A fast-growing fintech player is betting that the future of business isn’t in apps or websites—but inside chat. Jelou has raised $10 million in Series A funding to expand its AI platform that enables businesses to execute financial transactions directly within WhatsApp.
The round was led by Wellington Access Ventures, with participation from Krealo and Collide Capital. This brings Jelou’s total funding to $13 million, following earlier backing from Act One Ventures and Arca Continental Ventures.
At the center of Jelou’s growth is Brain, its flagship platform designed to build AI agents that don’t just chat—they act. Through Brain, companies can deploy intelligent agents that complete tasks like processing payments, opening bank accounts, verifying identities, and even underwriting credit, all within a messaging conversation.
The company has already processed more than $100 million in financial operations using this approach, working with over 500 businesses across 13 countries in Latin America. Its clients span industries from banking to retail, all looking to reduce friction in customer interactions.
CEO and founder Luis Loaiza says the problem is clear: businesses lose customers when transactions move خارج the conversation. Whether it’s redirecting users to external portals or requiring multiple steps across systems, these interruptions often lead to drop-offs and lost revenue. Jelou’s solution keeps everything in one place—inside chat—allowing customers to complete actions instantly.
The company’s roots trace back to Ecuador in 2017, where Loaiza identified a growing gap between how people communicate and how businesses execute transactions. Messaging apps had already become the dominant interface, but critical financial actions remained fragmented and inefficient.
Now, Jelou is bringing that model to the U.S., targeting small and mid-sized businesses looking to streamline operations while maintaining compliance and security. The timing aligns with a broader shift toward conversational commerce, where AI is expected to do more than answer questions—it must complete workflows.
Investors see Jelou as part of a new wave of infrastructure companies redefining how businesses operate. By combining chat, payments, and identity verification into a single layer, the platform positions itself as a potential backbone for transaction-driven AI.
Looking ahead, Jelou plans to evolve Brain into a full operating system for conversational business—one where companies can build and deploy WhatsApp-based applications directly from simple prompts.