Parque Arauco is driving the future of retail with Latin American startups, reaffirming its position as one of the most innovative players in real estate retail in Latin America by announcing the five winners of its Startup Challenge 2025. This open innovation program is already establishing itself as a key platform for connecting real business challenges with entrepreneurial talent from the region and around the world. More than just a competition, this initiative represents a strategic commitment to transforming operations, sustainability, and the visitor experience at its shopping centers in Chile, Peru, and Colombia.
The announcement was made in January 2026, following a highly competitive process that attracted 117 applications from 25 countries , reflecting the growing interest of the global ecosystem in collaborating with one of the leading companies in the sector. From this diverse pool of proposals, five startups from Chile, Argentina, and Peru were selected , whose solutions stand out for their applicability, scalability, and alignment with Parque Arauco's strategic objectives.
Innovation as the cornerstone of regional growth
In a context where shopping centers face the challenge of reinventing themselves in the face of more digitally savvy, conscious, and demanding consumers, Parque Arauco has opted for a clear vision: innovation is not an isolated project, but a continuous process integrated into the business . The Startup Challenge was born precisely from this conviction, seeking to go beyond technological exploration to advance toward the validation and scaling of solutions with tangible impact.
Francisco Letelier Ballocchi, Corporate Manager of Technology and Digital Transformation at Parque Arauco, sums it up succinctly: open innovation is fundamental to achieving business objectives and enhancing the shopping center experience. For the company, this program not only allows them to learn about new technologies, but also to test them in real-world environments , measure results, and decide on their larger-scale deployment once they generate proven value.
This vision connects digital transformation with concrete operational and environmental challenges, demonstrating that innovation, when well focused, has a direct impact on people, business efficiency, and long-term sustainability.
A rigorous process with a strategic vision
The Startup Challenge 2025 was developed in conjunction with INNSPIRAL , a firm specializing in corporate innovation, which assisted Parque Arauco in designing a structured, transparent, and results-oriented process. Unlike other innovation programs, this challenge did not begin with generic ideas, but rather with two strategic problems clearly defined by the company.
The first of these pillars was the Phygital Experience , a concept that seeks to seamlessly integrate the physical and digital worlds. The goal is to improve customer relationships, strengthen loyalty, and move toward a deeply personalized visitor journey by combining data, technology, and face-to-face interaction.
The second focus was on Water Efficiency , a key challenge for a company with multiple real estate assets in the region. Here, the emphasis is on smarter, more traceable, and more sustainable water consumption management, allowing for optimized resource use, reduced operating costs, and a stronger environmental performance of the shopping centers.
These challenges reflect two clear priorities for the future of retail: improving the customer experience and operating more sustainably , without losing efficiency or competitiveness.
An entrepreneurial ecosystem at the service of retail
The response from the entrepreneurial ecosystem exceeded expectations. The more than one hundred proposals received showcased a wide diversity of approaches, technologies, and business models, confirming that opening challenges to the global market allows access to solutions that would be difficult to develop solely from within the organization.
For Parque Arauco, this diversity is a strength. The company understands that innovation doesn't happen in isolation and that collaborating with startups allows for faster, more flexible, and more creative progress. At the same time, startups find in the program a unique opportunity: to test their solutions on real assets, with the support of a large-scale regional company .
From selection to action: pilots in key shopping centers
One of the elements that sets the Startup Challenge apart from other similar initiatives is its practical focus. The selection of the five startups doesn't mark the end of the process, but rather the beginning of an even more important phase: the development and implementation of pilot projects in the company's strategic shopping centers.
Currently, Parque Arauco and the winning startups are already progressing through concrete stages of design and implementation. The pilot projects will be run at various properties in the region, allowing for the evaluation of the solutions' performance in real and diverse contexts.
In Colombia, Delfi and Somos Wallet 's solutions will be tested at Parque La Colina . In Chile, Zensi will have its pilot program at Parque Arauco Kennedy , while Remote Waters will do so at Arauco Maipú . In Peru, Energy Cloud will be implemented at Larcomar , one of the country's most iconic shopping malls.
