When I meet with US and European entrepreneurs and investors, they frequently want to know what startups are doing well in Latin America.
There are generally three types of startups that generally do well:
1. Latin America based startups solving problems for Latin American market
2. Startups that target the US/European market and have a Latin American back office
3. Brazilian startups that generally target the Brazilian market
Each niche has their own pros and cons, but at Magma, we invest in a subset of the first niche: B2B startups that are based in Latin America and serve Latin American companies and the second niche: startups that target the US/European market, but have their back office in Latin America.
I’ll leave Brazil’s burgeoning startup scene aside for now and focus on some of the most interesting startups I’m seeing in Spanish speaking Latin America. Post in the comments if there’s a startup you think I should include.
1. Latin America based startups solving problems for Latin American market
Recorrido – Platform to buy bus tickets online. Currently in Chile and Argentina. Backed by Mountain Partners/Wayra/Nazca.
Cabify – Uber competitor, Spanish company, Latin America company. $143m raised. Startup Chile alumni.
Cornershop – $9.2m raised to do on demand grocery delivery in Latin America. Currently in Mexico and Chile.
Pricing Compass – B2B pricing analytics for large retailers. Clients from Mexico to Chile and everyone in between. Magma portfolio company.
WeHostels – Argentine founder, based in NYC. Acquired by Student Universe
CargoX – Uber for trucks. Argentine founder in Brazil, raised $15m from Goldman Sachs and other investors. Startup Chile alumni.
Petsy – Pet e commerce in Mexico. $1.7m raised
BabyTuto – Baby products ecommerce in Chile, expanding in Latin America.
Luuna – Mattress ecommerce in Mexico City.
Kubo Financiero – Peer to peer lending in Mexico. $11m raised.
Cumplo – Peer to peer lending in Chile.
2. Latin American back office with US or Global market
Bluesmart – Redefining luggage, sales globally, US based. YC alum, argentine founder, Latin American investors. Raised $11.5m.
Plazi – Online classes for Latin America and the world. Raised $2.2m.
Authy – Mobile two factor authentication. Colombian founders. YC alumni. Acquired by Twilio.
The Intern Group – Internship placement with offices in 8 countries on six continents. Offices in two Latin American countries. Startup Chile alumni.
Todoist – Bootstrapped, distributed team, Startup Chile alumni. Over 5m users.
PropertySimple – Real estate tech. Back office in Chile, main office in Los Angeles. Magma portfolio company.
Groupraise – US founders with back office in Chile. Startup Chile alumni.
Rappi – On demand delivery in Latin America. YC alumni.
Simpliroute – Route planning software. 500 startups alumni.
Olapic – Spanish startup, Argentine back office. Acquired $130m.
DemocracyOS – Creating open source software for democracy. Argentina. YC.
Slidebean – Presentations that design themselves. Costa Rican back office, New York based.
Wizeline – Silicon Valley startup with back office in Mexico.
Ooyala – Silicon Valley startup founded by Mexican immigrant, back office in Mexico. Exited.
Bunny Inc & Torre.co – Colombian founders selling to the world.
VOIQ – Uber for telemarketing. YC alumni. Raised $2m. Colombian founder.
Auth0 – Identity as a service. Argentina based. Raised $24m.
Amberads – Retargeting for mobile apps. Magma portfolio company.
TheGoneApp – Get your best value for used electronics. Techstars alumns. $2m raised. Argentine founders, California based.
Prey – Find your stolen cellphone or laptop. Chilean bootstrapped selling to the world.
Photo credit: Vanessa
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