SAO PAULO (Reuters) – U.S. private equity firm General Atlantic LLC and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp are leading a 580 million reais ($107.25 million) funding round in Brazilian facial biometrics and digital admission company Acesso Digital, it said in a statement on Monday.
Both General Atlantic and SoftBank will hold a minority stake in Acesso Digital after the investment.
Founded in 2007, Acesso Digital announced its first funding round in January, when it raised 40 million reais with Igah Venture, formerly e.Bricks Ventures.
Acesso Digital founder and CEO Diego Martins said in an interview that demand for the companies’ services has doubled since the beginning of the pandemic, as use of contactless identification has surged in an attempt to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Martins said the company will use the proceeds of the funding round to expand the business, including via acquisitions.
(Reporting by Aluisio Alves, writing by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Dan Grebler)
