Investors are more selective, but they continue to put money in Argentine entrepreneurs: the last two cases

According to data from the consulting firm KPMG, venture capital investments recovered last year in the world, driven by the interest in new developments based on artificial intelligence. So, totaled US$512 billion globally. In Latin America, investors were more selective, but the market shows some “resilience.”

The two Argentine cases this week are examples of this dynamic. On the one hand, Satellites on Firea startup climate-tech founded by the Argentine entrepreneur Franco Rodriguez Viauonly 22 years old, closed an investment round of US$ 2.7 million led by Dalus Capitalwith the participation of international funds such as Draper Associates, Vitamin C and Draper Cygnus, among others.

The company developed an AI-powered platform that allows detecting forest fires in real time, integrating satellite data, field cameras and propagation simulation models. The system manages to identify outbreaks, on average, 35 minutes before NASA systems, which significantly improves responsiveness.

With the new investment, the startup plans to improve its AI models, launch a parametric fire insurance product with AON and develop tools to measure environmental impact, including avoided CO2 emissions. You will also advance your expansion into the United States market.

Besides, Depayan Argentine startup from real-time payment infrastructureannounced the round of US$ 4 million to accelerate the expansion of its network that connects instant payment systems between countrieswhich allows banks, wallets and fintechs to operate on any QR through a single integration.

“The funds will be used to expand the payment network in Latin America, connect new instant payment systems in Asia and advance its landing in Africa and Europe. In addition, they will allow us to strengthen our technological infrastructure, our regulatory capabilities and add key profiles to the team,” the company explained.

“The backing of global investors such as North Island Ventures, DCG, CMT Global, Verda Ventures, Onigiri Capital, Hash3 and relevant ecosystem players positions the company inside the international radar as a key piece in the evolution of real-time payments infrastructure,” they added.

In both cases, The investment amounts were more limited than perhaps recorded in previous years. But they reflect investor interest in innovative projects with solutions to problems global scale.

“The global context presented a challenging framework for risk investments during 2025 given the growing geopolitical and commercial turbulence worldwide. In this framework, Argentina had more than 70 deals in seed capital and venture capital rounds for around US$270 millionwhich demonstrates the resilience of the sector taking into account the political and economic uncertainty that predominated in the country for much of last year,” explains Ramiro Isaac, director of M&A & Debt Advisory at KPMG Argentina.

The prospects for this year are that the trickle towards companies in the region will continue but with more selective investors. “In Latin America it is estimated that venture capital investors will continue to be cautious, concentrating their capital in stable companies. It is likely that the trend of fewer investments, but largercontinue until well into 2026,” they anticipated at KPMG.