LATAM Dealmakers Go Wild
Ep. 135: Trii $9M fundraising, Tiendanube acquisition of VICI, Mexico new labor law, and more.
You might have noticed there was no newsletter edition last week.
The reason is simple: I didn't find enough truly relevant news worth your time.
My promise with Scenius LATAM is straightforward: I only send you the most important developments from the Spanish-speaking LATAM startup ecosystem. That means rigorous curation to cut through the noise, filter out the fluff announcements, and distill genuine insights when they add real value.
I'd rather skip a week than fill your inbox with content that doesn't meet that standard.
Quality over frequency. Always.
This week more than makes up for it, with significant M&A activity and several developments you won't want to miss.
Follow The Money
🇲🇽 Lounn raises a US$1 million Pre-Seed round
Mexican SME lending platform Lounn has raised a US$1 million pre-seed round to accelerate the development of its end-to-end credit solution for small businesses. Lounn acts as a credit marketplace, helping companies find and access the right financing products, and is now building AI-powered financial agents to guide SMEs through planning and decision-making. I’m especially glad to share this news, as Lounn’s CEO Jesús Gómez was one of my very first guests on the Scenius Podcast. You can check out the episode here.
Sector: FinTech
Founders: Jesús Gómez, Arturo Arista Rodríguez
Investors: Kolab Ventures, Highline Beta
🇨🇱 Xepelin secures US$16.5 million from BBVA Spark
Chilean Fintech Xepelin has secured approximately US$16.5 million credit agreement with BBVA Spark to support its growth in Mexico and expand financing for small and medium-sized businesses. Operating a fully digital platform powered by artificial intelligence, Xepelin serves over 50,000 companies across Latin America, offering tools for smart financing, automated payments, and financial health tracking.
Sector: FinTech
Founders: Sebastián Kreis, Nicolás de Camino
Investors: BBVA Spark
🇨🇴 Trii brings its total capital raised to US$9 million
Colombian wealthtech startup Trii has raised new funding, bringing its total capital raised since 2021 to US$9 million. The fintech now serves over 500,000 users across Colombia, Peru, and Chile, with nearly US$300 million in assets under management and over US$1 billion in processed transactions. Trii recently reached financial break-even and plans to expand to Mexico in 2026, while also preparing to capitalize on the upcoming integration of the Andean stock exchanges. As it eyes further growth, Trii is positioning itself as a key player in personal investing and financial education in Latin America.
Sector: Fintech - Wealthtech
Founders: Diego Torres, Carlos Guayara, Esteban Peñaloza
Investors: Crestone, Grupo Bancolombia, Y Combinator
Startups News
🇨🇴 Somos is redefining home internet in Colombia
Colombian startup Somos, backed by Y Combinator, Kaszek Ventures, and Nazca, is looking to disrupt the local internet market with internet plans of up to 2 Gbps, more than double the speed offered by traditional operators. Operating its own active optical fiber network and proprietary tech stack, including a Colombian-designed WiFi6 router and an automated network OS called Artemis, Somos promises faster, more reliable service without shared bandwidth. With over 30,000 active users and top rankings in download, upload, and latency metrics, the team is aiming to scale across Colombia and into other Latin American markets.
VC - M&A News
🇦🇷 VICI is acquired by Tiendanube
Argentine e-commerce platform Tiendanube has acquired local startup VICI to launch Nuvem Chat, a new business unit focused on conversational commerce. Founded in 2021 by university students Tomás Espósito and Agustín Parraquini, VICI developed an AI-powered sales system that integrates directly with WhatsApp, enabling small businesses to automate and scale their customer interactions. Without raising major funding rounds, the team validated the solution across markets like Argentina and Mexico, managing over one million conversations within three months. Nuvem Chat will now expand under Tiendanube’s umbrella, starting with a strong push in Brazil.
🇨🇴 Valid is acquired by Topaz
Brazilian Fintech Topaz has acquired the digital payments unit of Valid in Colombia for US$7 million, strengthening its footprint in Latin America’s financial technology sector. Valid processes over 3 million transactions monthly and serves major clients such as Davivienda. This move deepens Topaz’s presence in real-time payments and expands its portfolio in digital banking, transactional security, and integrated financial experiences. The company expects revenue from Valid Pay solutions to grow 20 percent by the end of 2025 and is eyeing further expansion into Mexico, Panama, El Salvador, and Peru, alongside new acquisitions in the second half of the year.
🇨🇴 Álaga is acquired by Integrity Holding
Colombian Fintech Álaga, a digital lending platform for SMBs, has been acquired by Bogotá-based private equity firm Integrity Holding. Founded in 2022 in Cali by Assenda Inversiones, a financial arm of Grupo Carvajal, Álaga offers fully digital credit services using advanced analytics and automated validation. The acquisition is part of Integrity Holding’s long-term strategy to build a segmented financial ecosystem through independent, tech-driven entities. Álaga will continue operating autonomously, with a focus on scaling its analytics capabilities and digital onboarding processes to better serve growing enterprises.
LatHire is acquired by CloudDevs
U.S.-based CloudDevs has completed its acquisition of LatHire, creating the largest pre-vetted talent platform in Latin America serving the U.S. market. The merger expands CloudDevs’ offering beyond tech roles to include marketing, sales, administration, and customer service, bringing the combined talent pool to over 500,000 professionals.
Economy
Mexico’s new labor law for digital platforms
Mexico’s new labor law for digital platforms formally recognizes gig workers, such as drivers and couriers, as employees if they earn at least MXN 8,364 (about US$410) per month. This entitles them to benefits including social security, accident insurance, maternity leave, profit-sharing, and formal contracts. A pilot program will begin July 1 to test the system and allow for adjustments before full implementation. The reform maintains flexible scheduling, workers are considered active only while working, but shifts key responsibilities like benefit contributions and algorithm transparency to platforms. Companies that fail to comply face fines of up to MXN 2.7 million (around US$135,700). While the reform aims to balance flexibility with worker protection, platforms like Uber have warned of possible downsides, such as higher operating costs and a reduction in the number of active drivers.
Expansion Plans
🇺🇾-🇮🇳 dLocal partners expand into India with Juspay
Uruguayan Fintech dLocal has partnered with India-based Juspay to enhance cross-border payment capabilities in emerging markets. The alliance integrates dLocal’s network of over 900 local and alternative payment methods across Latin America, Africa, and Asia with Juspay’s advanced payment orchestration, fraud management, and real-time infrastructure tools. This partnership enables enterprises to offer localized, seamless B2B and B2C payment experiences, expanding their global reach while simplifying collections and disbursements in complex markets. Another bridge connecting the Global South.
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Abrazo,
Arnaud
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