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Buenos Aires Startups to Watch in 2027: 7 Verified Companies in Fintech, Payments, Crypto, Edtech, Games and Space, Local Support and What Changed

Buenos Aires Startups to Watch in 2027: Verified Companies in Fintech, Payments, Crypto, Edtech, Games and Space

Buenos Aires is the capital of Latin American tech talent: engineers, designers and founders from the city built companies that now operate across the region. "Startups to watch" lists about it, however, often recycle the same unicorn names without checking them. The 2026 version of this article did that too: one company is a listed e-commerce giant, one is registered in Córdoba, one website now shows an unrelated karaoke bar in Korea, and the opening statistics had no source. For this 2027 edition we checked every company again in November 2026 on its own website: that it still operates, that its legal, privacy or contact pages give a Buenos Aires address or Argentine entity, and what it actually sells. Three old names passed and stay; we added four companies we could verify, and we say clearly where a company is headquartered abroad.
Quick answer: the Buenos Aires startups to watch in 2027 are Ualá (a digital bank and finance app), Tapi (a payments network for bill payments, cash and top-ups), Ripio (stablecoins in Latin American currencies), Afluenta (person-to-person loans), Henry (an online tech and AI school paid partly after you get a job), etermax (the studio behind Trivia Crack) and Satellogic (satellite imagery, headquartered in North Carolina with an office in Buenos Aires). Founders get support from Kaszek, NXTP, Endeavor Argentina and the City of Buenos Aires' entrepreneurship programmes.
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Why Buenos Aires Matters for Founders in 2027

Three patterns stand out. The first is finance: Ualá, Tapi, Ripio and Afluenta all build tools for people and companies dealing with inflation, cash and several currencies, problems Argentines know better than almost anyone, and products built for them travel well to Mexico, Colombia and Peru. The second is talent: Henry trains developers and AI engineers online for companies across the region, and etermax built a global games studio from Buenos Aires. The third is reach: several companies born in the city now have their headquarters abroad and keep teams in Buenos Aires, a common path for Argentine founders who raise money in the US.
To compare Buenos Aires with its neighbours, read our guides to the best cities for AI startups in South America and Lima startups to watch.

Buenos Aires Startups to Watch in 2027 Compared

CompanyWhat it doesCustomersFact we checkedBuenos Aires base
UaláDigital bank and finance app, merchant toolsConsumers and small merchantsUalá Bank S.A.U., authorised by the BCRACnel. Marcelino E. Freyre 3650, CABA (website)
TapiPayments network: bills, cash in/out, top-ups, gift cardsFintechs, banks, appsCash in/out at 15,000+ points (company)Maipú 1, Piso 22, CABA (privacy policy)
RipioLocal-currency stablecoins, ramps, crypto as a serviceBusinesses and individualsSix local stablecoins, from wARS to wMXNMoonbird S.R.L., Bouchard 680, CABA (terms)
AfluentaPerson-to-person lending platformBorrowers and individual investorsRegistered with the BCRA as a lending platformAfluenta S.A., Buenos Aires, CABA (website)
HenryOnline tech and AI careersCareer changers, companies hiring20,000+ graduates (company)Henry Educación S.A., Mansilla 2315, CABA (terms)
etermaxMobile and VR games, brand gamificationPlayers and brandsTrivia Crack, Word CrackOffices in Buenos Aires (about page)
SatellogicSatellite imagery and monitoringGovernments and companiesHQ in Davidson, North CarolinaOffice at Scalabrini Ortiz 3333 (contact page)
Sources: each company's official website and its legal, privacy, terms or contact pages, checked 6 November 2026. Company figures are the companies' own claims.

The Buenos Aires Startups to Watch in 2027

1. Ualá: a bank in one app

Ualá offers, through Ualá Bank, a full set of personal finance products in one app: an account and savings, a dollar account, cards, loans, investments in funds, fixed-term deposits, shares and bonds, and insurance. For merchants it sells card readers (POS Pro and POS Mini), tap-to-pay on a phone, QR payments and payment links. Its site shows a 4.7 rating across app stores from more than 800,000 reviews, and its legal notice names Ualá Bank S.A.U., a financial institution authorised by Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA), at Coronel Marcelino E. Freyre 3650 in the City of Buenos Aires.
Lesson for founders: Ualá puts saving, paying, borrowing and investing in one app, and adds tools for the small merchants its users buy from. Serve both sides of everyday payments and each side brings the other.

