Under the motto “Rooted to Rise“, the Volcano Innovation Summit 2025 proposed a conscious pause to reconnect with what is essential: our roots, values and sense of collective responsibility. Over three days, there were conferences, panels, technological demonstrations, meetings between founders and investors, and moments of reflection on how to build the future from integrity.
The sixth edition of the Volcano Summit, held in Antigua Guatemala, exceeded expectations and consolidated its position as one of the most relevant innovation, technology, entrepreneurship and purpose events in Latin America. With more than 2,000 attendees and more than 160 international leaders from more than 30 countries, the event offered a vibrant platform for connection, learning and multi-sector collaboration.
Global voices, local impact
The agenda was marked by presentations from global leaders such as:
- Adalberto Flores Ochoa (Kueski): Founder and CEO of Kueski; raised USD $300M+ and leader in Buy Now, Pay Later in Mexico, serving millions of unbanked users.
- From Kai (Raising AI): Pioneer in machine translation on a global scale; ACL Founding Fellow; Google advisor on AI ethics and professor at HKUST.
- Allen Taylor (Endeavor Catalyst): Managing Partner of Endeavor Catalyst; has invested more than USD $500M in 300+ high-growth startups in emerging markets.
- Adriana Tortajada (1200vc): Former Global Head of Entrepreneurship at Grupo Santander; led investments of USD $2.5B AUM in Fondo de Fondos/Mexico Ventures and launched the first regional impact fund.
- Brian Requarth (Latitude): Co-founder of Viva Real, company sold for USD $2.9B to OLX Brazil; Angel investor in 80+ startups and founder of Latitud, a venture capital firm in LATAM.
- Kelly Uphoff (Tala): CTO and CPO of Tala, a fintech with more than USD $6B in loans granted to 10M clients; former VP of Data Science at Netflix.
- Steve Kim (Verdis Investment Management): Partner at Verdis Investment Management; member of the committee that has approved 60+ global investments in private equity funds and public markets.
- Iván Montoya (NuMundo Ventures): Founder of NuMundo Ventures; has invested in 40+ early stage companies in LATAM and supported their startups in raising more than USD $130M.
- Celina de Sola (Glasswing International): Co-founder of Glasswing, a leading NGO in education and social innovation in Central America.
- Erick Brimen (Próspera Global | NeWAY Capital): Founder of Próspera Global in Roatán, Honduras, an innovative model of governance and economic development.
- Dror Benshetrit (Supernature Labs): Designer and urban planner with 20+ years of global experience; founder of Supernature Labs, promoting the Bioplanning model for sustainable cities.
- José Ramos (MIT): Program Director at MIT Corporate Relations; connects global corporations with 1,000+ MIT startups, specialized in sustainable innovation and deep tech.
- Sam Glassenberg (Level Ex): Founder of Level Ex, creator of medical video games used by more than 1 million healthcare professionals; former DirectX team leader at Microsoft.
- Tomer Lancewicki (ModMed): VP of AI at ModMed, Former Director of AI/ML at Walmart Global Tech, former Amazon Alexa and Samsung Research; PhD in Computer Science and adjunct professor at Northeastern University.
- Pedro Vallenilla (Cashea): Co-founder and CEO of Cashea, a BNPL fintech that processes more than 1 transaction per second in Venezuela; on its way to becoming a regional superapp.
- Germán Pugliese (Persea Venture | Technisys): Co-founder of Technisys, sold to SoFi for USD $1.1B; benchmark in digital banking in LATAM.
- Ricardo Pero (SellersFi): Founder and CEO of SellersFi; former JPMorgan and Citigroup; Global fintech that provides capital solutions to e-commerce in the US and LATAM.
- Facundo Martín Díaz (/q99): Founder of /q99, specialized in quantum computing + AI; raised USD $17M seed with TravelX and reached valuation of USD $100M in 2 years.
