Platanus: funding, terms & how to apply
LatAm's founder-run YC — a $200K-for-7% batch built by Chilean founders for Latin American startups, with alumni like Toku and Fintoc validating the model.
Investment
$200K for 7%
Equity
7% equity, invested on acceptance
Program length
3 months
Format
Hybrid
Deadlines
2 batches/year
Acceptance rate
Not published
Facts last checked 2026-08-26. Deals and dates change — the official site is always the source of truth for the current application window.
What Platanus actually is
Platanus runs the YC playbook natively for Latin America: batches twice a year, $200K for 7% invested at acceptance, and a partner group of operating founders rather than career investors. Its portfolio — Toku, Fintoc, Examedi — has become the young reference class of Chilean and regional startups, several of which went on to YC and US rounds.
It's the natural first institutional check for Spanish-speaking LatAm founders at idea/pre-seed: regional pattern recognition, a founder community concentrated in the region's real markets, and terms transparent enough to plan around.
What they look for
The bar you need to clear before the application is worth sending.
LatAm founders at idea to pre-seed stage.
Technical founding teams — the community skews builder-heavy.
Fintech and SaaS pattern-match the portfolio, but generalists apply.
Ambition beyond a single country's market.
Before you apply
Most rejections happen before the interview — in the application itself
Every question Platanus asks — problem, traction, business model, team, market size — maps to work you can finish first. Build your startup profile in StartupKit, run the readiness score, and walk into the application with real answers instead of blank fields. Free, no card.
Build your startup profile freeApplication FAQ
What is Platanus's deal?
US$200K for 7% equity, invested when you're accepted — a deliberately simple, YC-style standard applied across the batch.
How often do batches run?
Twice a year, run hybrid across Latin America from its Santiago base.
Platanus or Start-Up Chile?
They stack: Start-Up Chile's grants are equity-free co-funding, Platanus is a real equity check with a batch network. Many regional founders take the grant early and the Platanus check when ready to commit to venture scale.
Similar programs
Start-Up Chile
Latin America · Equity-free grant (co-funded; higher rate for female founders)
The original government accelerator — equity-free grants from Chile's CORFO across three tracks (Build, Ignite, Growth), open to founders worldwide willing to build from Santiago.
Y Combinator
North America · 7% on the $125K; the $375K SAFE converts at your next round
The accelerator every other accelerator is measured against — $500K on founder-friendly terms, four batches a year in San Francisco, and the strongest alumni network in tech.
Iterative
Asia-Pacific · Invested in full on admission; no program fees
Southeast Asia's YC analog — founded by YC alumni, running twice-yearly remote-first batches with $150K–500K checks for founders from Jakarta to Manila to Ho Chi Minh City.