Ernesto Hermosillo

Mexico City–based fintech Kapital has raised $100M at a $1.3B valuation, making it Mexico & LatAm's latest unicorn. Founded in 2020 by Rene Saul and Fernando S., Kapital offers small businesses banking products like loans, credit cards, payroll, and benefits—markets often underserved by large financial institutions. The company now serves more than 300,000 customers across Mexico, Colombia, and the U.S., managing a $3B balance sheet, and says it’s already profitable. With its new funding, Kapital plans to expand its AI capabilities to help small businesses run more efficiently. Congrats to the team on the round! https://lnkd.in/e4jQVkMd

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Most LATAM founders believe VCs evaluate businesses purely on merit—revenue growth, profitability, team strength, market traction. While these factors matter, they're missing the fundamental driver behind every VC decision: VCs don't invest in good businesses. They invest in power law outcomes. For a $300M fund targeting a 3x return, that’s $900M+ in proceeds from just one or two deals. If they own 15% at exit, you’re looking at $6B+ valuations. This often explains why: A profitable niche business might get passed over for a scaling startup in a larger market Growth metrics sometimes weigh more heavily than current profitability Market size becomes a critical evaluation criterion The implications for LATAM founders: ✓ Frame your addressable market strategically. VCs often look for large market opportunities, though the specific size varies by fund and stage. ✓ Balance growth and unit economics. While rapid scaling matters, sustainable growth paths are increasingly valued. ✓ Understand portfolio construction. VCs typically expect a small number of investments to drive outsized returns. ✓ Evaluate funding fit. Different capital sources (angels, revenue-based financing, debt) may align better with your business model and growth trajectory. VCs aren’t being irrational—they’re doing their job. But as founders, you need to understand the game you're playing. Swipe right for more insights into our LATAM fundraising episode or comment “FUNDRAISING” and we’ll send you the full breakdown 🔗

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🔵 🚀 RAPPI: The Super App is a Great Primitive Agentic Business! A fascinating reflection from my recent conversation with Federico Suarez Rendon Suarez on "𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐈 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐖𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤" (link in the comments) 𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩, 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. Think about it - users tell Rappi what they want, and it orchestrates multiple services to fulfill that request. Sound familiar? 🚀 Why This Matters - The Numbers: • $1.3B revenue in 2024 from orchestrating services • 35+ million users across 9 countries • Break-even achieved - proving this model works • TIME's 2024 Most Influential Companies - recognition of their pioneering approach 🔗 The Primitive Agentic Blueprint: Single Interface, Multiple Services: . Food delivery → Financial services (RappiPay) → Travel bookings . E-commerce → Healthcare → 10-minute delivery via Rappi Turbo .𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫: Their concierge service where users say "I need X" and Rappi figures out how to get it done "To Rappi" something has become a verb across LATAM! Perfect primitive agentic examples: • "Print these documents for me" → RappiFavor finds a print shop, prints, delivers • "I need groceries" → Rappi determines best store, shops, delivers in 10 minutes • "Get me anything" → The famous "Rappi Antojo" button lets users request literally anything 💡 The AI Agent Evolution: Imagine Rappi + LLMs: Understanding context at scale, predicting needs, and orchestrating services with genuine intelligence rather than just rule-based routing. 🎯 The Takeaway: Rappi's $5.25B valuation proves there's massive demand for agent-like experiences. They've shown the market appetite. Do super apps like Rappi have an edge in our Agentic future? #AIAgents #SuperApp #LatinAmerica #fintech #Innovation #Rappi #OpenBanking #Agentic

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🤝 Mattilda Secures USD 50M to Transform School Financing Across Latin America Thrilled to see mattilda.,  the leading SaaS-fintech platform for private schools in Latin America, announce a landmark USD 50 million debt facility from Lendable—a leading private credit fund focused on fintech and financial inclusion in emerging markets. This funding, alongside a recent USD 10M equity round from GSV, Dila Capital, and FinTech Collective, will fuel:  ✅ Product expansion ✅ International growth ✅ Strategic acquisitions Mattilda’s mission is bold: to empower schools serving low- and middle-income families with the financial tools and solutions they need to achieve financial resilience and long-term sustainability 🗣️ Key Voices: “This new capital allows us to expand our product suite, accelerate growth in existing markets, and explore strategic acquisitions…” — Juan Pablo Bravo, Co-founder & CFO, Mattilda “We are excited to partner with Mattilda… This facility reflects our confidence in their scalable, innovative financing solutions.” — Agustin De Luca, Associate Director LATAM, Lendable Link: https://lnkd.in/eSK3J-2G #Mattilda #Lendable #EdTechInnovation #SchoolFinancing #ImpactInvestment #LATAMStartups #FinancialInclusion #SaaSForSchools #PrivateSchoolsLATAM #EmergingMarkets #GrowthCapital

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🚀 Kapital raises $86M at $1.3B valuation to enhance AI capabilities across LatAm markets Mexican financial services company Kapital secured $86 million in Series C funding at approximately $𝟭.𝟯 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 to build out artificial intelligence capabilities. The round was led by existing backer Tribe Capital and co-led by Pelion Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, Marbruck Investments, and True Arrow. Founded in 2020 by CEO Rene Saul and CFO Fernando S., Mexico City-based Kapital serves small businesses underserved by Latin America's major financial institutions. The profitable company offers loans, credit cards, payroll, and benefits services to 300,000 customers across the US, Mexico, and Colombia, maintaining a $3 billion balance sheet. This funding follows Kapital's $165 million debt-and-equity financing in 2023. Source: https://lnkd.in/e4jQVkMd This and more FinTech news in my newsletter — sign up here: https://lnkd.in/gNimrjeR Find this helpful? [ 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 ] Anything to add about this subject? [𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁] Nice story. Next! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ]

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🔄 📈 Some countries have seen massive banking consolidation over 25 years despite fintech disruptions, while others stayed surprisingly competitive. Let's explore ↓ Last week, we looked into the revenue models driving Mexico's banks. As we mentioned, Mexico's five largest banks control two-thirds of all national banking assets. Yet, by Latin-American standards, Mexico’s banking concentration is mild; only Argentina and Panama display more competitive asset shares. A key reason smaller institutions are staying in the race in Mexico is their hold on cross-border money—an area the five-bank metric doesn’t fully capture. Remittances into Mexico hit $65B last year, surpassing total foreign direct investment. Fintechs such as Bitso, Spin by OXXO, and Félix have tapped this stream, turning migrant dollars into sticky, low-cost assets. Before we look at how consolidation has shifted over time, it’s worth examining Panama’s banking scenario. Panama's impressive banking sector is well-regarded globally. The country has the largest international financial center in Central America, with total assets exceeding Panama's GDP by more than double. But only 60% of these assets are held by the country's five largest banks, demonstrating more competitiveness than any other country in Latin America. On the flip side, we have autocratic countries like Cuba and Nicaragua, where there are a handful of state-owned institutions that run the entire show. Beyond this, we see countries like El Salvador, Peru, and Uruguay, where a number of subsidiaries of foreign banks, such as BBVA and Scotiabank, dominate the local landscape. [story continues... 💌]

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