Infinia, the Uruguayan financial infrastructure startup founded in 2023 by Ianai Urwicz and Alejandro Rettig, closed a Series A of US$13.5 million. The round was led by Bain Capital and Variant Fund. The company operates from Montevideo and New York.
Ianai Urwicz was part of the founding team of dLocal. For his part, Alejandro Rettig brings 25 years of experience in telecommunications and financial systems. In addition, both were selected for the Winter 2023 edition of Y Combinator among more than 20,000 applicants from around the world.
Infinia solves a structural problem in global trade. Although stablecoins allow instant settlements 24 hours a day, they still remain isolated from local fiat money networks. To solve that challenge, the platform builds the technical and regulatory infrastructure that connects traditional clearing systems, such as Pix in Brazil or SPEI in Mexico, with the efficiency of distributed ledgers.
An infrastructure layer for cross-border trade
With a team of just 20 people, Infinia became an infrastructure partner for global fintechs, marketplaces and corporate platforms such as Stripe, BRICS Bridge, OpenFX, Kast and Despegar.
Additionally, its native compliance architecture absorbs the complexity of local KYC and KYB requirements. It also incorporates the banking particularities of each region. Thus, you eliminate that friction for your customers.
“Infinia is the default infrastructure layer that enables businesses in emerging markets to operate frictionlessly between on-chain networks and traditional financial services, ready for a world where money moves at the speed of code,” said Ianai Urwicz, CEO and co-founder of the company.
Regulatory expansion on three continents
With the new resources, Infinia will accelerate regulatory licensing in new jurisdictions. Likewise, it will deepen its presence in Latin America, Africa and Asia. These three regions combine low banking with high adoption of digital payments, creating a structural opportunity for their model.
The round also incorporates support from some of the most recognized funds in the global fintech ecosystem. Bain Capital manages approximately $215 billion in assets. For its part, Variant Fund specializes in infrastructure for digital assets. Together, they lead a capital chart that reflects institutional capital’s confidence in Infinia’s vision of becoming the financial infrastructure of emerging markets.
