SoftBank's Latin America Bet Has Gone Ice Cold

SoftBank is having a hard time finding Latin American startups worth writing big checks for. The investment giant has completed only two new deals in the region over the past two years — a stark signal that the once-hot market has cooled dramatically.

The company itself has acknowledged the struggle, saying startups ready for major investment are simply hard to come by. It's a sharp reversal from the earlier era when SoftBank poured billions into the region's tech ecosystem with aggressive conviction.

The drought underscores a broader pullback in emerging market tech investing. Latin America's startup scene exploded during the pandemic-era boom, but deal flow has since cratered as valuations corrected and investor appetite shifted.

Two deals in two years. That's not a slow period — that's a freeze.