New Ventures Capital from Colombia and Avalancha Ventures from the U.S. also participated in the round, along with Grupo Flecha Amarilla, a Mexican logistics company.
Founded in 2017 by Sebastian Baquero, Marcelo Ramos, and Alfredo Rivera, Ruedata has a platform that tracks tire wear and expenses. “We’ll use the funds to grow sales both domestically and internationally,” said Baquero, the CEO, in an interview with NeoFeed. Part of the investment will also go toward hiring and creating a marketplace to help fleet operators buy tires and access repair services. Baquero added, “We aim to reduce costs for clients and lower carbon emissions.”
Brazil and Mexico are key markets for Ruedata, making up 80% of its business. The rest comes from other South American markets and early-stage operations in the U.S. serving Mexican clients.
Ruedata’s data indicates the tire market generates $35 billion annually, with 34 million commercial vehicles in Latin America alone. Some vehicles, like trucks, use up to 34 tires each.
With 40,000 vehicles on its platform and plans to triple that by the end of 2025, Ruedata competes with companies like Brazil’s Cobli and Infleet.
Barn Investimentos has a history of investing outside Brazil, including in Agrotoken (Argentina), Avicanna (Canada), and Agritask (Israel). They require foreign investments to have a connection to Latin America. “We focus on Latin America’s competitive advantages but aim to solve global problems,” said Flavio Zaclis, founding partner of Barn Investimentos.
Barn Investimentos prioritizes greentechs, dividing investments into agribusiness and land use, logistics efficiency, energy efficiency, and circular economy.
The investment in Ruedata is Barn Investimentos’ 11th and second-to-last from its second fund. They plan one more investment in a circular economy company before raising their third fund, aiming for $150 million to invest in 12 startups with a similar strategy.
“The fundraising environment is tough,” Zaclis noted. “But our track record and the need for global solutions help us. There’s more money abroad, but domestic relationships are stronger.”
