Félix raises $200M to turn WhatsApp remittances into loans and savings
What's the deal? FélixDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Miami-based fintech that lets Latino immigrants send money home through WhatsApp, has raised $200 million. The financing splits into $87 million in equity led by Andreessen Horowitz and a $113 million credit facility from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund.
QED Investors, Castle Island VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Switch VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Contour Venture Partners, and Endeavor Catalyst also joined the round.
Where the money goes: Félix plans to spend on hiring, artificial intelligence, engineering, and financial infrastructure, while entering more Latin American markets. The credit facility will support lending as the company moves into savings and loans.
By the numbers: Félix said it has processed more than $8 billion in transactions for over six million people across 11 Latin American markets. Its revenue grew more than 2.5 times year over year.
How it works: Customers use Félix through WhatsApp instead of a separate app, entering transfer details in a chat and paying by card or cash. Recipients collect funds in local currency via bank account or cash pickup. Artificial intelligence reads text and voice requests, while USDC and blockchain settle transfers behind the scenes.
What's the endgame? The company is building what it calls a "Cognitive Financial Companion," a WhatsApp assistant meant to understand a customer's needs in plain language and connect them with financial products. "Our ambition is to deliver a Goldman SachsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →-level financial experience, with the simplicity of a conversation, to people the financial system has historically overlooked," founder Manuel Godoy wrote on LinkedIn.
Expanding the map: Félix plans to enter markets including Brazil and Venezuela. It recently added mobile phone top-ups, letting customers in the US pay for relatives' phone service in their home countries.
What could go wrong? The capital lets Félix compete with Western UnionDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, MoneyGramDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Remitly, Wise, and Bitso for a Latin American remittance market exceeding $160 billion a year, according to Bloomberg. But its longer-term bet rests on converting one-off transfers into an ongoing financial relationship.
The signal: Founded by Wharton classmates Godoy and Bernardo García, Félix is testing whether a messaging app can replace the bank branch for customers traditional institutions overlooked. "You tell Félix what you need, and we help you figure out the rest," Godoy said.
Read more: refreshmiami.com
Image credit: Artem Beliaikin
