CHICAGO — Tech startups play an increasingly relevant role in the economy and have been responsible for some of the most salient innovations in the last few decades.
Tech startups founded by Latinos have been around for a long time; however, only recently have they had similar success to startups started by founders of other ethnicities. Latino founded tech companies offer unique solution that often benefit other Latinos in the U.S. and abroad. Funding for these tech companies peaked in 2021, when they raised a combined $8.5 billion in funding throughout the year.
Since 2021, funding for all tech companies, including Latino-founded startups, has dipped, but innovative companies are still raising millions in investments.
Below are the Latin Times' top Latino-founded tech startups of 2023.
BetterUp
BetterUp is an artificial intelligence (AI) startup founded by Alexi Robichaux and Eddie Medina. The company uses AI to provide training for individuals, teams and organizations and already has offices in San Francisco, Austin, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam. Betterup was founded in 2013 and has raised $570 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. It also recently partnered with Microsoft.
Brex
Brex was founded by Henrique Dubugras, a tech entrepreneur born in São Paulo, Brazil, and is based in Salt Lake City. It is a fintech company that develops payment solutions for other businesses. Since launching in 2017, it has raised over $1.5 billion in funding, and In 2023, Brex expanded to offer its platform to Canadian employers.
Alza
Founded by Jose Arturo Villanueva, Alza is a fintech startup that offers a banking platform tailor-made for Latinos. The Alza banking platform is an FDIC-insured checking account with no fees that also provides remittance services to Latin America. In 2021, the company secured $6.6 million in funding but has since been expanding and developing more fintech solutions for its platform, according to the founder.
Snowball Wealth
Snowball Wealth is a Latina-founded fintech startup that uses AI to help people pay off their debt. According to the founders, they were inspired to launch the company to help Latinos in the U.S., as they typically have more debt than White Americans. The company was recently selected for Google's Latino Founders Fund and has raised $3.2 million in funding.
Healthbird
Based in Miami, Healthbird is a health tech startup founded by Ariel Dominguez. The company uses AI to help people choose a health plan that best fits their lifestyle. The company was founded in 2021 and, in a short span, has raised $9.1 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. In 2023, Healthbird was selected for the Google Latino Founders Fund.
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