Episode 5: Pulppo raises the bar in the Pre-Seed game & CDMX got two new VCs
Welcome to Scenius Mexico: Your weekly newsletter on technology, innovation, and startups in Mexico.
Early-stage rounds are getting bigger in Mexico. Pulppo is raising the bar with a US$1.7 million Pre-Seed round that would have been a nice Seed round a few months back.
With so much capital flooding into the market, we start to observe an increase in M&A activity between Latin American companies. This week, Mexarrend and Zinobe merging is an interesting one.
And speaking of capital, Mexico will be the host of two new Venture Capitalist firms - Marathon Ventures, a Colombian startup studio turned investment fund, and Nido Ventures, a sector agnostic Mexican fund.
You can read this episode online.
Funding Rounds
PropTech startup Pulppo close a US$1.7 million Pre-Seed Round
Founded in 2021, the startup is building a suite of digital tools to help real estate agents in closing more deals.
The round was led by Latitud, with the participation of Newtopia and some top executives from Rappi, Kavak, and HiHab.
Pulppo's strategy is not to compete in the low-cost market but to offer a solution for premium assets - properties with a tag price over US$200.000. [link]
Sector: PropTech
Total Raised: US$1.7 million
Founders: Matias Gath, Agustin Iglesias
Investors: Latitud, Newtopia, Franco Breciano (B.A.)
B2B collection and payment platform Flexio raises US$3 million Seed Round
Flexio's mission is to develop a platform making Entrepreneurs’ life easier by organizing and paying bills (accounts receivable) clearly and intuitively.
Nathan Schorr, Flexio co-founder, cites a series of recent rules in Mexican legislation that made the entire process of paying bills more complicated: “It can take up to 14 minutes to pay a single invoice.”
The round was led by Costanoa Ventures, with the participation of Soma Capital, Latitud Fund, Omri Mor (Routable), Diego Oppenheimer (Algorithmia), and several LatAm Business Angels.
Sector: FinTech - Corporate Finance
Total Raised: US$3 million
Founders: Nathan Schorr, Juan Manuel Sobral
Investors: Costanoa Ventures, Soma Capital, Latitud Fund, Omri Mor (Routable), Diego Oppenheimer (Algorithmia), and several LatAm Business Angels.
FinTech R2 raises a mixed US$ 5.9 million Seed Round and Debt
Roger Larach and Roger Teran are originally from Honduras but decided to launch their startup in Mexico to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) access capital.
The founders’ idea is to solve the credit gap in Latin America by leveraging the transaction data that marketplaces like Rappi and iFood have.
R2′s tool works as an embedded lending infrastructure. It provides the infrastructure behind platforms such as the delivery giant Rappi in Ecuador, Fintech Kushki in Colombia, and POS unicorn Clip, in Mexico.
These platforms can provide capital to merchants while R2 takes care of the loan offer, authentification, compliance, and collections.
Sector: FinTech - Lending-as-a-Service
Total Raised: US$5.9 million - Equity & Debt
Founders: Roger Larach, Roger Teran
Investors: General Catalyst, Family office 166 2nd, and Y Combinator
General News
M&A - Mexarrend merge with Colombian startup Zinobe to become Tangelo
Mexarrend is a 20 years old Mexican company offering loans to SMBs and was backed by Alta Growth Capital and Colony Capital.
Zinobe is a Colombian startup that utilizes Artificial Intelligence scoring and blockchain technology to develop products and services for the underserved, enabling financial lenders to make decisions efficiently and is backed by QED Investor.
The strategy behind this operation is to mix Mexarrend's portfolio, reputation, and institutional network with Zinobe technology and data capabilities. [link]
I find it very interesting to witness the M&A market grow in Mexico with cross-border deals between Latin American companies. In this case, even the merging of a traditional company with a technology startup.
Mexican incubators - IFC ScaleX launches a new call to reduce the gender financing gap
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) have launched a new call for applications for IFC ScaleX. To help close the financing gap that women entrepreneurs face, this initiative will award $25,000 to accelerators that have specifically helped companies that are led by women to raise equity financing in emerging markets.
Interested accelerators can visit the IFC ScaleX website and determine if they are eligible to apply for an award.
Venture Capital (VC) News
Marathon Ventures closes its first fund of US$26 million and is opening an office in Mexico
The Colombian startup studio turned investment funds is leveraging its first successful investment in the startup Tul, and the team's years of angel investing experience to invest more in Latin America, and establish an office in Mexico City by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
Currently, Marathon’s portfolio includes companies like Estoca, Meru, Neivor, Sprout, Sumer, Welbe, and Wonder Brands. But we can expect to see their name appears in more deals through the year.
Mexico has a new early-stage VC : Nido Ventures
Founded in stealth mode during 2021, Nido has officially launched and invested in 3 Startups: Palenca, Cheaf & Konta.
The firm was started by 5 co-founders: María Gutiérrez, ex- Apple & Tesla; Ana Carolina Mexia, Siclo’s CPO; Emilio Rivero, ex-Bitso; Renato Picard, Urbvan co-founder & CEO; and Javier de la Madrid, ex- head of GBM+, the investment platform of GBM.
The fund is sector agnostic and focuses on the Latin American region. They are very well connected in Mexico and I am sure we will hear a lot about them going forward. [link]