Addi raised 145 million dollars from Andreessen Horowitz to bring BNPL to Colombian and Brazilian retail — and exited Brazil, cut 25 percent of staff, and wrote down its valuation in 2022 when its credit book could not survive rising rates in markets with already-high consumer default rates.
Evaluating only Addi’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Unit economics as the #1 likely cause. That’s exactly how it died.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Addi founded
DOWN ROUND
Down round or bridge financing
SHUTDOWN
Zombie Startup: Addi ceases operations
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
Addi offered point-of-sale BNPL credit at Colombian and Brazilian retail stores. It raised $145M from Andreessen Horowitz, Monashees, and GIC at what sources valued at over $700M. BNPL economics are highly sensitive to interest rate cycles: funding costs rise while credit losses also rise in high-inflation environments. When Colombian and Brazilian rates spiked in 2022, Addi lost money on a large portion of its installment book. It exited Brazil, cut a quarter of its team, and has operated as a restructured zombie since.
Lesson
“BNPL in high-inflation markets must be stress-tested against simultaneous rises in funding cost and default rate — the model that generates returns at 2 percent rates generates losses at 10 percent rates.”