023 | $2.00B |
| 2024 | $2.54B |
The recovery the report only saw the start of. 2026 is the first half annualised, not an actual. All technology, not deep tech alone.
Not in the published report. Added since.
SourcesDealroom.co, Latin America, Dealroom Deep Dive; LAVCA (Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America), 2025 Latin American Startup Ecosystem Insights; LAVCA, 2026 LAVCA Trends in Tech
Methodology: NEW refresh dataset. LATAM all-tech VC by year (Dealroom Deep Dive series for consistency). 2026 is H1 $3.1bn actual → $6.2bn full-year projection (projected:true). LAVCA equity-only figures run lower (~$4.1bn 2025); the gap is debt/structured instruments, see methodology.md. Not deep-tech-specific.
| Year | Value |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $4.2B |
| 2024 | $4.5B |
| 2025 | $4.8B |
| 2026 | $6.2B |
Business covers about 35% of R&D in Latin America, against 60% or more across the United States and Europe and nearly 80% in China. Thin private research funding is a structural brake on deep tech.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourcesECLAC / CEPAL, Ciencia, tecnología e innovación: cooperación, integración y desafíos regionales (LC/TS.2022/156); UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2026 R&D Data Release
Methodology: ECLAC Graph I.3, 2019 data (ledger #75/#97). us-eu government = 25 is the midpoint of the report's "20–30" range. Superseded framing: UIS 2026 gives LAC R&D at 0.57% of GDP vs 1.92% global, a stronger level comparison than this composition split.
| Category | Current |
|---|---|
| Latin America | 35% |
| United States & Europe | 60% |
| China | 80% |
Corporate venture capital into the region’s deep tech peaked at USD 119M in 2022, then cooled with the wider funding market. The base is set for the CVC Bridge the report proposes.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourceDealroom.co, Deep Tech Overview: Latin America
Methodology: Dealroom LATAM deep tech CVC (ledger #127). 2021 is "n/a" in the report (null). Fell 70% from the 2022 peak but still 4× the 2020 base, present the full series, not just the 4×. Needs 2025/H1-2026 extension.
| Year | Value |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.0M |
| 2022 | $119.0M |
| 2023 | $73.9M |
| 2024 | $36.5M |
A partial, sourced list of vehicles committed or launched since September 2025. Note the asymmetry: the two LATAM-facing funds together are USD 80m against China’s USD 17.5bn already committed out of a USD 138bn vehicle.
Not in the published report. Added since.
SourcesScenius LATAM (via LinkedIn), GridX: The Matchmaker for Scientists & Business; Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Lab), IDB Lab Approves Investment to Boost Deeptech Ventures in Latin America (GridX Fund II, RG-Q0095); The Quantum Insider, China Launches $138 Billion Government-Backed Venture Fund, Includes Quantum Startups; The State Council, People's Republic of China, China unveils national venture capital guidance fund to boost innovation
Methodology: NEW. Deep tech capital vehicles committed/launched since the report (Sept 2025). Partial, sourced list. amountUsdM in USD millions; the China figure is committed-to-date of a much larger 20-year vehicle.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| GRIDX Fund II | $30M |
| Draper Cygnus | $50M |
| China NVCGF (committed) | $17,500M |
The ecosystem
Where the ventures are, what they build, and where they stall.
Brazil hosts 41% of the region’s ventures, more than the next four countries combined. The “Big 5” account for 83% of everything mapped.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourcesLatin American Dynamism Project (LADP), Accelerating Deep Tech in Latin America; Tracxn Technologies, Tracxn, LATAM deep tech company database (LADP extract); EMERGE (Emerge Brasil) & Cubo Itaú, Radar Deep Tech LATAM 2025
Methodology: LADP/Tracxn count and share. ledger #25/#26: EMERGE's independent mapping disagrees sharply (Brazil 72.3% vs 40.8%; different rank order). Neither is "the" number, a definitional gap, not an error.
| Category | Current |
|---|---|
| Brazil | 1,048 |
| Mexico | 358 |
| Argentina | 256 |
| Chile | 251 |
| Colombia | 219 |
| Rest of LATAM | 434 |
Biotechnology and AI alone account for 72% of mapped ventures, a reflection of the region’s biological-sciences talent and biodiversity.
