Hilos

Cover Block

Attribute	Value
Name	Hilos
Tagline	WhatsApp automation for lead profiling, follow-ups, and CRM integrations
Headquarters	Mexico City
Founded	2021
Stage	Exited
Business Model	SaaS
Industry	Other
Technology	Software (Non-AI)
Geography	Latin America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Alfonso Lizárraga [LinkedIn]
Funding Label	Seed

Links

• Website: https://hilos.io/en
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hilos-io/

What an Investor Needs First

Hilos automates business-to-consumer messaging on WhatsApp, a channel that dominates daily communication in Latin America, and its acquisition by marketing automation leader ActiveCampaign validates the strategic value of embedding this capability into a broader customer experience platform [activecampaign.com]. Founded in 2021 and accelerated through Y Combinator's S22 batch, the company built a no-code SaaS platform for lead capture, automated follow-ups, and CRM integration specifically for the WhatsApp Business API [hilos.io]. The product's core differentiation rests on its focus on the LATAM market and its design as an integrated inbox and flow builder [hilos.io].

Founder Alfonso Lizárraga's background is not detailed in public sources, but the YC selection and subsequent acquisition by a public company suggest early execution was recognized by sophisticated evaluators [LinkedIn]. The company raised an undisclosed seed round, with its ultimate exit providing a liquidity event for early backers while folding the technology into ActiveCampaign's product suite [hilos.io]. The business model is subscription SaaS, with pricing tiers based on features and message volume [hilos.io].

Over the next 12-18 months, the key watchpoint is how effectively ActiveCampaign integrates Hilos's WhatsApp-native workflows to create a true cross-channel automation leader, and whether the combined entity can use its LATAM beachhead to capture enterprise market share from global competitors [enterprisetimes.co.uk].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core product claims and acquisition are confirmed via primary company sources; founder background and financial details are limited.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Classification
Stage	Exited
Business Model	SaaS
Industry / Vertical	Other
Technology Type	Software (Non-AI)
Geography	Latin America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Funding	Seed

Inside the Company

Hilos operates as a SaaS platform for WhatsApp automation, founded in 2021 and based in Mexico City. Its participation in Y Combinator's Summer 2022 batch provides a clear early milestone [LinkedIn].

The company's primary public milestone is its acquisition by ActiveCampaign in 2025. The acquisition was announced via a press release from ActiveCampaign, which stated the deal was intended to strengthen its cross-channel marketing capabilities with native WhatsApp automation [activecampaign.com]. Following the acquisition, Hilos continues to operate with a focus on WhatsApp, now as part of a larger platform [hilos.io].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Key milestones (founding, YC, acquisition) are confirmed by primary sources, but detailed founding narrative and legal entity are not publicly available.

Under the Hood

Hilos offers a suite of tools built specifically on the WhatsApp Business API. The core product is a unified inbox that allows teams to manage all WhatsApp conversations from a single dashboard, with features for tagging contacts, assigning conversations to agents, and tracking statuses [hilos.io].

Beyond basic inbox management, the platform provides a visual flow builder for creating automated conversation sequences for lead qualification, customer support, and follow-up campaigns [hilos.io]. A key component of its value proposition is direct integration with popular CRM and marketing automation platforms, notably HubSpot and its parent company, ActiveCampaign [hilos.io].

The product's reliance on the official WhatsApp Cloud API [Hilos Docs] suggests a server-side architecture focused on scalability and compliance with Meta's platform policies. The acquisition by ActiveCampaign has introduced a new cross-platform capability, allowing the automation of WhatsApp messages directly from within ActiveCampaign's own workflow canvas [activecampaign.com].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product claims are sourced from the company's website and official documentation, but lack independent technical verification or detailed customer case studies.

Market Research

The market for business-to-consumer communication tools is being reshaped by a single application's dominance in Latin America. For startups like Hilos, this creates a specific, high-growth niche within the broader customer engagement software category.

Grand View Research estimated the global conversational commerce market size at $13.5 billion in 2023 and projects it to grow at a compound annual rate of 22.2% through 2030 [Grand View Research, 2023]. WhatsApp's penetration in Latin America is exceptionally high, with over 90% of internet users in countries like Brazil and Mexico using the platform [Statista, 2023]. The official WhatsApp Business API provides a regulated and scalable pathway for medium and large businesses to automate conversations. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital adoption across the region, cementing messaging as a primary channel for sales, support, and marketing [World Bank, 2022].

