May 19, 2026
The fintech accelerator Pygma announced that applications are now open for “PY9: The Future of Fintech,” the ninth edition of the acceleration program focused on pre-seed startups led by Latin American founders.
The new cohort maintains the vertical focus on fintech but introduces a significant change from previous cohorts: for the first time, the program’s closing event will take place in San Francisco, United States.
This new program comes at a time when fintech companies continue to attract a significant portion of the region’s venture capital. According to figures from the Latin American Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, investors are prioritizing companies with financial infrastructure models, artificial intelligence applied to financial services, and businesses with more sustainable unit economics that are closer to profitability.
This shift is also reflected in the profile of the startups that went through PY8, Pygma’s last cohort. On that occasion, the program graduated 17 startups from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, focused on verticals such as payments, compliance, fraud prevention, financial infrastructure, enterprise software, and artificial intelligence for fintech.
According to data shared by the accelerator, nearly 40% of the PY8 companies are already profitable, and more than 70% operate under B2B or B2B2C models. This signals a new phase in the Latin American fintech ecosystem, where startups in the sector are more focused on operational efficiency, sales, and financial sustainability rather than just rapid growth through massive user acquisition.
Additionally, Pygma reports that over 80% of the accelerated startups have raised institutional capital after participating in the program.
“PY9 seeks to connect entrepreneurs with operators, investors, and executives who have already walked that path and can help them grow faster. Holding the program’s closing event in San Francisco follows precisely that logic: bringing founders closer to the ecosystem where the next generation of global fintech is being built,” said Andrés Cano, general partner and co-founder of Pygma.
Interested founders can now sign up for the PY9 waitlist via the form. According to the accelerator, those who join the early list will have early access to content, sessions, and conversations with the community before the official application period opens.
This year, the program will retain the intensive format that has characterized previous cohorts, including individual mentoring, one-on-one sessions, specialized workshops, meetings with investors, Demo Day, and post-acceleration support.
Among the mentors and visiting partners who have recently participated are Salomón Zarruk, Miguel Burger, and Christian Knudsen.
Pygma was born from the merger of Buildup Camp, a startup academy based in the Netherlands, and Acanof, a data-driven Latin American accelerator. It currently operates as an accelerator and venture capital firm headquartered in New York, with an active presence in Latin America and connections in Silicon Valley.
To date, the firm has accelerated 148 fintech startups in 17 countries and has channeled nearly US$40 million into ventures in the sector. Colombia accounts for 35% of its portfolio and Mexico for another 20%.
Among the program’s standout startups is Callbook AI, a startup that currently generates around US$100,000 in monthly revenue and plans to begin a capital-raising round in the United States in the coming months.
Daniel Ospina explained that startups that go through the accelerator raise an average of nearly US$400,000 after completing the program. “PY9’s goal is to reduce the learning curve for pre-seed fintech founders and connect them with a community that understands how to scale in Latin America and the United States,” said the co-founder of Pygma.
