GUADALAJARA SHOWED UP
CodeLaunch LATAM returned to Mexico on October 14, bringing the region’s startup community together at Conjunto Santander de Artes Escénicas for a night built around competition, technology, entertainment, and real product acceleration.
More than 125 startups from across Latin America applied for the opportunity. By Championship Night, only six remained.
Founders, investors, technologists, partners, and startup supporters came together in Guadalajara to see those six companies take the stage after months of competition and preparation.
But the work started long before the first pitch.
Each finalist spent the days leading into the Championship working side-by-side with an Improving Professional Coder League team, building and refining real technology during the CodeLaunch Hackathon.
Then the lights came up.
And it was time to see who would become the 2026 CodeLaunch LATAM Champion.
THE SIX FINALISTS COMPETING AT CODELAUNCH LATAM 2026
This year’s LATAM cohort brought together six startups tackling challenges across city technology, mental performance, relationships, insurance, business intelligence, and marketing.
Each arrived in Guadalajara with a different vision, but all six went through the same CodeLaunch acceleration process: working directly with experienced technologists to move their products forward before taking the stage.
POLISPLEXITY
Founder: Edgar Valdés Porras
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Website: polisplexity.tech
Polisplexity is building an urban intelligence platform that uses AI, digital twins, data infrastructure, and simulation to help cities understand complex systems and make better decisions.
NERU APP
Founder: Daniel Gonzalez
Location: Puebla, Mexico
Website: neruintegral.com
Neru App focuses on the mental side of athletic performance, giving athletes tools to train their minds with the same consistency they bring to physical training.
VIOLETTA
Founder: Sara Kalach
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Website: holasoyvioletta.com
Violetta is building an AI-powered relationship platform designed to provide personalized, continuous relationship guidance, with a particular focus on Spanish-speaking users.
CGURO
Founder: Raul Nunez
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Website: cguro.com.mx
CGURO is tackling one of the most frustrating parts of the auto insurance process by helping customers access money faster instead of waiting months for an insurance payout.
LENAIA
Founder: Francisco Manuel Alarcon Rodas
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
Website: aurora-lab.tech
Lenaia is an AI-powered SaaS platform helping small and growing businesses centralize sales and inventory data and turn it into actionable business intelligence.
MEASURABLE
Founder: Luis Fernando Aragon Revilla
Location: Zapopan, Mexico
Website: measureableapp.com
MEASURABLE is an AI-powered marketing report generator designed to automate monthly client reporting and give marketing agencies more time to focus on strategy and results.
By the time the six founders arrived at Conjunto Santander, the development work was behind them.
Now they had to win the room.
LET THE COMPETITION BEGIN
The CodeLaunch LATAM bracket put the six finalists head-to-head in front of a live audience.
Each founder had just minutes to explain the problem they were solving, show what their team had built, and make the case for why their startup deserved to advance.
But the audience wasn’t there just to watch. Through CodeLaunch’s live voting experience through Launch Kings, attendees played a direct role in determining which startups moved forward.
With each pitch, the stakes grew, and every audience vote helped shape the path toward crowning a champion. With a spot at the CodeLaunch World Championship on the line, every vote mattered.
GUIDING THE COMPETITION
Helping lead the night was Rajiv Nathan, Startup Hypeman and CodeLaunch emcee, bringing his signature energy to the CodeLaunch LATAM stage.
At the judges table were Nayeli Flores Morales, CEO and Founder of Elevated Mindset, and Marco Villaseñor, Co-Founder of Redwood Capital Partners.
Together, the judges evaluated the finalists from the business and investment side of the competition while the live audience determined its own path through the bracket.
THE LIGHTNING ROUND
After the opening rounds, only three startups remained:
Seguro
Neru
violetta
Each returned to the stage for one final opportunity to make their case, sharpen their message, and earn the audience’s support with a place in the championship outcome on the line.
The Lightning Round raised the stakes even further, putting the final three head-to-head as the audience prepared to make its last round of votes.
AND THE CODELAUNCH LATAM 2026 CHAMPIONSHIP GOES TO… violetta
🏆 violetta
Founder: Sara Kalach
After advancing through the live competition and earning the support of the audience, Violetta captured the Championship and secured its place at the 2026 CodeLaunch World Championship in Dallas.
For Sara, the victory means Violetta will now represent LATAM on CodeLaunch’s global stage alongside the other champions and top startups from across the 2026 season.
But the founder competition wasn’t finished yet.
violetta SWEEPS THE NIGHT
The live audience had its champion.
The judges had an opportunity to recognize theirs.
The CodeLaunch LATAM judging panel also selected Violetta as the 2026 Judges Champion.
The decision completed a clean sweep for Violetta, earning recognition from both the live audience and the judges evaluating the company from a business and investment perspective.
BEHIND THE FOUNDERS: THE PCL HACKATHON CHAMPIONSHIP
The founders may own the stage, but CodeLaunch starts long before Championship Night.
In the days leading up to the event, each finalist worked side-by-side with an Improving Professional Coder League team during the CodeLaunch Hackathon. These teams helped build, refine, and strengthen real technology that founders could carry directly into their Championship Night pitches.
After two intensive days of development, one team stood above the rest.
💻 bugbusters
Representing: Violetta
Team Members:
Africa Soto
Alfonso Noguez
Oscar Vargus
Bugbusters, Violetta’s Improving Professional Coder League team, were named the CodeLaunch LATAM 2026 Hackathon Champions, successfully defending the title they won at last year’s event.
Their back-to-back championship adds another layer to Violetta’s dominant night and highlights the strength of the collaboration between the startup and its PCL team.
Together, they helped deliver a full sweep for Violetta across the night’s major awards: CodeLaunch LATAM Champion, Judges’ Champion, and Hackathon Champion.
MORE THAN A PITCH COMPETITION
That’s always been the difference with CodeLaunch.
Founders don’t simply arrive, pitch for a few minutes, and go home.
They build alongside professional technologists. They receive direct feedback. They connect with investors, partners, and other founders. And they leave with real progress behind their companies — all without CodeLaunch taking cash or equity.
CodeLaunch LATAM brought all of those pieces together in Guadalajara.
The night started with networking across the LATAM startup ecosystem before RajNATION brought live music to Conjunto Santander. Then the competition took center stage, combining founder stories, technology, live audience participation, and championship stakes into one show.
It wasn’t just startup competition. It was Live Venturetainment.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
For Violetta, Guadalajara was only the beginning.
As the 2026 CodeLaunch LATAM Champion, they now head to Dallas for the CodeLaunch World Championship on November 11.
There, the stakes get even bigger.
The best startups from across the 2026 CodeLaunch season will come together for one final competition with at least $50,000 in investment capital on the line.
The LATAM Championship has been decided.
Now it’s time to see what Violetta can do on the world stage.
Join us at the CodeLaunch World Championship:
https://luma.com/WC26
And the journey doesn’t end with the champion.
Polisplexity, Neru App, Violetta, CGURO, Lenaia, and Measurable leave this year’s competition with new technology, new relationships, greater exposure, and momentum they can carry far beyond the CodeLaunch stage.
For the PCL teams behind them, the experience is another reminder that some of the biggest wins at CodeLaunch happen before the lights ever come on.
THANK YOU, GUADALAJARA
Another CodeLaunch LATAM is in the books.
Huge thanks to our founders, Improving Professional Coder League teams, judges, partners, sponsors, investors, and everyone who joined us at Conjunto Santander and helped make the 2026 Championship what it was.
More than 125 startups began this journey.
Six made it to Guadalajara.
And now LATAM has its champion.
Next stop: the CodeLaunch World Championship. 🚀