Metric	Value
Global Conversational Commerce (2023)	13.5 $B
Projected CAGR (2023-2030)	22.2 %

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market size and growth rate are cited from a third-party analyst report for an analogous, broader market. Regional WhatsApp penetration is from a named publisher. Specific TAM for WhatsApp Business solutions in LATAM is not publicly available from independent sources.

Competition and Substitutes

Hilos operates in a crowded field of messaging automation platforms, but its post-acquisition strategy carves out a specific niche within a larger ecosystem.

Company	Positioning	Stage / Funding	Notable Differentiator
Hilos	WhatsApp automation integrated into a broader marketing automation suite (ActiveCampaign).	Exited (Acquired by ActiveCampaign).	Native integration with ActiveCampaign's platform.
Wati	Enterprise WhatsApp API platform for customer engagement.	Series B ($23M).	Focus on large-scale customer support and commerce use cases.
Trengo	Omnichannel customer service inbox.	Venture capital-backed (€30M total).	Centralized agent inbox for multiple channels.
AiSensy	WhatsApp marketing and support automation.	Series A ($8M).	Deep penetration in India.

Hilos's current defensible edge is strategic, stemming from its acquisition. Its integration is now a native feature within ActiveCampaign, giving it immediate distribution to that platform's existing customer base. The primary risk is that this integration becomes a commodity, as other marketing automation giants rapidly develop or acquire similar capabilities.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitor data sourced from industry coverage; Hilos's post-acquisition positioning is confirmed by primary press release.

Opportunity

The prize for Hilos, now as a unit within ActiveCampaign, is to become the default enterprise-grade WhatsApp automation platform for mid-market and SMB businesses globally. ActiveCampaign's acquisition press release positioned the deal as a move to give businesses complete control of cross-channel marketing [ActiveCampaign].

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst
Bundled Upsell	Hilos becomes a standard, high-adoption feature within ActiveCampaign's core plans.	ActiveCampaign sales teams are incentivized to include WhatsApp automation.
LATAM Market Dominance	Hilos becomes the leading WhatsApp automation platform for Spanish-speaking businesses.	Use of local team expertise and WhatsApp's regional dominance.
Global API Standard	Hilos's technology becomes the preferred backend for large enterprises.	A major partnership or compliance certification.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Opportunity analysis is based on public acquisition announcements and product documentation. Growth scenarios are plausible extrapolations but lack public performance data post-integration.

Sources

1. [LinkedIn] Hilos (YC S22) | https://www.linkedin.com/company/hilos-io/
2. [activecampaign.com] ActiveCampaign Acquires WhatsApp Automation Platform Hilos | https://www.activecampaign.com/news/press-releases/activecampaign-acquires-whatsapp-automation-platform-hilos-to-give-businesses-complete-control-of-cross-channel-marketing
3. [hilos.io] Hilos Homepage | https://hilos.io/en
4. [hilos.io] Inbox for WhatsApp Business API | https://hilos.io/en/product/inbox
5. [hilos.io] Flows for WhatsApp | https://hilos.io/en/product/flows
6. [hilos.io] Hilos is joining ActiveCampaign! | https://hilos.io/en/blog/hilos-is-joining-activecampaign
7. [hilos.io] HubSpot Integration | https://hilos.io/en/integration/hubspot
8. [hilos.io] ActiveCampaign Integration | https://hilos.io/en/integration/activecampaign
9. [enterprisetimes.co.uk] ActiveCampaign strengthens WhatsApp capabilities through acquisition | https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2025/04/15/activecampaign-strengthens-whatsapp-capabilities-through-acquisition/
10. [Grand View Research, 2023] Conversational Commerce Market Size Report | https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/conversational-commerce-market-report
11. [Statista, 2023] WhatsApp usage penetration in Latin America | https://www.statista.com/statistics/
12. [World Bank, 2022] Digital Adoption in Latin America post-COVID-19 | https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/lac/publication/
13. [Crunchbase] Wati Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wati
14. [Crunchbase] Trengo Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/trengo
15. [Inc42] AiSensy raises Series A funding | https://inc42.com/buzz/aisensy-series-a-funding/
16. [ActiveCampaign] Powering Conversational Experiences with Native WhatsApp Automation | https://www.activecampaign.com/blog/activecampaign-acquires-hilos
17. [Hilos Docs] Introduction - Hilos Docs | https://hilos.io/docs/en/user/hilos-101/introduction
18. [TechCrunch, 2023] Customer.io acquires Wati | https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/31/customer-io-acquires-wati/