2. Tapi: the pipes behind bill payments and cash

Tapi sells companies one integration for the payments people still make every month: utility and service bills with reminders and automatic payments, cash deposits and withdrawals at more than 15,000 points, mobile phone top-ups and digital gift cards. Its clients are the apps, wallets and banks that want to offer these services under their own brand. Its privacy policy names AUNTAP B2 S.A.U. at Maipú 1, 22nd floor, in the City of Buenos Aires, with affiliates in other countries including Mexico.
Lesson for founders: Tapi sells infrastructure, not an app. In payments, the company that connects everyone can grow with every new wallet that launches.
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3. Ripio: stablecoins in pesos, reais and soles

Ripio still offers a wallet for individuals, but its homepage now leads with what it calls wFIAT: stablecoins pegged 1:1 to Latin American currencies (wARS, wBRL, wCOP, wMXN, wCLP and wPEN), with reserves checked by third-party attestations. Businesses use its instant ramps over local payment rails such as Mercado Pago, Pix, Yape and SPEI, and its white-label service to offer crypto under their own brand. Its site states US$300 million in assets under management. In Argentina its wallet is run by Moonbird S.R.L., whose terms give an address at Bouchard 680 in the City of Buenos Aires.
Lesson for founders: Ripio puts its rails at the service of other companies, not only its own app. When a consumer market gets crowded, the infrastructure underneath can be the better business.

4. Afluenta: loans between people

Afluenta runs a person-to-person lending platform: people who need a loan borrow from individual investors instead of a bank, and investors earn the interest. It is registered with Argentina's Central Bank as a provider of credit between individuals through platforms, and its site has versions for Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and the US. Afluenta S.A. gives its base as Buenos Aires, CABA. Investors should note that, as its site says, money on the platform is not covered by Argentina's deposit insurance.
Lesson for founders: in regulated finance, Afluenta made its licence part of the product. Registration with the regulator is a selling point when customers are nervous.
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5. Henry: pay for the course when you get the job

Henry is an online school for tech careers, now built around AI: Full Stack + AI, Data Science + AI, AI Automation, AI Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineer and other programmes taught in live online cohorts. Its shared-income plan asks students to pay 10% of the price in five instalments while studying and the rest once they get a job in tech, and it promises a full refund if a graduate finds no job after a year of active searching. It counts more than 20,000 graduates and more than 3,000 hiring companies. Its terms name Henry Educación S.A. at Mansilla 2315 in the City of Buenos Aires and Henry Tech LLC in Delaware. The old article said Henry required no upfront payment; the current plan starts with the 10%.
Lesson for founders: Henry ties its income to its customers' success. When customers doubt the outcome, share the risk with them.

6. etermax: the studio behind Trivia Crack

etermax makes Trivia Crack and Word Crack, and now builds virtual reality games such as Trivia Crack World and Animal Guys. It also runs a brand gamification business that turns games into marketing for companies. Its about page invites visitors to a virtual tour of its Buenos Aires offices. It is older and bigger than a typical startup, but it remains one of the best-known consumer tech companies built in the city.
Lesson for founders: etermax kept one strong brand, Trivia Crack, and carried it to new platforms. A loved product name can travel from phones to VR headsets.

7. Satellogic: satellites with a Buenos Aires team

Satellogic builds and operates Earth observation satellites. Its Merlin layer scans the whole planet daily, and its Aleph Observer service replaces one-off image purchases with daily, high-resolution monitoring of chosen sites. Its contact page lists its main office in Davidson, North Carolina, near Charlotte, with offices in Córdoba, Buenos Aires (Scalabrini Ortiz 3333), Montevideo and Barcelona, so it is a company headquartered abroad with a team in the city. On 30 October 2026 it announced a three-year agreement with HEO for imaging objects in space.
Lesson for founders: Satellogic kept engineering in Argentina while moving its headquarters closer to US customers and capital, a path many Argentine deep-tech founders follow.
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Born in Buenos Aires, Now Global

Some fast-growing companies started in the city but no longer give a Buenos Aires address. Humand, an HR and internal communication app for frontline workers, is a good example: its about page says its founders met as students at the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA), later moved to Mexico, and now run a company of more than 300 people in 20 countries. In 2026 it raised a $66 million Series A led by Kaszek and Goodwater Capital, according to the same page.

Where Buenos Aires Startups Get Support

  • Kaszek: the venture firm invests across Latin America, with local presence in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Montevideo and São Paulo. Its site counts 306 entrepreneurs, 132 ventures and nine funds.
  • NXTP: an early-stage investor in B2B technology with an office at Sucre 1530 in the City of Buenos Aires. Its current fund, NXTP Fund III, is $100 million, and its site lists 122 investments and 32 exits.
  • Endeavor Argentina: part of the global network for high-impact entrepreneurs, based in Vicente López, Greater Buenos Aires. Its programmes include ScaleUp, AI Founders Lab, Women in Entrepreneurship and the HIT innovation-with-impact prize.
  • City of Buenos Aires (BA Emprende): the city government runs After Emprendedor networking meetings (the seventh 2026 meeting took place on 22 October 2026 during TECWEEK 2026), the Vos Lo Hacés training programme (its 2026 call closed on 14 August 2026, followed by a second "Edición Sur"), and hackathons such as AutonomIA.
  • IncuBAte: the city's long-running incubation programme still accepts projects through an official procedure on buenosaires.gob.ar; that page describes projects in design, tourism and the cultural industries. The programme page itself blocked our check, so confirm current calls there.
Women founders can also look at the grants for female entrepreneurs and the accelerators for female entrepreneurs in our guides.

