en.Wedoany.com Reported - Two Latin American startups in the corporate merchandise procurement space, Branddu and Reno, have completed a merger. The newly formed Branddu AI platform positions itself as a B2B MerchTech service provider, aiming to digitally transform the procurement, customization, and purchasing process of promotional products. The merger also secured a $300,000 pre-seed investment from 500 Global, bringing the company's total funding to $800,000. The new entity plans to expand its business coverage across Latin America while strengthening its presence in the U.S. market.
The new company integrates Branddu's commercial network in Latin America with Reno's technology-driven procurement model. By combining artificial intelligence, proprietary software, and a supplier network covering Latin America and international markets, Branddu AI aims to replace traditional manual procurement processes with a unified digital platform. Mariana Velásquez, CEO and co-founder of Branddu AI, stated that the goal of the merger is to accelerate the fundamental digitalization of an industry that has relied on slow manual processes for years, building the infrastructure needed for the industry to operate at the speed and transparency required by enterprises today.
The global promotional merchandise procurement market is vast but still heavily reliant on manual workflows. According to Grand View Research, the industry was valued at $355.4 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach $380 billion in 2026, with Mexico holding the largest market share in 2025. Procurement processes often involve issues such as quote turnaround times taking days, fragmented supplier networks, and limited inventory visibility. These challenges are even more pronounced for multinational corporations operating in Latin America, which often face different suppliers, pricing structures, and fulfillment timelines across various countries.
Branddu was founded in 2019 by Velásquez in Bogotá, initially as a platform aggregating promotional product suppliers, later evolving into a B2B digital solution offering instant quotes, online product customization, inventory visibility, and a catalog of thousands of customizable items. Reno, founded by Sebastián Illescas in Mexico, focused on developing MerchTech, an approach leveraging technology, automation, and artificial intelligence to modernize corporate merchandise procurement. Post-merger, this concept became the foundation of Branddu AI's business strategy.
Sebastián Illescas, Chief Revenue Officer and co-founder of Branddu AI, stated that the merger elevates this category to a new scale and delivers an instant, intuitive customer experience. The new company, with Velásquez as CEO and Illescas as CRO, currently has 21 employees across Mexico and Colombia. Together, Branddu and Reno serve over 700 clients, have completed more than 4,150 projects, and built a catalog of over 35,000 products. Their clients include global enterprises and regional tech companies such as Netflix, Canva, Kavak, Clara, JP Morgan, GBM, AXA, Samsung, Warner Bros. Discovery, and WeWork. The platform centralizes everything from product discovery and inventory visibility to quoting, online customization, design, and purchasing. Branddu AI also plans to expand its product catalog by including imported products from the European Union. The $300,000 pre-seed investment from 500 Global will be used to strengthen the company's operations in Latin America and support its expansion into the U.S. market. The company aims to position MerchTech as a distinct technology category within the global enterprise software landscape.
