Metrics & Success Stories: Deep Tech KPI Frameworks

In the process of fundraising and building investor confidence, clear, tailored metrics and compelling success stories are essential tools for Deep Tech startups. Unlike software ventures, where traction is measured by user growth, churn, or recurring revenue, Deep Tech operates on fundamentally different timelines and value drivers.

One of the key hurdles startups face is the lack of standardized, relevant metrics. Applying the same indicators used in traditional tech sectors often leads to misunderstandings and undervaluation. Metrics must be contextualized to each vertical, a biotech startup needs different benchmarks than one focused on quantum computing or advanced materials, and even within biotech, indicators should vary across sub-segments.

One key element missing is a concrete track record that shows Latin American companies have global reach and impact. Track records are super important for investors. While there are isolated examples, the overall image and history of successful exits in the region remain limited.

LADP investors roundtable participant

# Recommendations: Deep Tech KPI framework

The main pillar for this endeavor is robust data. We recommend establishing a LATAM Deep-Tech KPI framework to close the gap left by U.S. and EU-centric benchmarks and to improve the transparency and comparability of investment opportunities across the region. This report offers a first pass; moving from map to machinery will require follow-on convenings, working groups of investors, founders, and technical experts, to validate gaps, agree on relevant sources, and set clear data-collection cadences.

The framework should combine a standardized, cross-vertical core with sector-specific annexes. The standardized core would track graduation rates from one funding round to the next, internal rate of return over defined time horizons, and the share and depth of active corporate venture capital participation. Sector annexes would then capture what general KPIs miss: clinical and regulatory milestones in biotech, certification and qualification cycles in hardware, or approvals and interconnection timelines in climate and energy.

This two-tier approach preserves comparability while capturing each vertical’s operational realities. For startups, it creates a credible, investor-ready narrative grounded in standardized metrics. For the broader ecosystem, it generates a stronger evidence base, producing the robust numbers and decision-grade insights needed to elevate the region’s standing in the global deep-tech landscape.