This regional approach allows for comparing results, adapting solutions to different markets, and laying the groundwork for eventual scaling to other portfolio assets.
The winners and their transformative proposals
Phygital Experience: Connecting the Physical and the Digital
In the Phygital Experience challenge, two startups were selected that approach customer relationships from complementary perspectives.
Delfi , an Argentinian startup, specializes in AI-powered phygital experiences. Its solution generates personalized recommendations, automates commercial content, and enhances brand-consumer interaction within retail environments. Through data analysis and AI, Delfi aims to make each visit more relevant and contextualized for the customer.
Meanwhile, Somos Wallet , from Chile, proposes transforming Apple Wallet and Google Wallet into an active channel for customer loyalty and communication. Its platform allows for the delivery of digital benefits, the activation of contextual notifications, and the connection of physical experiences with real-time digital activations. In this way, the visitor's smartphone becomes an extension of the shopping center, facilitating a continuous and personalized relationship.
Both solutions aim for the same goal: to deepen the bond between the shopping center and its visitors , using technology as an enabler of more memorable and efficient experiences.
Water efficiency: sustainability with operational impact
In the Water Efficiency challenge, three Chilean and Peruvian startups were selected that address water use from different angles, but with a common denominator: the optimization of the resource.
Zensi , based in Chile, offers a smart water and energy consumption monitoring solution using sensors and real-time analytics platforms. Its technology detects anomalies, anticipates leaks, and improves operational control, providing key information for more efficient management.
Remote Waters , also a Chilean company, focuses on the management, treatment, and reuse of greywater. Its proposal is based on a circular economy model that seeks to reduce potable water consumption within shopping centers, aligning with long-term environmental objectives.
Finally, Energy Cloud , from Peru, provides an intelligent resource management platform that centralizes water consumption data, analyzes usage patterns, and delivers optimization recommendations. This solution supports strategic decision-making and strengthens corporate sustainability policies.
Taken together, these three proposals reflect how technology can be a key ally in addressing one of the major environmental challenges in the real estate and commercial sector.
Innovation with real and measurable impact
One of the guiding principles of the Startup Challenge is the pursuit of real and measurable impact . Each pilot project will be developed progressively, following a methodology that includes design, execution, and measurement stages, in close coordination between the Parque Arauco teams and the startups.
This approach allows for the evaluation of clear indicators, the adjustment of solutions based on the results, and informed decisions regarding scaling. It's not about innovation for innovation's sake, but about integrating solutions that deliver concrete value to the business, customers, and the environment .
Ricardo Cea, Partner and Senior Project Manager at INNSPIRAL, emphasizes that the Startup Challenge is an example of how innovation generates impact when it connects directly with a company's strategic challenges. For him, the process developed with Parque Arauco demonstrates that it is possible to link large corporations with startups effectively, systematically, and with tangible results.
A replicable model for the future of retail
Beyond the specific pilot projects, the Startup Challenge 2025 offers a key lesson for the industry: collaboration between corporations and startups is a replicable and scalable model , capable of accelerating the transformation of retail in Latin America.
In a sector facing profound changes in consumption habits, digitalization, and sustainability demands, initiatives like this allow for faster experimentation, learning, and evolution. Parque Arauco not only adopts technology but also builds an innovation ecosystem that involves entrepreneurs, employees, and customers.
This approach positions the company as a regional benchmark, not only because of the size of its portfolio, but also because of its ability to anticipate the future and adapt to it.
Looking ahead
With pilot projects underway and a successful second edition of the Startup Challenge, Parque Arauco is sending a clear message to the market: open innovation is here to stay. The company will continue exploring new collaboration opportunities, focusing on challenges where technology, sustainability, and customer experience converge.
In an increasingly competitive environment, this strategy not only strengthens its current operation, but also lays the foundation for the future growth and relevance of its shopping centers in the region.