Ep. 87: Félix Pago Series A, Unicorn Incode new M&A acquisition, and more.
Welcome to Scenius Mexico: Your weekly newsletter on technology, innovation, and startups in Mexico.
Let’s dive in!
Follow The Money
Félix Pago raised a US$ 15.5 million Series A
The startup simplifies cross-border transactions (remittances) using a WhatsApp chatbot, enabling users in the U.S. to send money easily, while recipients in Mexico can collect funds instantly either as bank deposits or in cash at various locations. With the new capital, the team plans to expand its operations to Latin America and further in the U.S. Félix Pago uses the USDC stablecoin for transaction efficiency and lower costs, offering competitive fees and real-time money transfers.
Sector: FinTech
Total raised to date: US$18 million
Founders: Manuel Godoy, Bernardo Garcia
Investors: Castle Island Ventures, Switch Ventures, HTwenty, Contour, MELI Capital
Startups News
Mercado Libre announced a US$ 2.45 billion investment in Mexico
The famous e-commerce platform has announced a significant investment this year, primarily enhancing its logistical network. The company has rapidly established the largest and most efficient logistics and distribution network in Mexico post-pandemic. This development has solidified Mercado Libre’s position as a favorite online marketplace among Mexican consumers and sellers, facilitating millions of transactions. The investment has already shown results during the recent Hot Sale event, drawing 20 million daily visits and offering 20 million discounted items, with 40% of the products sold delivered the next day.
Alibaba Cloud to establish its first cloud region in Mexico
Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of the Chinese company Alibaba, announced plans to establish its first cloud region in Mexico. The announcement was made during the Alibaba Cloud Global Summit in Paris, emphasizing Alibaba's commitment to enhancing its AI infrastructure worldwide. While specific details on the location and timeline for the Mexican cloud region were not disclosed, this move comes as other major players like Microsoft, Oracle, Huawei, and AWS already have or plan to establish cloud regions in Mexico too.
Nos vemos en los Impact Days 2024
Promotora Social Mexico, Impact Ventures, and Impact Hub Ciudad de México are hosting the first edition of the Impact Days from June 17-20. The serie of events aims to foster collaboration and innovation among social entrepreneurs in Latin America, particularly Mexico. These events will include workshops, panels, and networking opportunities, focusing on sustainable development and the digitalization of businesses. The events are free, but space is limited, so to ensure participation register here and let me know which event you will attend to meet in-person!
GoodMeal partners with Oxxo
GoodMeal is an app dedicated to reducing food waste by selling surplus food at discounted prices. The startup has partnered with Oxxo to manage food waste across the convenience store chain. Initially piloted in 10 stores, the collaboration aims to expand to 50 stores by the end of the year with a goal of rescuing over 150 tons of food in 2024. The app, which allows users to save up to 70% on food items from various partners, including Walmart Chile and Accor hotels, plans to extend its service to all 370 Oxxo stores nationwide by January 2025.
VC - Accelerators - M&A News
Guadalajara Angel Investor Network (GAIN)
The Guadalajara Angel Investor Network (GAIN) is raising a US$ 5 million fund to support technology entrepreneurs in Latin America, including Mexico. As of now, GAIN has reached 55% of its funding goal and aims to secure the full amount by the end of June, encouraging more investors to participate. Managed by Rodrigo Ramírez, GAIN invests in early-stage tech companies. Since its inception in 2012 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, GAIN has invested US$ 2 million in 15 startups and counts 54 business angels.
Zentynel Frontier VC
Zentynel Frontier Investments is a venture capital fund based in Mexico that specializes in investing in early-stage biotechnology startups across Latin America. The fund has already invested US$ 8 million and aims to add six more startups to its portfolio in 2024, focusing on sectors like deep tech, biomedical, agtech, aquaculture tech, and foodtech. Led by a team of experts including Cristián Hernández, a molecular biotechnology engineer and a Cambridge graduate, and Dr. Pablo Valenzuela, who developed the hepatitis B vaccine, the fund supports startups not just with capital but also by offering business management advices and regulatory strategy to boost their market competitiveness.
Mexico VC DILA Capital establishes a new fund in Spain
The venture capital firm based in Mexico, has recently established a fund in Spain to facilitate and strengthen the connection between the Spanish and Latin American entrepreneurial ecosystems. This initiative aims to support Spanish startups in scaling their operations in Latin America and vice versa. The fund, part of DILA Capital's strategy to act as a local partner, will invest in Spanish companies that seek to expand to Latin America and in Latin American businesses looking to enter Europe through Spain. The focus on Spain reflects DILA's broader objective to bridge the gap between the two regions by leveraging the shared language.
Incode Technologies acquired MetaMap
Mexico unicorn Incode announced the acquisition of MetaMap, a startup specializing in identity verification based in Silicon Valley. This strategic move is set to strengthen Incode's position in the global market by integrating MetaMap's innovative technology and skilled team into its operations. The merger aims to enhance security and trust in digital identity verification, addressing the critical challenge of financial exclusion and combating the rising issue of AI-enabled fraud. The acquisition will expand Incode's reach, serving thousands of customers across North America, Latin America, and Africa with improved efficiency and scale. Meghna Mann, the former COO of MetaMap, has been promoted to CEO following the transaction, while MetaMap's founder, Filip Victor, departs to pursue other interests.
Rest of the World
Colombian Celes raised to come to Mexico
Celes is an artificial intelligence platform specializing in inventory and promotions optimization for the retail sector. The team closed a US$ 3 million seed round to boost its expansion in the Mexican market, particularly targeting supermarkets, pharmacies, and hard discount stores. The round was led by FEMSA Ventures, the venture capital arm of FEMSA. The funding will help Celes enhance its product management to prevent shortages, improve working capital management, and define better promotional strategies in Mexico, ensuring customers find the products they need at reasonable prices.
See you for the next edition. Have a question or any feedback? Just hit reply. I'd love to chat!
Arnaud