What Changed Since the 2026 List

Seven of the ten names from the old list left this edition:
  • MercadoLibre: a listed e-commerce and fintech company, far beyond the startup stage.
  • Pomelo: the card-issuing platform still operates, but its privacy policy gives the registered address of Pomelo Fintech Services S.A.S. in the City of Córdoba, not Buenos Aires.
  • Kilimo: the irrigation data company still operates, but its site gives no Buenos Aires address, and its founders trained at the National University of Córdoba.
  • Caspr Biotech: its old domain now shows an unrelated karaoke bar page in Korea, so we could not confirm the company's status.
  • Workana and Roxom: both websites blocked our checks, so we could not confirm a Buenos Aires base or what they offer today.
  • Koibanx: its site still describes blockchain payment infrastructure, but we found no Buenos Aires address on it.
  • Corrected description: Henry now asks for 10% of the course price while studying; the old article said there was no upfront payment.
  • Statistics removed: the old "over 1,200 tech startups", MercadoLibre's "$23 billion" valuation and the funding figures had no source we could find.

Which Buenos Aires Startup Should You Learn From?

  • You build consumer fintech: study Ualá and how it serves both consumers and the merchants they pay.
  • You build infrastructure: study Tapi and Ripio, which sell rails to other companies.
  • You build in a regulated market: study Afluenta and how it uses its registration as a trust signal.
  • You build edtech: study Henry and its pay-after-you-get-hired model.
  • You build games or consumer apps: study etermax and how one brand moved across platforms.
  • You build deep tech: study Satellogic, which kept engineering in Argentina and moved its headquarters to the US.

How Founders Use Buenos Aires' Startup Scene

Start with the city's free programmes and Endeavor events, then talk to local funds such as Kaszek and NXTP once you have traction. Many Buenos Aires founders sell to the whole region early, so compare the scene with Mexico City startups to watch and Cebu startups to watch for another emerging market, and look at grants in the deep tech grants in South America guide.
Henry shows how strong the edtech market is in the region; for country-level context read the best South American countries for edtech. Fintech founders should meet investors at the fintech startup events, and AI founders can compare the accelerators for AI startups.
Before you copy any of these business models, test them with real customers, and start marketing early: list your startup in the F/MS marketing directories, publish your startup press release, and write about your product with the F/MS AI SEO Tool so customers, investors and AI assistants can find you.

FAQ About Buenos Aires Startups to Watch in 2027

Which Buenos Aires startups should I watch in 2027?

Our verified list: Ualá, Tapi, Ripio, Afluenta, Henry, etermax and Satellogic. Each still operates and gives a Buenos Aires address or Argentine entity on its own website, checked in November 2026; Satellogic is headquartered in North Carolina with an office in Buenos Aires.

Which Buenos Aires startups work in fintech?

Ualá is a digital bank and finance app, Tapi runs a payments network for bills, cash and top-ups, Ripio issues stablecoins in Latin American currencies, and Afluenta runs person-to-person loans.

Is Ualá a bank?

Yes. Its site names Ualá Bank S.A.U., a financial institution authorised by Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA), based in the City of Buenos Aires.

Is Pomelo a Buenos Aires startup?

Pomelo still operates, but its privacy policy gives its registered address in the City of Córdoba, so it left this list.

How does Henry's payment plan work?

Students pay 10% of the price in five instalments while studying and the rest once they get a tech job. Henry also offers a full refund if a graduate finds no job after a year of active searching.

Which companies were born in Buenos Aires but are now based abroad?

Satellogic has its main office in North Carolina and keeps an office in Buenos Aires. Humand was founded by two ITBA students and now has more than 300 employees in 20 countries.

Who invests in Buenos Aires startups?

Kaszek and NXTP are the best-known local venture firms; Kaszek led Humand's $66 million Series A in 2026 together with Goodwater Capital, according to Humand.

Does the City of Buenos Aires support startups?

Yes. Its BA Emprende team runs After Emprendedor meetings, the Vos Lo Hacés training programme, hackathons and the IncuBAte incubation programme.

What can founders learn from Buenos Aires startups?

Serve both sides of a payment, sell infrastructure when consumer markets get crowded, use regulation as a trust signal, and share risk with customers who doubt the outcome.

Where can I submit a guest post about my startup?

You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools. Get a quality backlink.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
2026-11-06 03:00 Best Startups