Scenius Mexico - Nexu, Vest, Revolut, Calii and many more in the news
Your weekly newsletter on technology, innovation, and startups in Mexico.
Welcome to Scenius Mexico: Your weekly newsletter on technology, innovation, and startups in Mexico.
This week, the FinTech sector made most of the headlines, once again. Nexu, a loan startup, and Vest, a trading app, raised new capital while Revolut is accelerating its growth in the Mexican market.
Calii, a delivery startup, also announced a new funding round, and Actipulse Neuroscience is participating in YC winter batch. Let’s get to it.
You can read this email online.
Funding Rounds
Nexu raises US$50 million in Equity & Debt
Nexu, a loan FinTech, allows most Mexicans to get a loan on the spot when buying or leasing a car.
They plan to use the money from this round to expand across Mexico, offer more products on the platform, and make more precise and automated risk assessments.
The startup, which already has 120 employees, reported that it’s bringing in $1 million in MRR (monthly recurring revenue) and that it services 70 dealerships. It also said it has made loans to more than 2,000 people so far.
Sector: FinTech - Lending
Total Raised: US$53 million (Debt & Equity)
Founders: Fernando Gómez, Abdon Nacif
Investors: Altos Ventures, Wollef Ventures, Squareone Capital, Architect Capital, Clocktower, Tresalia Capital, FJ Labs, Gilgamesh Ventures, CAPEM (Grupo Capital Empresarial)
Vest launches its zero-commission app following a US$6 million Seed round
The startup is clearly inspired by the American app Robinhood, created in 2015 and a pioneer in offering an investment tool without commissions.
Vest’s founders Aaron Polhamus, Jaime Rodas, and Miguel Arroyo are veterans of the fintech ecosystem in Mexico and in a good position to be serious competitor.
They offer a platform to invest with local currencies in public stocks trading in U.S. dollars, including ETFs. The platform will eventually include more products such as advised portfolios, investment simulators, and educational content for users who are just entering the world of investments.
Sector: FinTech - Trading App
Total Raised: US$6 million
Founders: Aaron Polhamus, Jaime Rodas, and Miguel Arroyo
Investors: Founders Fund, Nazca, Class 5 Global, FJLabs, Tamarack Global, Carlos García Otatti, founder and CEO of Kavak; Scott Shleifer of Tiger Global; Nico Barawid, founder of Casai, Gerry Giacomán Colyer, founder of Clara, and the founders of Moons.
Calii, a delivery startup, raises US$22.5 million Serie A
While operating on a crowded market, the startup originally from Nuevo León seeks to differentiate itself from other similar startups with its offer focused on ultra-fresh and edible products.
The company is reporting making more than 2,000 deliveries a day and has plans to cover 14 cities and multiple countries in the next six months. In addition, the company is launching new products and categories, such as a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service offering Calii Pay.
Sector: Delivery
Total Raised: US$35 million
Founders: David Arrambide, Maurizio Caló
Investors: Dalus Capital, JAM Fund, Forerunner Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, Y Combinator, Base10 Partners
General News
Actipulse Neuroscience joins Y Combinator’s winter 2022 batch
Actipulse is a Boston and Mexico-City-based pioneer in Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation therapeutics with the aim of improving the global state of mental health through its innovative patented technology.
Actipulse goal in participating in YC is to accelerate the development of its clinical pipeline, most notably the start of its FDA pivotal trial to bring their proprietary non-invasive brain neuromodulation technology to a broader base of patients.
Personal Loan Hub startup Destácame has granted more than US$ 24K in loan using Open Banking
Destácame’s Personal Loan Hub has so far managed to get more than 1,200 users to link their accounts through Open Banking. Additionally, the bank link success rate is 70%, that is, on average, out of every 100 users, 70 of them who go through the flow, convert and link their account successfully. For a user who links a bank account through Open Banking, the process is completely optional. However, a lot of the success in linking rates is directly related to the user experience as well as the incentives that Fintechs or Financial Institutions utilize to promote open banking, which can range from a shorter response time to a better interest rate. [link]
Revolut to offer US consumers free remittances to Mexico
From the company announcement: “Despite being the largest remittance corridor in the world, sending money from the U.S. to Mexico is slow and expensive. We are now offering the service fee-free in up to 30 minutes and are tremendously proud to be putting more money back in the pockets of families in Mexico and the USA.”
Revolut is currently doubling down on its strategy to grow in the Mexican market and has accelerated its hiring in the country last year.
So far, the FinTech industry has been experiencing the fastest growth with a huge untapped market. It is no surprise that international competitors are now trying to get a share of it.