Re-checked against a current source. Unchanged from the published report. (EMERGE (Emerge Brasil) & Cubo Itaú)
SourcesInter-American Development Bank (IDB Lab), Deep Tech: The New Wave; EMERGE (Emerge Brasil) & Cubo Itaú, Radar Deep Tech LATAM 2025
- The report prints "<1%"; charted at its upper bound. Named sectors sum to 99%.
Methodology: IDB 2023 sector split by COMPANY COUNT, CONFIRMED still current by EMERGE Radar 2025 (biotech 61% / AI 11% both editions). But it measures the stock, not the flow: see the new `aiMomentum` dataset, AI is 11% of companies yet ~70% of rounds by 2023–2025 vintage. Pair the two on the site (ledger #42).
| Category | Current |
|---|---|
| Biotechnology | 61% |
| Artificial Intelligence | 11% |
| Nanotechnology | 6% |
| Cleantech | 5% |
| Spacetech | 4% |
| Advanced Mobility | 4% |
| Robotics | 2% |
| Advanced Manufacturing | 2% |
| Healthtech | 2% |
| Advanced Materials | 1% |
| Medical Devices & Others | 1% |
The ecosystem is front-loaded: 72% of ventures sit at Seed, only 19% reach Series A, and just 22 (10%) have raised Series B or beyond. Median ticket sizes jump an order of magnitude at each stage.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourcesLatin American Dynamism Project (LADP), Accelerating Deep Tech in Latin America; Tracxn Technologies, Tracxn, LATAM deep tech company database (LADP extract); Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Lab), Deep Tech: The New Wave
Methodology: Share of ventures by stage (LADP/Tracxn) with median ticket in USD m. ledger #35: the report text (10%, "22 startups") contradicts this chart's Series-B share (9%).
| Stage | The scale-up funnel | median round |
|---|---|---|
| Seed | 72% | $0.6M |
| Series A | 19% | $8.3M |
| Series B+ | 9% | $17M |
Deep tech took 6% of Latin America’s tech funding in 2024, USD 536M of USD 8.8bn. Fintech still dominates the total, but deep tech’s share is climbing.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourcesSling Hub & Itaú, LATAM Startup Market 2024 in Review; Dealroom.co, Latin America, Dealroom Deep Dive
Methodology: Total funding share 2024. Report names fintech 55, energy 13, deep tech 6; "other" 26 is the remainder to 100. Fintech ~58% at LTM Q2-2026 (Dealroom), persists (ledger #71).
| Category | Current |
|---|---|
| Fintech | 55% |
| Energy | 13% |
| Deep tech | 6% |
| Other verticals | 26% |
By equity funding, deep tech reaches 11%, level with energy and second only to fintech. Investors are already putting real ownership behind the sector.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourceSling Hub & Itaú, LATAM Startup Market 2024 in Review
Methodology: Equity funding share 2024 (ledger #74). Report names fintech 41, deep tech 11, energy 11; "other" 37 is the remainder.
| Category | Current |
|---|---|
| Fintech | 41% |
| Deep tech | 11% |
| Energy | 11% |
| Other verticals | 37% |
The discount
The mispricing the report sets out to close.
Latin American assets trade far below global and emerging-market peers, and well beyond the historical average. The report’s core claim: this is a solvable mispricing.
Refreshed June 30, 2026, MSCI.
