Calii

# Calii: Full-Stack Grocery Delivery in LatAm

High-Level Overview

Calii is a full-stack grocery delivery platform operating across Latin America that delivers ultra-fresh produce and thousands of grocery items to consumers' doorsteps in under two hours.[1][3] Founded by Stanford engineers David Eduardo Arrambide Montemayor and Maurizio Caló Caligaris, the company addresses a massive market opportunity: Latin America's $1 trillion grocery sector remains approximately 95% offline, representing one of the largest untapped digital commerce markets globally.[3][4]

The company's core mission centers on modernizing grocery shopping by eliminating inefficiencies and middlemen in the traditional supply chain. By connecting directly with producers and brands, Calii automates the food supply chain end-to-end while operating a network of micro-fulfillment centers across major cities.[1] This approach enables the company to deliver products at up to 40% lower prices than traditional supermarkets while reducing food waste by up to three times.[5] For consumers, Calii solves the dual problem of high grocery costs and limited freshness; for the broader food system, it addresses supply chain inefficiency and waste.

Origin Story

Calii was founded in March 2019 by two Stanford-educated engineers with deep technical expertise.[3] Maurizio Caló Caligaris brings particularly strong credentials—he worked as an early engineer at fintech unicorn Addepar, conducted deep learning research at Stanford AI Lab under Andrew Ng, and served as an instructor and teaching assistant in Stanford's computer science department.[4] This technical pedigree shaped the company's DNA from inception, emphasizing automation, machine learning, and data-driven supply chain optimization.

The founders spent the first 24 months perfecting their model, user experience, and unit economics across two initial markets before scaling more broadly.[3] This deliberate approach to market validation proved prescient; by 2022, Calii had raised nearly $35 million, including a $22.5 million Series A round co-led by Dalus Capital and JAM Fund, with participation from prominent venture firms including Forerunner Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, Y Combinator, and Base10 Partners.[2][3] The company was part of Y Combinator's Summer 2018 batch and has grown to a team of 750 employees operating from Monterrey, Mexico.[4]

Core Differentiators

Calii's competitive advantage rests on several interconnected technical and operational strengths:

Full-Stack Integration. Unlike marketplace models that aggregate existing retailers, Calii owns the entire value chain—from direct producer relationships through to last-mile delivery.[1] This vertical integration eliminates intermediaries and their associated markups, enabling both cost savings and quality control.

Technology-Driven Operations. The platform leverages automated micro-fulfillment centers, digitized picking and packing systems, machine learning algorithms for SKU selection, and big data for demand forecasting.[3] This automation reduces human error, accelerates fulfillment, and optimizes inventory turnover.

Speed and Freshness. Delivery in under two hours with optimal temperature control ensures produce arrives at peak freshness.[5] This speed advantage is particularly valuable in Latin America, where traditional grocery shopping remains a weekly ritual rather than a convenience-driven behavior.

Pricing Power. By cutting out middlemen and inefficiencies, Calii delivers savings of up to 40% compared to traditional supermarkets while maintaining superior product quality.[5] This pricing advantage is critical in price-sensitive Latin American markets.

Competitive Positioning. Calii differentiates itself from three categories of competitors: marketplace models like Cornershop (acquired by Uber), quick commerce players like Jokr and Rappi Turbo, and full-grocery platforms like Jüsto and Merqueo.[3] Calii's unique positioning combines the breadth of traditional grocers with the speed of quick commerce and the efficiency of direct sourcing.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Calii operates at the intersection of three powerful trends reshaping Latin American commerce: the digital transformation of offline retail, the rise of supply chain automation, and the growing consumer demand for convenience and sustainability.

The timing is particularly favorable. Latin America's grocery market remains stubbornly offline—less than 5% of retail grocery sales occur online—compared to significantly higher penetration in North America and Europe.[3] This gap represents not a market weakness but a massive greenfield opportunity. As smartphone penetration and digital payment adoption accelerate across the region, consumer behavior is shifting rapidly toward on-demand services. COVID-19 temporarily accelerated this trend, and while some normalization has occurred, the underlying structural shift toward digital grocery shopping persists.

Calii's emphasis on reducing food waste and improving supply chain efficiency also aligns with growing environmental consciousness among Latin American consumers and regulatory pressure on food systems. By reducing waste by up to three times, the company positions itself as both a convenience play and a sustainability solution—a dual value proposition increasingly important to younger, urban consumers.

The company's success also influences the broader Latin American startup ecosystem by demonstrating that full-stack, vertically integrated models can compete effectively against marketplace aggregators. This validates a different approach to e-commerce in emerging markets, where direct control over supply chains and last-mile logistics often proves more efficient than pure platform models.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Calii is well-positioned to capture significant market share in Latin America's nascent digital grocery sector. The company's technical sophistication, strong founding team, and substantial venture backing provide the resources needed to scale across multiple markets while maintaining unit economics.

The primary challenges ahead involve execution at scale—expanding the micro-fulfillment center network efficiently, managing supply chain complexity across diverse geographies, and defending against well-capitalized competitors. Rappi, with its massive funding and existing logistics infrastructure, represents a particularly formidable competitor, as does the potential entry of global players like Amazon or Alibaba into Latin American grocery delivery.

Looking forward, Calii's trajectory will likely depend on three factors: (1) achieving profitability and positive unit economics at scale, (2) expanding beyond major urban centers into secondary cities where logistics costs are higher, and (3) potentially expanding into adjacent categories like prepared meals or household goods to increase order frequency and basket size.

If successful, Calii could become the dominant grocery delivery platform in Latin America—effectively the "next-generation Amazon" for the region that its founders envision. More broadly, the company represents a model for how emerging market e-commerce can leapfrog developed market approaches by building vertically integrated, technology-first platforms optimized for local conditions rather than simply importing North American or European playbooks.