Branddu and Reno merge to launch Latin America's first MerchTech platform
Branddu AI closed a $300,000 pre-seed funding round in July 2026 following a merger between Branddu, founded in Bogotá in 2019 by Mariana Velásquez, and Reno, founded in Mexico by Sebastián Illescas. The combined company has now raised $800,000 in total capital.
The platform describes itself as Latin America's first MerchTech, a B2B category that uses artificial intelligence and proprietary technology to automate corporate merchandise procurement through a network of regional and international suppliers. Source Operating across Colombia, Mexico, and the United States, Branddu AI serves more than 700 clients and has completed over 4,150 projects with a catalog exceeding 35,000 products.
Branddu brought regional scale and established operations in three countries. Reno contributed automation and AI capabilities for modernizing corporate merchandise purchasing. The client list includes Netflix, Canva, Kavak, Clara, JP Morgan, GBM, AXA, Samsung, Warner Bros. Discovery, and WeWork.
Mariana Velásquez, CEO and co-founder, said the merger allows the company to accelerate digitization of an industry that has operated slowly and manually for years. She added that Latin America has the talent and suppliers to lead that transformation.
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How AI-driven merchandising automation reshapes B2B hiring in Colombia and Mexico
The global corporate merchandise market generates approximately $90 billion annually, with the U.S. market alone exceeding $27 billion in 2025. Most purchasing still relies on multi-day quotations, fragmented inventories, and manual processes. Companies operating across multiple Latin American countries face different suppliers in each market, variable costs, and unclear timelines.
Branddu AI's platform allows enterprises to search, quote, customize, and purchase products in minutes from a single interface, eliminating dependence on multiple emails, vendors, and manual response times. This shift creates distinct talent requirements for companies building or scaling operations.
The expansion will require machine learning engineers to refine product recommendation algorithms, backend developers to integrate supplier APIs across borders, and UX designers familiar with enterprise procurement workflows. On the commercial side, the company needs account executives who understand corporate procurement cycles in Colombia and Mexico, customer success managers capable of onboarding multinational clients, and supply chain specialists who can coordinate fulfillment across fragmented logistics networks.
Employers building engineering teams in Bogotá or recruiting sales talent in Mexico City will compete for professionals with experience in B2B SaaS, marketplace operations, and cross-border commerce. The merger itself signals a broader trend: startups consolidating to achieve the scale required to serve enterprise clients across multiple Latin American markets. For talent teams, this means planning for roles that span geographies, require bilingual capability, and demand familiarity with both local regulations and regional business practices.
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Scaling MerchTech: talent and infrastructure needs for regional expansion
Branddu AI plans to use the new capital to consolidate its Latin American operations, scale in the United States, and position MerchTech as a global category. Sebastián Illescas, CRO and co-founder, said the merger takes the MerchTech category to a new scale with an immediate and intuitive experience, noting that technology optimizes rather than replaces.
Cross-border expansion requires legal and compliance professionals who understand labor law, tax obligations, and entity structures in Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S. Scaling a B2B platform serving multinational clients demands enterprise sales teams with experience navigating procurement departments, negotiating multi-year contracts, and managing complex stakeholder groups.
The company's reliance on a network of regional and international suppliers creates demand for vendor management and operations roles. These positions require professionals who can evaluate supplier reliability, negotiate pricing, manage quality control, and coordinate logistics across borders. AI-driven product recommendation and pricing engines require ongoing investment in data science, machine learning operations, and platform engineering.
Serving clients like Netflix, JP Morgan, and Samsung requires engineering teams capable of handling high transaction volumes, ensuring platform uptime, and maintaining data security standards that meet multinational compliance requirements. As more platforms emerge to digitize fragmented B2B procurement workflows in Latin America, demand will grow for professionals with experience in marketplace operations, supplier onboarding, and enterprise SaaS sales. Employers in adjacent sectors such as fintech, logistics, and e-commerce may find themselves competing for the same talent pools.
Branddu AI's trajectory offers a case study in the talent requirements of cross-border B2B platforms. The company's growth will depend on its ability to attract and retain professionals who can navigate the operational complexity of serving enterprise clients across multiple countries, each with distinct supplier networks, regulatory environments, and customer expectations.