Top 10 Latin American Startups of 2025

Founded in Buenos Aires in 1999 by Marcos Galperin, Mercado Libre is the largest e-commerce and fintech company in Latin America and one of the largest in the world by market capitalization, exceeding $80 billion USD at its 2024 peak. Its ecosystem encompasses the Mercado Pago digital payments platform, Mercado Credito lending arm, and Mercado Envios logistics network, serving over 220 million active users across 18 Latin American countries.

Rappi, founded in Bogota in 2015 by Simon Borrero, Sebastian Mejia, and Felipe Villamarin, became Colombia's first startup unicorn in 2018 after raising $200 million from SoftBank at a $1 billion valuation. By 2025, the super-app operated across 9 Latin American countries and had expanded beyond food delivery into financial services, travel, and entertainment, processing over 5 million orders per day.

Kavak, founded in Mexico City in 2016 by Carlos Garcia and Roger Laughlin, became Mexico's first startup unicorn in 2020 and reached a valuation of $8.7 billion by 2021, making it Latin America's most valuable startup at the time. The used car marketplace operates in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, and the UAE, addressing the massive used vehicle market in Latin America where only 3% of car transactions were conducted online before Kavak's entry.

Clip, founded in Mexico City in 2012 by Adolfo Babatz and Vilash Poovala, is Mexico's leading payment technology provider for small and medium-sized businesses and has processed over $6 billion USD in total payment volume. The company has enabled over 1 million merchants who previously operated cash-only to accept card payments through its mobile card reader and point-of-sale solutions, contributing to financial inclusion for the 50% of Mexico's adult population that was unbanked in 2012.

NotCo, founded in Santiago in 2015 by Matias Muchnick, Pablo Zamora, and Karim Pichara, uses artificial intelligence to create plant-based food products that replicate the taste and texture of animal products. The company raised $235 million in a Series D round in 2021 led by Tiger Global at a $1.5 billion valuation and launched partnerships with Kraft Heinz and Burger King across Latin America and the United States.

Lemon Cash, founded in Buenos Aires in 2020, became Argentina's fastest-growing cryptocurrency app, reaching 1.5 million users in just 18 months by addressing the country's severe inflation crisis — which exceeded 200% annually in 2023 — by enabling Argentines to hold dollar-pegged stablecoins on their mobile phones. The company raised $16.3 million in 2022 and partnered with Visa to issue a crypto debit card accepted at over 80 million merchants globally.

Frubana, founded in Bogota in 2018 by Arley Cespedes and Fernando Sucre, is a B2B food distribution platform that connects restaurants and food businesses directly with farmers, eliminating up to five layers of intermediaries in Latin America's fragmented agricultural supply chain. The company raised $65 million in Series B funding in 2021, expanded to Brazil and Mexico, and has helped over 200,000 farmers access stable commercial relationships with urban restaurants.

VTEX, founded in Rio de Janeiro in 2000 by Geraldo Thomaz and Mariano Gomide, is a cloud commerce platform used by enterprise retailers including Walmart, Whirlpool, and L'Oreal across Latin America and globally. The company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 raising $361 million and serves over 2,600 active online stores processing more than $5 billion USD in gross merchandise volume annually.

Nuvemshop, known as Tiendanube in Spanish-speaking markets, was founded in Buenos Aires in 2011 and has grown into the leading e-commerce platform for small and medium-sized businesses in Latin America, with over 100,000 active stores across Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia. The company raised $500 million in a Series E round in 2021 at a $3.1 billion valuation, led by Tiger Global, and competes directly with Shopify for the rapidly growing cohort of Latin American digital entrepreneurs.

Founded in Buenos Aires in 1999 by Marcos Galperin, Mercado Libre is the largest e-commerce and fintech company in Latin America and one of the largest in the world by market capitalization, exceeding $80 billion USD at its 2024 peak. Its ecosystem encompasses the Mercado Pago digital payments platform, Mercado Credito lending arm, and Mercado Envios logistics network, serving over 220 million active users across 18 Latin American countries.

Rappi, founded in Bogota in 2015 by Simon Borrero, Sebastian Mejia, and Felipe Villamarin, became Colombia's first startup unicorn in 2018 after raising $200 million from SoftBank at a $1 billion valuation. By 2025, the super-app operated across 9 Latin American countries and had expanded beyond food delivery into financial services, travel, and entertainment, processing over 5 million orders per day.

Kavak, founded in Mexico City in 2016 by Carlos Garcia and Roger Laughlin, became Mexico's first startup unicorn in 2020 and reached a valuation of $8.7 billion by 2021, making it Latin America's most valuable startup at the time. The used car marketplace operates in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, and the UAE, addressing the massive used vehicle market in Latin America where only 3% of car transactions were conducted online before Kavak's entry.

Clip, founded in Mexico City in 2012 by Adolfo Babatz and Vilash Poovala, is Mexico's leading payment technology provider for small and medium-sized businesses and has processed over $6 billion USD in total payment volume. The company has enabled over 1 million merchants who previously operated cash-only to accept card payments through its mobile card reader and point-of-sale solutions, contributing to financial inclusion for the 50% of Mexico's adult population that was unbanked in 2012.

NotCo, founded in Santiago in 2015 by Matias Muchnick, Pablo Zamora, and Karim Pichara, uses artificial intelligence to create plant-based food products that replicate the taste and texture of animal products. The company raised $235 million in a Series D round in 2021 led by Tiger Global at a $1.5 billion valuation and launched partnerships with Kraft Heinz and Burger King across Latin America and the United States.

Lemon Cash, founded in Buenos Aires in 2020, became Argentina's fastest-growing cryptocurrency app, reaching 1.5 million users in just 18 months by addressing the country's severe inflation crisis — which exceeded 200% annually in 2023 — by enabling Argentines to hold dollar-pegged stablecoins on their mobile phones. The company raised $16.3 million in 2022 and partnered with Visa to issue a crypto debit card accepted at over 80 million merchants globally.

Frubana, founded in Bogota in 2018 by Arley Cespedes and Fernando Sucre, is a B2B food distribution platform that connects restaurants and food businesses directly with farmers, eliminating up to five layers of intermediaries in Latin America's fragmented agricultural supply chain. The company raised $65 million in Series B funding in 2021, expanded to Brazil and Mexico, and has helped over 200,000 farmers access stable commercial relationships with urban restaurants.

VTEX, founded in Rio de Janeiro in 2000 by Geraldo Thomaz and Mariano Gomide, is a cloud commerce platform used by enterprise retailers including Walmart, Whirlpool, and L'Oreal across Latin America and globally. The company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 raising $361 million and serves over 2,600 active online stores processing more than $5 billion USD in gross merchandise volume annually.

Nuvemshop, known as Tiendanube in Spanish-speaking markets, was founded in Buenos Aires in 2011 and has grown into the leading e-commerce platform for small and medium-sized businesses in Latin America, with over 100,000 active stores across Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia. The company raised $500 million in a Series E round in 2021 at a $3.1 billion valuation, led by Tiger Global, and competes directly with Shopify for the rapidly growing cohort of Latin American digital entrepreneurs.