Colombian startup NYXN takes top honors at AI Fest before more than 150 corporates and investors during Mexico Tech Week 2026

Mexico City, November 4, 2026. NYXN, a Colombian startup led by Daniel Villa, prevailed in the AI for Corporates Challenge 2026, the artificial intelligence startup competition organized by AI Fest as part of Mexico Tech Week 2026. The grand finale was held on October 28 at a cocktail event attended by more than 150 corporates, with representatives from across Latin America’s innovation and investment ecosystem.

NYXN automates the development and migration of banking software using agentic AI, based on its own certified technology and methodology. Its solution addresses one of banking’s most costly challenges: modernizing legacy systems without disrupting operations.

“Thanks to Startuplinks and all the organizers, sponsors, and partners. At NYXN, we will continue working to bring agentic artificial intelligence governance to corporates across the region,” said Daniel Villa, CEO of NYXN.

Alongside NYXN, two other startups reached the final:

• Selenios (Argentina), led by Jonathan Muszkat: an AI-native platform that automates recruiting at scale and integrates securely into the processes of large companies.
• Simón (Mexico), led by Matthieu Dahirel: trains and evaluates field workers via mobile phone, measures the impact, and turns training into measurable results.

A more intentional AI Fest

In its first edition, in 2025, AI Fest brought together more than 1,000 attendees over two days. For 2026, the organizers changed the format: attendance was by application, and the competition focused on 16 AI companies with B2B enterprise models, products in operation, and recurring customers.

“Based on what we learned last year, in 2026 we decided to drive a much more intentional AI Fest focused on creating meaningful opportunities for connection among investors, founders, and corporates,” explained Israel García, CEO of Startuplinks. “This allowed us to hold a breakfast between the startups participating in the competition and investors, a reverse pitch by funds actively investing in AI companies, and the competition’s closing cocktail event before more than 150 corporates from across the region.”

The program kicked off on October 27 with a private breakfast between the selected startups and investment funds. On October 28, at AI House, the companies pitched in the semifinal and final, while the funds took the stage for a reverse pitch to explain their AI investment thesis. The day ended with the cocktail event and the announcement of the winners.

Mexico, the new center of gravity for capital

AI Fest 2026 arrived at a record moment for Mexico’s innovation market. According to KPMG’s Venture Pulse report, global venture capital investment reached US$330,900 million in the first quarter of 2026, more than double the previous quarter, with artificial intelligence the main magnet for capital.

Mexico has become a leading player in this wave across the region. According to Cuantico VP, the country accounted for six of Latin America’s ten largest venture capital rounds in the past 12 months, surpassing other key markets in the region such as Brazil.

On the demand side, nearly 500,000 Mexican companies adopted some form of AI technology in the past year, according to AWS’s Unlocking Mexico's AI Potential report, and these are precisely the corporate buyers that the Challenge put in front of the startups.

Who’s behind AI Fest

AI Fest is a collective effort by three organizations that lead their respective industries:

• Batech: a computer vision platform that turns any camera into a smart device, capable of detecting behavioral patterns in real time to reduce losses such as petty theft and generate data for companies’ operations.
• ILB Media: Latin America’s fastest-growing New Media conglomerate.
• Startuplinks: the leading Spanish-speaking Venture Capital community, with more than 270 institutional members.

The 2026 edition was sponsored by Ashurst Perkins Coie and Deel.

About Mexico Tech Week

Mexico Tech Week is a week of decentralized events in Mexico City that brings together entrepreneurs, startups, investors, corporates, and technology professionals for conferences, panels, workshops, and networking opportunities. In 2025, it drew more than 22,000 attendees across more than 400 events. The 2026 edition, powered by Tecnológico de Monterrey, takes place from October 26 to November 1; AI Fest was part of the AI House program, one of its four themed houses.