latin american show-stealing startups in y combinator’s winter batch 2020
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Contxto – What’s the difference between a good company and a great company? Mountain View-based accelerator, Y Combinator knows what success looks like. At least, that’s what it seems like when looking at the more than 2,000 companies in its portfolio.
I never cease to be amazed by the ventures I see day by day when managing Contxto’s database. And I’ve got to admit, Y Combinator’s bets are some of the most varied I’ve seen so far.
Even though Latin America is far from being the region most invested in by YC, there are pretty interesting names on its list. This batch is no exception, so you better hold on tight. Here are the newest Y Combinator startups from Latam—so new, in fact, that many weren’t even in the initial draft! We’ll keep you posted as more emerge.
Related Article: All 58 Y Combinator Latin America startups
Mexico
Fondeadora
The punk kids on the block. Fondeadora’s strong anti-bank branding certainly aims, not only to improve the financial system in Mexico, but to completely disrupt it.
This challenger bank must be one of the most exciting contenders on this list, keen to completely recreate old experiences into brand new ones.
Have you ever imagined a bank without branches? Fondeadora is trying to land the knockout punch to get the Money in the Bank Case of the Mexican neo-bank ring. Fondeadora’s card and platform, apart from being stylish, are really good if you are looking to save and manage your money.
Nexu
Getting a car can be a tough task, so Nexu is trying to ease it. This startup has a leasing plan platform in which you’re able to quote your credit for a car in just a few minutes. This is probably why this platform has joined the Mexican startups in the YC club, since Nexu has managed to provide a great alternative to people who usually couldn’t get their hands on a car, to get one.
99minutos
Fighting one of the logistics industry’s main challenges, 99minutos defines itself as an e-commerce delivery service. It differentiates itself with a unique characteristic, since—as its name says—it will deliver within less than 99 minutes. You should be able to receive whatever you like within virtually the same timeframe as when you order a pizza; sometimes you’ll get your product even earlier.
Moons
Most of the people I know that use braces feel uncomfortable with them. I once had to use some rubber bands between my teeth and the pain was excruciating; I can’t even imagine the discomfort people with braces go through.
That’s why Moons has ditched traditional braces with its almost invisible to the eye customized and clear retainer, straightening your teeth almost to perfection. Are you looking to align your smile but don’t want to stop eating corn on the cob and gum? This may interest you.
Belvo
Belvo is different from other finance startups. It lets app developers connect to different financial institutions through its open banking platform; allowing fintech developers access to analyzed banking and financial data. Belvo is basically an APIs platform trying to disrupt the financial ecosystem in Latin America.
Viya
No one has ever cared so much about me. I truly enjoy watching the profound modernization of the real estate industry. I’ve just read about this startup and have already written down its name for future reference.
Viya allows its users to either find a co-living space or to rent an apartment for themselves—utilities and furnishings included. Not to mention, it also has a roommate matching feature.
This Monterrey-founded startup is currently only available in its hometown and will soon arrive in Mexico City. If it does arrive in Guadalajara, Viya may soon become one of my favorite startups (just kidding mommy, I’m living with you forever).
Delt.Ai
Delt.Ai is a B2B (business-to-business) financial services platform offering a corporate credit card. This Mexican neo-bank includes an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital assistant. With Delt.ai you’re able to get your hands on an additional eight credit cards, allowing you to control your team’s expenses. Similarly to Fondeadora, Delt.ai is native digital, meaning that both are branchless.
Bego
It is far from being the end of the marketplace era. Bego has arrived to prove it as Mexico’s “Uber for freight”. Through this platform, shippers and suppliers are able to connect and agree on the exchange of goods. It has been integrated with machine learning, so Bego can predict where the following cargo deliveries might occur.
GuruHotel
This Mexican beachside startup looks to optimize the hotel industry. GuruHotel offers an operating system that includes a website and a booking platform, along with a variety of managing tools.
Without a doubt, they have a lot of work to do with the more than a thousand hotels located in the Mexican state Quintana Roo—home of (in)famous Cancún—alone.