SourcesMSCI, MSCI Emerging Markets Latin America Index (USD), Index Factsheet; Itaú BBA Equity Strategy Team, Latam & Brazil Equity Strategy: Thematic Book
Methodology: REFRESHED. Price-to-book discount computed from the MSCI EM Latin America Index factsheet, 30 Jun 2026: LATAM P/BV 1.99 vs ACWI 3.86 = −48.4% (world); vs EM P/BV 2.58 = −22.9%. Narrowed from the Itaú BBA 2024 read (−51% / −27.7%) after LATAM rallied +55.67% in 2025 (ledger #77/#78). Still a market figure that moves daily, asOf is the factsheet date.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| historical average | −13.9% |
| vs. emerging markets | −22.9% |
| vs. the world | −48.4% |
Why the discount narrowed. A 55.67% year in 2025 re-rated the region, closing the gap to the world from -51% to -48.4%. 2026 is year to date. This is the report’s "temporary mispricing" thesis partly playing out.
Not in the published report. Added since.
SourceMSCI, MSCI Emerging Markets Latin America Index (USD), Index Factsheet
Methodology: NEW. Annual gross index return. Explains the discount narrowing, +55.67% in 2025 re-rated LATAM. 2026 is YTD (ytd:true).
| Year | Value |
|---|---|
| 2022 | +9.51% |
| 2023 | +33.54% |
| 2024 | −26.02% |
| 2025 | +55.67% |
| 2026 | +10.75% |
The turn
Momentum has already begun to build.
In 2024 deep tech outgrew every other tech vertical in LATAM, by funding and by equity.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourcesSling Hub & Itaú, LATAM Startup Market 2024 in Review; Dealroom.co, Deep Tech Overview: Latin America
Methodology: YoY 2024-over-2023 growth (Sling Hub) plus CVC 4× (Dealroom, ledger #76/#127). Two cycles old; refresh to FY2025.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Deep tech funding growth | +219% |
| Equity funding growth | +189% |
| Overall tech rebound | +37% |
| Corporate VC growth (2020–24) | 4× |
The single biggest change since the report. The sector split by company count barely moved, but AI-core companies founded 2023-2025 took roughly seven in ten of the rounds their cohorts closed. Stock and flow now tell different stories.
Not in the published report. Added since.
SourcesEMERGE (Emerge Brasil) & Cubo Itaú, Radar Deep Tech LATAM 2025; Dealroom.co, Latin America, Dealroom Deep Dive; Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Lab), Deep Tech: The New Wave
Methodology: NEW, the AI breakout the report lacks (ledger #42). Stock share 11% (stable since IDB 2023); recent-flow share ~70% of rounds by 2023–2025-founded companies. Resolves the report's own tension: it expanded its database to AI/crypto because they grew, then charted a pre-growth sector split.
| Category | Current |
|---|---|
| Share of companies | 11% |
| Share of recent rounds | 70% |
The benchmark
What a coordinated push looks like elsewhere.
China shows the other end of the spectrum: deep tech leapt from 15% to 71% of domestic tech investment in five years, backed by a USD 138bn state fund.
Re-checked against a current source. Unchanged from the published report. (The State Council, People's Republic of China)
SourcesGlobal Private Capital Association (GPCA), 2023 Emerging Trends in Asia; The Quantum Insider, China Launches $138 Billion Government-Backed Venture Fund, Includes Quantum Startups; The State Council, People's Republic of China, China unveils national venture capital guidance fund to boost innovation
Methodology: Deep tech share 15%→71% of domestic tech investment (GPCA, 2017–2022). $138bn fund confirmed (ledger #149); ~$17.5bn now committed across three regional funds (new since the report). Newer context (not charted): China = 66% of Asia tech funding in 2024, down slightly from 69% in 2023; Chinese deep tech ~$6.2bn/241 rounds to Dec-2024, −26% in 2025; AI ~$10–11bn/yr since 2024 vs a 2021 peak of $23.3bn. fundUsdBn is USD bn. The 19.2% CAGR is excluded here and carried separately as a vendor forecast (ledger #144).
| Year | Value |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 15% |
| 2022 | 71% |
China’s deep tech market is projected to compound at 19.2% a year through 2034, outpacing the United States and trailing only Australia & New Zealand.
