Episode 8 - Draftea lining up some A-list Business Angels; wOS ready to challenge the fitness world, and a Brazilian Startup goes shopping in Mexico
Welcome to Scenius Mexico, your weekly newsletter on technology, innovation, and startups in Mexico.
Draftea, the Daily Fantasy Sports startup, is making headlines once again. With the latest round of funding, the team has secured not only money, but also garnered media exposure and investments from several high-profile professional athletes.
Speaking of the world of sport, wOS has announced a seed round to keep its Fitness-focused startup growing. I remember a Zoom call with Eduardo Mussali last year and being impressed by his executive capabilities. Congratulation to a seasoned founder who no doubt is launching another successful startup in Mexico.
Finally, we see some merger and acquisition activity with Brazilian Dock seeking to fuel growth by acquiring the FinTech Cacao, a Mexico-based company.
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Funding Rounds
Fitness Startup wOS Seed round raises US$1.2 million
Founded in 2021, and with already more than 25,000 users, the Startup will use these funds to improve its positioning and branding.
Its business model is based on freemium and paid memberships, with new classes and live training added every week.
With only 39.6% of adult Mexicans doing regular physical activity, the wOS business model hopes to make a positive contribution, and there appears to be plenty of room to grow.
Sector: HealthTech - Fitness
Total Raised: US$1.2 million
Founders: Eduardo Mussali, Iddar Olivares Morales, Andrea Illanes
Investors: Noemis Ventures and Y Combinator
Free music streaming platform Trebel raises a US$25 million Serie B
Unlike many competitors, Trebel’s business model features advertising that does not interrupt listening, while allowing users to play music without an internet connection.
With these new funds, Trebel will launch in Indonesia and boost expansion in Latin America, starting with Colombia and Brazil in 2022.
This startup has somehow flown under the radar so far, with key investors ranging from wealthy individuals to traditional companies based in Mexico, Colombia and Indonesia.
Even more peculiar, the website posted on its LinkedIn page is a brochure targeted at investors, and there’s no easy to find news coverage of their previous rounds of funding.
Sector: Music - Streaming
Total Raised: US$25 million
Founder: Luis Soto Durazo
Investors: MNC Media, Thaddeus Young, Chris Burch, Alejandro Grisi, The Vargas Ayala family, Adrián Sada Cueva, and Óscar de la Garza Clariond
Draftea follow-up round raises additional backing from international athletes
The Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) platform for Latin America, already backed by Sequoia, is adding US$4 million to its recent US$13.2 million Seed Round.
This time, investors include an A-list of international athletes, opening the doors to new sports on the platform, including Basketball and American Football.
The company grew from a team of 30 to 40 reps and will keep up the pace in the coming months. The team is scattered all over the LatAm region, which will facilitate expansion in Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Argentina.
Lastly, the startup announced a partnership with the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol and the Selección Nacional de México, the two principal soccer organizations in Mexico.
Sector: Sports-betting, Daily Fantasy Sports
Total Raised: US$17.2 million
Founders: Alán Jaime Misrahi, Alejandra Lascurain, Miguel Gutiérrez-Barquín, Joe Cohen, and Andreas Assad
Investors: Kaszek, Sequoia, Bullpen, Nigel Eccles, Pau Gasol, César Azpilicueta, Iker Casillas, Thirty Five Ventures, Travis Kelce, Odell Beckham Jr., Arrive VC, Courtside Ventures, and NNS Advisers
General News
Kueski reaches 1 million consumers via 6 million loans
Fueled by its $202 million Series C funding round in December 2021, Kueski has posted strong growth for all three products: Kueski Pay, Kueski Cash, and Kueski Up
Since Q4 2021, the FinTech startup is focusing more and more on its Buy Now Pay Later division and needs an enormous amount of money to offer these loans.
The loan transactions total nearly $1 billion, with customers spread all across Latin America.
Chilean startup Houm is doubling down on Mexico
After only nine months of operation, Mexico is already Houm’s second-biggest market, trailing only their home market of Chile.
The startup focuses on the PropTech sector by facilitating the process of renting and buying real estate.
Founded in 2018 and participating in the YC accelerator last year, the startup is facing a lot of competition from other well-funded startups in Mexico and LatAm.
Merger And Acquisition (M&A) News
Brazilian Dock startup acquires Cacao Paycard of Mexico
The payments company wants to take the lead in the Service Banking sector.
Dock launched soft operations in Mexico in August of last year and operations are now in full swing and growing.
Following the acquisition, Gerardo Bonilha, co-founder of Cacao will now serve as Chief Revenue Officer at Dock, and the other co-founder and former CEO of Cacao, Jorge Alvarez, will take the role of Latin American Expansion Officer.
At the time of the acquisition, Cacao had already issued more than 4 million cards in Mexico to more than 50 corporate clients, such as Albo, Lanapay, Oyster, and Clip.
Now the will have access to other Dock solutions as well.