Chilean fintech Blanco raises $5.2M seed to scale AI-driven factoring
What's the deal? Chilean fintech BlancoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has closed a $5.2 million seed round led by KrealoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the venture capital arm of Credicorp.
The startup offers digital factoring for small and medium-sized enterprises. It will use the funds to boost its financing capacity, build out AI-based technology, and prepare expansion into Peru and Colombia.
Blanco was founded in 2024 by chief executive officer Diego ContrerasDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, who previously co-founded Chilean fintech Xepelin.
Why now? Contreras said the rise of artificial intelligence was one of the reasons he returned to finance after leaving Xepelin in 2024.
The company built a system that automates much of the factoring process, from reading invoices and assessing risk to simulating offers for SMEs. Once an operation is approved, it can disburse funds the same day, then sell those invoices to banks and investment funds.
Blanco has financed $240 million to date, serves 1,600 active companies, and posts an annualised revenue run rate of $8.4 million.
What could go wrong? Blanco plans to move beyond factoring into working-capital loans and insurance products for businesses.
Expanding its offering and entering new markets at once raises execution risk, especially against established banks and other fintechs competing for the same SME customers.
The signal: Krealo is the corporate venture arm of Credicorp, one of the largest financial groups in the Andean region, and its backing points to incumbent appetite for automated factoring as a route into Chile's underserved SME market. That strategic alignment also gives Blanco a natural bridge into Peru and Colombia, where Credicorp already has a deep footprint.
Read more: LatAm Fintech
Image credit: nenadstojkovicart
