Kavak (Brazil Exit)
Even with $1.5B raised, Kavak couldn't make Brazilian used-car economics work and exited the country in 2023.
2016 → 2023
$1.5B
Used Car Marketplace
Brazil
Full Analysis
Mexican-founded Kavak was LATAM's largest used-car platform with $1.5B+ raised at a $8.7B peak valuation. It expanded aggressively into Brazil starting in 2020. But the inventory model — buy, recondition, sell with warranty — required cheap capital that disappeared in 2022. After significant local losses, Kavak shut down its Brazilian operation in October 2023, laying off ~2,000 people in the country. A clean example of how a great LATAM thesis broke when SoftBank stopped funding losses.
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