SoftBank Group is committing $3 billion to kickstart a second fund focused on investing in start-ups in Latin America, the Japanese tech conglomerate announced Tuesday.

After a dismal stretch in 2019 that culminated in the scrapped IPO of WeWork, SoftBank has reemerged as a major tech investor across the globe, and is now bolstering its bet on a region that’s seeding a growing number of valuable companies.

Venture investors poured $9.3 billion into Latin America in the first six months of 2021, compared to $5.3 billion all of last year, according to a report from CBInsights. Brazil’s Nubank was recently valued at $30 billion, putting it among the most valuable venture-backed companies in the world. The company is expected to go public soon.

In a blog post in July titled “The Latin American Startup Opportunity,” partners at venture firm Sequoia wrote, “the market opportunity is there, and the ecosystem is ready and galvanized.” Sequoia is an investor in Nubank.

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