Chilean startup Lilo acquired by Inn-Flow after expanding in the United States and Canada
Lilo was acquired by Inn-Flow after developing an AI platform to automate hotel purchasing and serve more than 400 hotels.
Lilo, the artificial intelligence startup founded in 2023 by Chilean entrepreneur Javier Araya Kopaitic and Nadine ElAshkar between Santiago and New York, was acquired by U.S. company Inn-Flow, which specializes in financial and operational solutions for the hotel industry. The deal closed less than three years after the company was founded and marks Araya’s third exit as a tech entrepreneur.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
An AI solution to transform hotel purchasing
The idea for Lilo emerged while Javier Araya was at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he researched B2B purchasing and payment processes.
Based on that research, the startup developed artificial intelligence tools capable of automating procurement processes for hotels, one of the most manual and fragmented areas of hotel operations in the United States.
According to the company, the platform can reduce the time spent on purchasing processes by up to 80% and cut the total cost of supplies by up to 7%, improving hotels’ operational efficiency.
Lilo expanded across North America in less than three years
In less than three years, Lilo established a presence in the United States and Canada, where it serves more than 400 hotels.
Its growth also attracted the interest of international investors, bringing in capital from funds such as Index Ventures, Headline and Precursor Ventures, as well as Twelve Below, Blue Lion, Add Ventures and Burst Capital.
“The fact that an established U.S. company sought to integrate our technology shows that it is possible to build world-class software in Latin America and compete in the most demanding market on the planet,” said Javier Araya, founder of Lilo.
Inn-Flow strengthens its offering for the hotel industry
Headquartered in North Carolina, Inn-Flow was founded in 2009 and develops financial and operational solutions for hotels.
The company currently works with more than 1.000 hotels in the United States, has a team of more than 150 employees, and maintains a customer retention rate of 98%.
The addition of Lilo’s technology aims to strengthen Inn-Flow’s value proposition for the hotel industry with AI-powered automation tools.
Santiago remains a technology development hub
Although Lilo’s headquarters operated out of New York, the startup established its main engineering team in Santiago, Chile.
The company assembled a team of 35 employees based in Chile, Asia, Europe, and the United States. Following the acquisition, the technology office in Santiago will continue operating under the new parent company, consolidating Chile’s role as a development hub for technology solutions serving the North American hotel market.
For Javier Araya, the deal reinforces the thesis behind his three exits as an entrepreneur: Latin American tech talent can build world-class products without relocating development teams outside the region.
