Inn-Flow acquires AI hotel procurement startup Lilo after under three years

What's the deal? US hospitality software company Inn-Flow has acquired LiloDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Chilean-founded AI startup that automates hotel procurement. Lilo was founded in 2023 by Javier ArayaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Nadine ElAshkar, and reached the deal in under three years. Terms were not disclosed.

What does Lilo do? It builds AI tools to automate product search, supplier management, budget control, and hotel spend intelligence. The startup serves more than 400 hotels across the US and Canada, cutting procurement time by up to 80% and total input costs by up to 7%.

What's the endgame? Inn-Flow, founded in 2009 and based in North Carolina, works with more than 1,000 US hotels and reports a 98% client retention rate. With the integration, it aims to become one of the first platforms in the sector to unify accounting, workforce management, and procurement in a single system.

What changes? Lilo's 35-person engineering team — distributed across Chile, Asia, Europe, and the US — will continue under the new owner. Both founders stay on: Araya will lead strategic alliances and new business, while ElAshkar becomes head of innovation.

Why Chile? Although Lilo was headquartered in New York, it built its development office in Santiago. "When we decided to open operations in Chile it wasn't a cost decision, but a strategic bet on the quality of local talent," Araya said.

The signal: The exit lands amid a consolidation wave. In 2025, acquisitions of Latin American startups by foreign companies rose 172% year on year to US$4.9 billion in exits, with M&A accounting for 67% of all exits, according to Cuántico VP's Latin America Venture Capital Report. For Araya, a Chilean entrepreneur, it marks a third exit in 15 years.

Read more: TechLa