Yaydoo, a Mexican pioneer in blockchain-based B2B receivables and payments, has become the latest tech unicorn in LATAM, following a merger with Paystand to form a global network for B2B collections, payments, and transactions.

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Yaydoo is a platform formed in Mexico City by Sergio Almaguer, Roberto Flores, and Guillermo Treviño, currently operating in Mexico but intends to expand throughout the Americas thanks to its merger with the U.S. company PayStand.

This transaction allowed Yaydoo to obtain new investments, reaching a valuation of more than 1 billion dollars, making it a unicorn company. Both Paystand and Yaydoo offer a wide range of technology-based B2B solutions for automating transactions, payment processes, and invoice collection.

Yaydoo and Paystand plan a joint venture in LATAM 

The fusion between both companies was achieved after almost 3 years of negotiations where Yaydoo and Paystand recognized the opportunities they would have in case of working together, however, it was until this August that the strength of both companies allowed them to join.

In this sense, Sergio Almaguer stated that the two companies will continue working with their own brand and will maintain their operations in both countries while he will continue as CEO of Yaydoo. However, the long-term plan is that, once full coverage is achieved in Mexico and the United States, both firms will begin a process of international expansion.

"Yaydoo will be focused on emerging markets and Paystand will be focused on developed markets; the first step will be for them to grow strongly in the United States and Canada, and for us to expand from Mexico to Colombia, Peru, and Chile. Mexico will continue to be the crown jewel of Latin America and it is not for nothing that all the foreign players are coming here," said Almaguer.

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Instabox, a Swedish parcel delivery start-up, has raised 174 million euros in its latest financing round. Its value is now estimated at 1 billion euros, granting it the Unicorn Status. 

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Swedish Instabox has been growing fast since its launch in 2015. In 2020, it generated a revenue of 24 million euros. In 2021, the company raised over 73 million euros and entered the Netherlands through its acquisition of Red Je Pakketje.

Instabox is officially a Unicorn 

The company was forecast to become a Unicorn for some time already, but it was via this last financing round that it actually achieved the mark of a billion euros, thus becoming the newest unicorn in Sweden. 

The round was led by European investment firm Verdane, which specializes in tech companies. Owners such as Creades and EQT Ventures invested again, as well as new investors.

‘The new financing will help us improve our services, making us even more sustainable. I am delighted with the confidence that our current and new investors have shown in us. The global parcel services market continues to grow every year and lightning-fast, hassle-free and fossil-free shipping set us apart from traditional shipping services. The new financing will help us build on that and further improve our services, making us even more sustainable and customer-oriented”, said Alexis Priftis, CEO and co-founder of Instabox.

Strengthening and consolidation  

The company will use the money raised in this round, not so much for expansion, but to further consolidate and reinforce the infrastructure of Instabox in Sweden, Norway, and The Netherlands. A much-needed reinforcement due to the amazing year-on-year growth of 300% that the company has had since 2017. 

The Financial Times recently named Instabox as the third fastest-growing company in Europe. Currently, the parcel delivery service is able to deliver over 3 million parcels each month.

It has already announced that it wants to place at least 3.000 more parcel lockers in the Netherlands. It will also strengthen its position in Norway, after taking over the Norwegian same-day delivery company Porterbuddy. Earlier this year, the company launched in Germany. The parcel deliverer announced that it would open more locker terminals within the country soon.

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