Mexican fintech startup Stori reaches unicorn status with $ 50M equity raise – TechCrunch

While credit cards are ubiquitous in the United States, they are far less common in Latin America, where people – especially low-income members of the population – have historically relied on cash for payments.

But the market in LatAm has changed in recent years, and with increased digital adoption, more people are opening their minds to using credit cards for payments. The problem is that those with little or no credit have trouble getting them.

enter Stories. The startup, which offers credit cards to underprivileged people in Mexico, told TechCrunch that they have raised another $ 50 million in equity worth $ 1.2 billion. It has also secured $ 100 million in debt financing. BAI Capital, GIC and GGV Capital led the shareholding of the agreement, which also included participation from other existing and new investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Vision Plus Capital, Goodwater Capital and Tresalia Capital.

With this latest increase, Stori has raised more than $ 200 million in equity since its inception in 2018.

In September last year, the company announced that it had closed on $ 125 million in equity and a debt facility of $ 75 million. The new $ 1.2 billion valuation represents a “more than 25% increase ”than that raiseaccording to Stori CEO and co-founder Bin Chen.

This is remarkable because in almost all cases extension rounds are raised to flat values. It is also noteworthy that Marlene Garayzar, CEO and co-founder, is now believed to be the first Mexican women to have founded a unicorn technology startup in the country.

The fact that Stori saw “20x” revenue growth in 2021 helped boost appreciation by raising the Series C expansion, Chen told TechCrunch, refusing to disclose harsh revenue figures. The start-up earns income through interest and brokerage fees from transactions with the credit card offers.

Stori launched its credit card product in Mexico in January 2020. Today, the company says it has more than 1.4 million customers in Mexico, which it claims is up “above 3x “from the year before. Its ambitious goal is to one day serve 100 million underserved customers in Latin America. Its primary goal, Chen said, is the region’s growing middle-class population.

“Our technology and underwriting allow us to offer a credit card to anyone who applies, regardless of credit history, all through a paperless, mobile-first experience, ”said Chen.

Several members of the startup’s founding team spent years in Capital One honing their skills in underwriting underserved populations, while others worked on the likes of Mastercard, Morgan Stanley, GE Money, HSBC and Intel in Mexico and the United States. The strong team was the one that was partly attracted to its leading investors to support the company.

Photo credit: Stories

“The Stori team is a rare combination of industry knowledge, hustle and change-world attitude,” said Hans Tung, managing partner of GGV Capital. “The market demand for inclusive financial products adapted to local markets is clear. “

Annabelle Long, BAI Capital’s founding partner, thinks so Stori’s ability to raise this capital in a time of economic uncertainty is a reflection of “investors’ confidence in Stori and its mission”.

The company plans to use its latest cash infusion to make more hires, as well as expand its product offering as well as geographically across Spanish-speaking Latin America. The company currently has over 200 professional employees and more than 400 support and service personnel, compared to 70 professionals a year ago. Most of the team is located at the headquarters in Mexico City.

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