Buenos Aires. Image: © adonis_abril/Stock.adobe.com
Buenos Aires boasts a promising start-up scene that is producing technologies ripe for a global audience.
Founded in the 16th century, Buenos Aires – meaning ‘fair winds’ – is a bustling, multicultural metropolis and therefore it is no surprise that its young entrepreneurs have an international outlook.
Entrepreneurs from Buenos Aires are succeeding in spite of a turbulent economy and today’s crop of founders is fortunate to have the trail blazed by established local tech pioneers including e-commerce player MercadoLibre, social network Taringa and restaurant booking app Restorando.
Buenos Aires has a high level of education and talent, and is boosted by a vibrant support ecosystem with accelerators and venture players that include NXTP Labs, Kaszek Ventures and Quasar Ventures, to name a few.
The entrepreneurial scene has also benefited from the government of Argentina passing its Ley de Emprendedores, which provides tax incentives, support for accelerators and public funds to co-invest, and a fast track for company registration.
Rallying points for entrepreneurs include co-working hubs such as AreaTres and Startup Buenos Aires.
And so, here are the start-ups from Buenos Aires to watch.
Bambox
Bambox is an e-commerce platform focused on providing baby supplies such as nappies to new parents. Founded in 2017 by Charles Carette, Rémi Beaufils and Timothée Jaufrett, Crunchbase reports that Bambox has raised $100,000 in funding from Eurekalabs.
Blended
One more time: congratulations @blendedsocial ?
? https://t.co/II2VAoyPLo— Seedstars (@Seedstars) April 8, 2019
Blended is an edtech start-up that helps schools communicate in real time with parents about their children’s progress. Already boasting hundreds of thousands of users across 200 schools in Argentina, the company raised $200,000 in funding from Telefónica’s start-up accelerator, Wayra. Earlier this month the company was crowned the winner at the Seedstars World Competition in Switzerland.
Coderhouse
Image: Coderhouse
Coderhouse provides tools and courses that help users to develop their own mobile apps. Founded in 2014 by Pablo Ferreiro and Christian Patiño, Coderhouse has expanded to teach courses across Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
Emi Labs
At Emi Labs we are disrupting how candidates and companies interact at scale using AI. Interested? We have job opening in Tech, Sales, Marketing and Customer Success > https://t.co/EhhSMcNOfi
— Emi Labs (@EmiLabsHQ) October 8, 2018
Emi Labs is an AI-powered virtual assistant used by HR teams, replacing repetitive tasks such as résumé screening and interview scheduling. Founded in 2017, the company is headed by CEO Mateo Cavasotto. It was one of 88 companies to launch recently at Y Combinator in March, raising $150,000 in funding.
Increase
Fintech player Increase empowers businesses by simplifying how they control their finances. Founded in 2014, Increase recently appointed Agustín Pagnoni as CEO. The company has raised $240,000 in funding to date, according to Crunchbase, with investors including the Google Launchpad Accelerator.
Sirena
Image: Sirena
Sirena began an e-commerce platform that links car dealers and buyers to make the purchase of a vehicle as easy as possible, and now it enables effective CRM via WhatsApp. It was founded in 2016 and is led by CEO Miguel Morkin. According to Crunchbase, it has raised $4m in funding to date from investors that include Dalus Capital, NXTP Labs and Quasar Builders.
Trideo
Trideo manufactures 3D printer systems as well as operating a 3D-printing on-demand service. Founded in 2014 by Laurent Rodriquez, Simon Gabriac and Nicolas Berenfeld, Trideo has built its own PrintBox brand of 3D printers.
Ualá
Ualá is a fintech app that gives users greater control over their personal finances. It also enables free person-to-person transactions. The company was set up in in 2016 by Pierpaolo Barbieri and last year raised $34m in funding in a Series B round led by Goldman Sachs.
Workana
Image: Workana
Focused on connecting companies with freelancers, Workana has evolved to become a major player in Latin America and has begun expanding into Asia. It was founded in 2012 by four Argentine entrepreneurs: Tomás O’Farrell, Guillermo Bracciaforte, Fernando Fornales and Mariano Iglesias. Crunchbase reports that the company has raised more than $12m in funding to date from investors that include Seek, NXTP Labs and the Google Launchpad Accelerator.
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