Ep. 81: Andreessen Horowitz invest in Mexico (again)
Welcome to Scenius Mexico: Your weekly newsletter on technology, innovation, and startups in Mexico.
Let’s dive in!
Follow The Money
PulpOS raised a US$ 4 million Seed round
PulpOS is a FinTech focused on helping Mexican SMEs transition to cloud-based operations, and the round was led by famous investor Andreessen Horowitz. The team plans to use the funding to expand its software development team and enhance its platform's capabilities by incorporating artificial intelligence. The startup also aims to increase its market presence in Mexico by opening a second office in Guadalajara. With its cloud-based solution that integrates with applications like WhatsApp, PulpOS has helped SMEs using its platform increase their profitability by 20%. The startup currently counts over 5,000 active users and plans to introduce payment integration and management features powered by AI to further assist merchants in attracting more customers.
Sector: FinTech
Total raised to date: US$4 million
Founders: Frank Martin, Franco Silvetti, Lucas Cortés
Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, H20 Capital, Latitud, Newtopia VC
Taxo raised a US$1.2 million Pre-Seed round
Taxo is a TaxTech which provides a platform that automates tax declaration forms and calculations for individuals. The team plans to use these funds to strengthen its presence in Mexico with the goal of increasing its customer base by 160% and achieving 200,000 tax declarations on its platform by 2024. Taxo also intends to introduce new services such as tax payment assistance and expand its operations to Peru and Colombia. The platform additionally offers a marketplace for users to find accountants, enhancing efficiency by enabling accountants to reduce operational tasks by up to 90%, thereby focusing more on client service and acquisition.
Sector: FinTech - TaxTech
Total raised to date: US$1.2 million
Founders: David Paredes, Jacobo Moreno, Constanza Martínez
Investors: BuenTrip Ventures, Seedstars, 500 LatAm, Newlin Ventures
Startups News
Mexican startup kAI takes part of the Intel Liftoff program
The Intel program will help the startup to enhance productivity through AI-driven wearable technology and apps for Wear OS and watchOS, with a product launch planned for April. kAI aims to streamline user tasks and time management via natural conversations with AI. As part of the Intel Liftoff program, kAI is developing its proprietary AI and plans to process 3,000 agenda models by month-end. The startup, which is working on features for collaborative activity scheduling, anticipates expanding its offerings to include event sharing and a bot for WhatsApp and Telegram by September. kAI is also looking to secure a $750,000 funding round by the end of 2024 to further develop its AI capabilities and introduce growth-focused functionalities, such as suggested tasks aligned with personal goals.
FinTech Aviva reached 35,000 credit applications
Aviva is a startup following a unique approach to unsecured credit for underserved communities. Aviva’s physical onboarding kiosks build a bridge to those living in remote communities and provide a documentless 3-minute video onboarding for everyone in need of liquidity. The team is now planning to expand into new regions across the country, having recently inaugurated its first kiosk in Hidalgo. Hidalgo, with a 71.8% informal labor rate, is a strategic market for Aviva. Aviva's innovative model blends in-person kiosk service and AI-enhanced video calls to reach underserved communities. This approach allows Aviva to integrate new data into its proprietary risk models and build customer trust.
Revolut gets approved by the CNBV (finally)
The National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) of Mexico has officially granted Revolut Bank, known locally as Revolut México, a license to operate as a subsidiary in the country. This marks a significant milestone in the expansion of its digital financial services in Mexico, allowing Revolut to compete with Santander's OpenBank, Banorte's Bineo, and BanRegio's Hey Banco. Let the game begins!
VC - M&A News
Mexican PideDirecto acquires Uruguayan Habitué
Habitué specializes in comprehensive solutions for restaurants, and was acquired by the Mexican software services company, Directo Group. The deal closed after nearly a year of negotiations and valued the company at over US$1 million. The entire Habitué team of 22 will join Directo Group's Ambit One segment. Post-acquisition plans include growth within Uruguay and international expansion, starting with Peru, supported by a US$200,000 investment aimed at securing 500 clients in Uruguay by 2024. Rotondaro and Williamson will play key roles in driving Directo Group's expansion in Latin America outside Mexico and in direct-to-consumer strategies.
Rest of the World
Uruguayan Foccuz raised to come to Mexico
Foccuz is a startup that develops sales performance management software. The team is now entering the Latin American market with a focus on expanding into Mexico. They recently raised a pre-seed funding round of US$700,000. The company's software automates several business processes such as sales forecasting, target setting, commission calculations, and performance evaluations, aimed at boosting sales team efficiency and transparency.
Chilean FinTech Radar expands to Mexico
Radar has raised US$1.5 million in a Seed round to enhance its treasury management solutions in Mexico. Founded in 2022 by Herbert Schulz, Gabriel Vilaboa, and Rafael Martínez, Radar solutions offers payment reconciliation, cash flow projection, and mass payment processing. The funds will be used to drive growth, particularly by enhancing its engineering team in Mexico, and to integrate artificial intelligence into its products by the second half of 2024.
Economy
Foreign investors maintain a positive outlook on Mexico's economy
Foreign investors maintain a positive outlook on Mexico's economy, anticipating stability regardless of the presidential election outcomes in both Mexico and the United States, according to the incoming president of the Mexican Private Equity Association (Amexcap), Pablo Coballasi. Coballasi highlighted the significant capital raised by Amexcap in 2023, amounting to over US$ 1.6 billion, marking a 14% annual increase, driven partly by nearshoring trends. Energy and water challenges were noted as key areas requiring closer collaboration with authorities to develop a comprehensive infrastructure program for Mexico. The outgoing president of Amexcap, Raúl Gallegos, mentioned the impact of current federal energy policies on clean energy projects and the enthusiasm among fund members for proposals that could swiftly enhance the situation, indicating that energy is a priority on the candidates' agendas.
See you for the next edition. Have a question or any feedback? Just hit reply. I'd love to chat!
Arnaud