HI Ventures Research
Investment thesis
HI Ventures, now branded publicly as Hi, is a Mexico City venture firm investing in Latin American startups with global ambitions. The firm was founded in 2012, formerly operated as ALLVP, and describes its portfolio work as backing formidable technology entrepreneurs solving Latin America's hardest problems. Its official FAQ says the firm looks for startups solving hard regional problems, with a bias toward large and growing markets and a reasonable path to an exit above $1 billion. The sector scope is broad but coherent: fintech, future of commerce, smart cities, foodtech, and human capital, including HR, EdTech, and HealthTech. The firm's more recent public content and fund announcement show a strong AI overlay. A January 2024 official Hi Ventures insight says the firm had launched an AI-focused fund, managed four funds totaling more than $300 million, and highlighted portfolio companies including Shinkansen, Nuvocargo, Senzai, Yana, Fintual, and Cornershop. The anti-thesis is explicit and should be treated as source-backed: HI says it does not invest in hardware startups, biotechnology, or crypto.
Stage focus
HI Ventures focuses on Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A. Its FAQ states that pre-seed investments can be pre-revenue, with emphasis on team-market fit and a clear path to revenue; seed companies should have a live product and a strong team; and Series A companies should show product-market fit through fast growth, retention, and a sound go-to-market strategy. The portfolio page supports this early-stage orientation. HI co-led Nuvocargo's seed with NFX, led Senzai's pre-seed round, co-led WonderBrands' pre-seed and seed, sent a seed term sheet to Atlas two weeks after meeting the founders, and led or backed AI-native early-stage companies such as Perhaps, Melian, Cenit, Verve Market, and Tess AI.
Check size
The best source-backed general check-size range is $1 million to $5 million. HI's FAQ says its ticket sizes have ranged from $1 million to $5 million and that the firm tries to invest across multiple rounds when companies perform. The 2024 AI-fund press coverage cited larger expected checks for that vehicle, but the general profile should use the FAQ range because it is direct, official, and not limited to a single fund strategy.
Lead tendency
HI Ventures is a lead or co-lead investor. Its FAQ says the firm only invests if it can lead or co-lead and asks for a board seat. This is backed by multiple transaction examples: HI co-led Nuvocargo's seed with NFX, co-led R2's $9 million equity financing with Cometa, led Tess AI's $5 million seed round, led Cenit's $1.8 million seed round, co-led Verve Market's $2.2 million round, and announced a $2 million seed investment in Melian. The appropriate classification is leads, with co-leading common.
Recent activity
Recent activity is active and AI-heavy. On March 2, 2026, Gunderson Dettmer reported that Tess AI raised a $5 million seed round led by HI Ventures with DYDX Capital and Honeystone participating. On January 20, 2026, Remote announced it had acquired Atlas, and the release lists HI Ventures among Atlas's backers. On November 27, 2025, Gunderson reported Cenit's $1.8 million seed financing led by HI Ventures; Cenit is a Chilean tax automation platform expanding across Mexico and Chile. In May 2025, a Hi Ventures release announced a $2 million seed investment in Melian, an AI-powered shopping discovery platform founded in Argentina. In November 2024, Gunderson reported that HI Ventures and Cometa led R2's $9 million equity financing, and in September 2024 HI announced it had co-led Verve Market's $2.2 million round.
Portfolio highlights
The official portfolio shows a wide range of Latin American fintech, commerce, logistics, health, HR, smart city, and AI companies. Notable active investments include Fintual, Nuvocargo, Shinkansen, Senzai, Mendel, WonderBrands, Menlo, Cenit, Melian, Perhaps, Yana, R2, Verve Market, Clubbi, Fondeadora, Slang, RobinFood, Clau, Cumplo, Social Diabetes, Dentalia, and Medica Santa Carmen. Notable exits or marked outcomes include Cornershop, acquired by Uber in 2021; Atlas, acquired by Remote in 2026; R2, shown on HI's portfolio as acquired by ANT in 2025; Flink, acquired by Webull in 2024; Mibo, acquired by Fondeadora in 2021; Aplazame, acquired by WiZink in 2020; Apli, acquired by iCIMS in 2025; Nubity, acquired by Evertec in 2025; Visor, acquired by Covalto in 2019; Petsy, acquired by Maskota in 2018; and Aventones, acquired by BlaBlaCar in 2016.
Team
The official team page lists Federico Antoni and Jimena Pardo as Managing Partners, both associated with the firm since 2012. It also lists Leonardo Coz as Principal, Alexi Andrade as Chief of Staff, Martin Schrimpff as Venture Partner, Judith Avalos as Treasury, and Santiago Martinez as Junior Marketing Analyst. The page describes how Federico and Jimena met in 2012, the firm's first check into Carrot, and Jimena's return to the firm after operating and product-growth work.
Decision process
HI publishes an unusually specific process. It starts with a first meeting with Jimena, Federico, or another team member, followed by internal feedback in less than a week, a second meeting with a sector-relevant partner, early diligence on data or references, a possible meeting with the broader team, a partner meeting, term-sheet negotiation, and final diligence and closing. Stages one through four typically take one to four weeks, while stages five through seven take two to six weeks. The firm says the full process can move faster when conditions require it.
Founder preferences
HI prefers ambitious teams with strong team-market fit, technical craft, leadership ability, investor-attraction ability, hacker mentality, and determination. Its internal Hi Score evaluates 35 dimensions across seven themes, including entrepreneurial savoir faire, leadership, technical craft, business savviness, ability to attract investors, hacker mentality, and determination. The firm is comfortable with B2B and B2C companies and emphasizes a high-involvement operating style around financing, business development, hiring, strategy, and direct founder support.
Geographic focus
Mexico is the center of gravity, but the mandate is Latin America and globally ambitious Latin American founders. The FAQ says many investments must have Mexico as a strategic market because that is where the firm can add the most value, while also backing companies from other Latin American countries and the rest of the world. Portfolio evidence spans Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and cross-border US-Mexico or US-Latin America companies. Delaware or Cayman holding companies are preferred when appropriate.
Sources reviewed include https://www.hi.vc, https://www.hi.vc/faq, https://www.hi.vc/portfolio, https://www.hi.vc/team, https://www.hi.vc/insights/hi-ventures-launches-ai-fund-in-mexico, Gunderson Dettmer transaction announcements, PR Newswire's Remote-Atlas acquisition release, and the Hi Ventures/Melian announcement PDF.