- Mark Schwartz (AWS): Enterprise Strategist at Amazon Web Services; former CIO and author of 5 reference books on leadership and digital transformation.
Their interventions offered powerful ideas about technology, investment, inclusion, sustainability, and the role of leaders in a world that demands coherence between what is said and what is built.
Beyond the conferences, Volcano was an active platform for startups, corporations, investment funds, universities and social organizations that converged with the same objective: generating positive impact through innovation.
Volcano Innovation Summit 2025 was possible thanks to the support of more than 35 strategic allies that promote the technological and business development of the region, including Castillo Hermanos, Banco Industrial, MultiMoney, BAC, Visa, Progreso, Mastercard, among others.
Startup Avenue: where regional talent meets investment
Antigua Guatemala became the epicenter of Latin American innovation with the 2025 edition of Startup Avenue, the Volcano Summit competition that connected 50 startups from the region in Pre-Seed, Early Stage and Growth & Scalability stages with mentors, funds and investment networks.
One of the most anticipated moments was the Demo Day, which presented innovative solutions in sectors such as health, education, fintech, sustainability, digital commerce and mobility. Investors such as Side Door Ventures and Caricaco Ventures supported the initiative with investment commitments exceeding $150,000 USD.
Startup Avenue reaffirmed its role as a key platform to promote disruptive entrepreneurship in Latin America. Of the 50 startups previously selected, 9 managed to position themselves as finalists after a rigorous evaluation process that considered their potential for scalability, innovation and capacity for impact.
Pre-Seed Category
- First place – Suyana: parametric insurance that provides affordable climate protection against droughts, floods and natural disasters to homes, farmers and businesses.
- Second place – Chain: financial assistant through WhatsApp that automates collections, payments and reminders for microbusinesses and service professionals in LatAm.
- Third place – Muney App: financial education and health app that helps young workers manage income, control expenses and build savings habits.
Early Stage Category
- First place – Yumari: connects companies in North America with Latin American manufacturers, using AI to optimize nearshore supply chains.
- Second place – Zumma: autonomous finance platform that automates expense management, billing and reconciliation for companies with AI agents.
- Third Place – Gigstack: AI-powered tax infrastructure that automates electronic invoicing, reconciliations and regulatory compliance in LatAm.
Growth & Scalability Category
- First place – Airbag: transportation management and gamification software that improves road safety and reduces fuel costs, accidents and driver turnover.
- Second place – Tizo: inclusive e-commerce platform that converts grocery stores into digital points of sale, allowing you to buy and sell online even without internet or a bank account.
- Third place – Algo Labs: artificial vision and edge computing solution that automates inventories in high-rise warehouses with 99% accuracy.
Volcano4Good: innovation at the service of social transformation
Through its Volcano4Good (V4G) initiative, the Volcano Summit continues to drive change beyond stages and investments. In this edition they confirmed that alliances are the spark that ignites social transformation.
Specific results achieved together with FUNSEPA, the Alliance for Motagua and Nutrilisto were presented.
The experience of Guatemalans for Nutrition was included, which shared key learnings from its successful implementation in reducing malnutrition. These meetings allow us to see more clearly what factors pave the way towards sustainable development with real impact.
This knowledge today becomes a force to promote projects that respond to the deep needs of our region. The invitation continues: to those who seek to generate impact in nutrition, education, natural resources and mobility, we call you to join our system of solutions and build impact alliances together.
Each edition of Volcano is an opportunity to reconnect with the purpose, talent and collective strength of a region that has a lot to say to the world. This year, Rooted to Rise It reminded us that only from our roots can we build a solid and transcendent future.
The next edition of the Volcano Innovation Summit is already underway. We invite you to stay connected and be part of this community that grows from the essence, to elevate the impact of an entire region. September 5, 6 and 7, 2026 in Antigua Guatemala will be a new opportunity to inspire, innovate and connect. For more information about the event and the next edition, you can visit volcanosummit.com.