Related articles: Mexico’s moons will be joining Y Combinator’s Winter 2020 Batch
Argentina
Checkars
Following the trend, Checkars had come to ease the process of buying or selling a car. It’s basically a used cars’ e-commerce platform.
This Argentinian startup may be trying to strengthen its business model since they’re planning to expand to Chile this year. Checkars, along with Jaguar Ventures, who recently invested in the startup, and YC represent a great partnership with an interesting path ahead of them.
Henry
If someone told you that they were going to pay for your tuition and that you wouldn’t have to pay it back until you got a job, would you believe them? Most Latin Americans certainly would not, but Argentinian startup Henry is trying to make this possible.
Henry finances degrees related to technology, and you are not required to pay a single cent until you got a job. Sadly, your dreams of becoming an anthropologist will have to wait, since, currently, only the full-stack developer career is available.
Tienda Dólar
We are currently facing some difficult moments regarding the global monetary economy—the price of a dollar is suddenly sky-high.
To help out on this front, Tienda Dólar is a digital currency exchange platform that fights inflation. This startup allows you to invest in the purchase of dollars through its alliances with different exchange houses. And doing a quick bit of research, one can see that they do actually offer the cheapest dollar-rates around.¡
Related Articles: Checkars lands US$1.3 million led by Jaguar Ventures
Colombia
Valienta
Valienta was born to help those women who do business through catalog sales. Through its platform, you can request interactive catalogs, show them to your customers, and finally place orders. Starting to use this application is totally free for the user, and opens the door to another income opportunity.
Brazil
Stark Bank
A startup for startups. Stark Bank, with its open banking platform, offers financial tools allowing companies to manage their bank operations through their API. The company was founded by Rafael Stark, and aims to improve the financial ecosystem in an easy, secure, and non-abusive way.
Linkana
As some of you may have experienced, paperwork is one of the most time-consuming processes in many people’s lives.
Therefore, Linkana has created software to help businesses with the supplier onboarding process, which basically facilitates the processing of the documentation a company needs to be approved either as a supplier or a vendor. It also enables organizations to conduct business and payments. Suppliers’ data management is really time-consuming, trust me. Linkana’s program allows you to receive suppliers’ information and do compliance analysis.
Alude Atlas
A database, how curious and exciting. I honestly have the word “database” tattooed on my brain since I started work at Contxto, and every time I read or hear it, it raises a thousand feelings within me.
Currently only available in Brazil, Alude Atlas is a real estate database with over 300,000 users wanting to buy or sell a property; allowing customers to filter the data by city and neighborhood.
Apartio
Apartio allows department owners to rent their properties to travelers. Apartio takes care of maintenance and cleaning, while they also make suggestions on your property.
Its platform lets you book an apartment in São Paulo. It is ideal for those who go to the Land of Drizzle and only use the apartment to rest. Apartio has got your back and will always be ready for your experience to be the best.
Facio
Maybe you have heard the term “financial education” before. If you are a listener of our podcast, you will remember that our Editor, Alex, thinks that companies often use the term to blame the consumer for failings in their systems.
Luckily, a startup has appeared to take responsibility and is already looking to partner with other companies to correct this; they themselves mention that financial education is a right.
Facio believes that if workers are financially secure within a company, then they will be more productive. That is why it is betting everything on this application, which allows getting your salary beforehand, as well as promoting savings with a reserve fund for its employees.
Carupi
Carupi moderates the process of selling/buying a car. This Brazilian marketplace allows the parties involved to have minimum contact.
It does this by sending photos of the car and managing the sales process from the beginning to the end. Carupi creates a completely safe and trustworthy chain, avoiding any of the usual shenanigans from some car dealers or agencies.
Hent
Hent is a rental management platform that allows its users to digitally sign contracts, check tenants’ risk, and carry out financial management. So far, we’ve seen some startups related to property management, and YC could not be more on the money, since proptech is one of the most exciting industries of this decade.
With less than a year since its founding, Hent with its budding webpage interface, and enters the list, as one of the startups to follow.
Related articles: Tech and startups from Brazil!
-SB
