Cinepapaya is a technology company.
Cinepapaya has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round.
Cinepapaya has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Cinepapaya has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Cinepapaya's investors include Scale-Up Ventures.
Cinepapaya is a technology company that built an online and mobile platform for movie ticketing, targeting emerging markets with a focus on Latin America.[1][2][3] It enables customers to purchase movie tickets, view showtimes, access promotions, and read movie news via web and mobile apps, while offering B2B e-commerce solutions for cinema partners.[1][3][4] The company solved the gap in digital ticketing in underserved regions, raised $2.05M in funding, expanded to over 12 South American countries and eventually 29 countries across Latin America, Europe, the South Pacific, and Asia, before being acquired by Fandango in December 2016.[1][6]
Cinepapaya was founded in 2012 in Lima, Peru, originally as Papaya, by Manuel (full name not specified in sources) with a background in movie distribution and production from tech roles in the US and Europe.[1] He returned to Peru to address local market needs, initially creating a database that the team pivoted into an online ticketing platform after spotting untapped opportunities in Latin America's fragmented movie ticketing space.[1] Gary Urteaga incubated it in 2011 within Holosens, his IT development firm, via an innovation grant, marking early traction as a Peruvian startup success that scaled regionally.[1][5]
Cinepapaya rode the wave of mobile commerce and digital transformation in emerging markets, particularly Latin America's entertainment sector, where online ticketing filled a void in fragmented, cash-heavy cinema operations.[1][2] Timing aligned with smartphone penetration growth in the early 2010s, enabling scalable B2B solutions that boosted cinema revenues and user convenience across South America and beyond.[1][6] It influenced the ecosystem by pioneering turn-key e-commerce for entertainment in developing regions, paving the way for similar platforms and inspiring pivots like founder Manuel's later Keynua for notary services.[1]
Post-2016 acquisition by Fandango, Cinepapaya's technology likely integrated into larger global ticketing networks, enhancing Fandango's emerging markets presence amid rising streaming competition and live events demand.[1] Future trends like AI-driven personalization and immersive experiences (e.g., akin to RushTix) could evolve its legacy, while LatAm's digital economy growth sustains demand for such platforms.[1] Its story underscores how targeted tech solves regional pain points, potentially amplifying influence through acquirer's expansions in multilingual, multi-region entertainment.
Cinepapaya has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Series A in October 2014.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2014 | $2.0M Series A | Scale-Up Ventures |