SourcesFuture Market Insights, Deep Tech Market Report; Global Private Capital Association (GPCA), 2023 Emerging Trends in Asia
Methodology: Vendor forecast. China’s 19.2% CAGR through 2034 is a Future Market Insights projection; the US (15.6%) and Australia & NZ (22%) comparison points are as cited by GPCA. Treat as an estimate, not a verified figure.
| Category | Current |
|---|---|
| Australia & NZ | 22.0% |
| China | 19.2% |
| United States | 15.6% |
Biotech investment in China fell from ~$22bn to $10bn by 2022 while EV, autonomous and automotive rose from $7.9bn to $11.1bn, capital rotating toward strategic hardware. Bars show 2022; the table carries both years.
As published in the report, September 2025.
SourceGlobal Private Capital Association (GPCA), 2023 Emerging Trends in Asia
Methodology: GPCA 2023 (ledger #145/#146). biotech peak ≈22 (pre-2022) → 10 in 2022; EV/AV/auto 7.9 → 11.1, overtaking biotech. Four-year-old endpoint.
| Category | Current |
|---|---|
| Biotech | $10.0B |
| EV / AV / Automotive | $11.1B |
Global corporate venturing grew 2.8× and corporate–deep tech collaborations 4.2×; 71% of firms expect deep tech to weigh more in their portfolios.
As published in the report, September 2025.
Methodology: IESE 2021 (ledger #122). Multipliers over 2017–2021, not a time series. New context: LATAM CVC activity doubled 2020–2023 and AI is now the leading LATAM CVC theme (41% of funds), not in the report.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Overall corporate venturing growth | 2.8× |
| Corporate–deep tech collaborations | 4.2× |
| Of firms expect deep tech to grow in their portfolio | 71% |
The evidence
What the data says about the risk everyone assumes.
Hello Tomorrow’s European dataset finds deep tech ventures fail no more often and exit no slower than regular tech. Whether their exits are larger is still inconclusive.
SourceHello Tomorrow, Deep Tech Investor Mapping (LATAM) & The 2025 European Deep Tech Report
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Do deep tech companies fail more often? | No |
| Do they need more time to exit? | No |
| Do they have larger exits? | Inconclusive |
The endowment
The raw inputs the region already holds.
The raw inputs for frontier science are abundant: biodiversity, lithium, clean power and a deep pool of researchers.
Re-checked against a current source. Unchanged from the published report. (Ember)
SourcesUN Environment Programme / World Economic Forum, Latin America & the Caribbean biodiversity share (UNEP / WEF / IDB); U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Lithium; Ember, Global Electricity Review 2026; UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2026 R&D Data Release; RICYT (Ibero-American Network of Science and Technology Indicators), Science, Technology and Innovation in Latin America, the Caribbean and Ibero-America in 2024
- Share of global lithium RESOURCES, not reserves. The report says "reserves"; that is an error (ledger #2).
- Carry as a ~700–865k headcount range, not a point value: RICYT reports "exceeding 700 thousand" (2024) against the IDB's 865k. FTE runs materially lower than headcount (ledger #4).
Methodology: renewables 65% CONFIRMED (Ember GER 2026). biodiversity 42% is within the established range, UNEP/WEF cite ~40% of global biodiversity (up to ~60% of terrestrial life on a broader measure); keep 42% with the range noted (ledger #1). lithium 58% is RESOURCES not reserves (ledger #2). researchers 865k → carry as ~700–865k range (RICYT ~700k vs IDB 865k; headcount/FTE, ledger #4). researchers value is in thousands.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Biodiversity | 42% |
| Lithium resources | 58% |
| Renewable electricity | 65% |
| STEM researchers | 865k |