AI agents for logistics: why Chilean startup SmartUp is opening an office in the United States
SmartUp, which builds AI agents for logistics, is opening an office in Atlanta and aims to sell US$10 million in 12 months. Why it chose the United States and how it plans to grow.
· 3 min read
SmartUp, a Chilean startup that builds AI agents for logistics, will open a sales office in Atlanta, in the United States. CEO and co-founder Max Mardones will move there to lead the expansion, while the engineering team stays in Chile, Diario Financiero reported. The goal is to sell US$10 million over the next 12 months.
US$10 M
Sales target
over the next 12 months
3 times
Average deal in the US
the Latin American one
1/3
Sales cycle in the US
of the Latin American one
Source: Diario Financiero, November 2, 2026
View the data as a table
| Sales target | US$10 M | over the next 12 months |
| Average deal in the US | 3 times | the Latin American one |
| Sales cycle in the US | 1/3 | of the Latin American one |
What SmartUp’s AI agents for logistics do
An AI agent is a program that does not just answer questions but carries out tasks: it reads an email, understands an order, enters it into the system and flags anything missing. SmartUp applies that idea to distribution and supply companies. Forbes Chile, which included two of its founders in its 2025 30 Under 30 list, described its product as an AI system that automates order taking.
The company was founded in 2023, when Max Mardones and Daniel Sateler dropped out of their computer engineering studies after GPT-4 was released. The founding team is completed by Daniel Goldfarb and Alan Ben-Dov. It has taken part in startup support programs from Nvidia, Anthropic, Amazon Web Services and Endeavor Chile, and received about US$400,000 from US angel investor Chris Klaus.
To understand how other companies are using this technology, see our guide to AI in business.
Why the United States: faster sales and bigger deals
SmartUp had already been selling in the United States for two years through a local partner, but demand picked up over the past six months. Mardones gave two reasons for the move, according to DF:
- Sales cycles are a third as long as in Latin America.
- The average deal is three times larger.
Put another way: in the time it takes to close one sale in the region, three can be closed in the United States, and each one is worth three times as much. For a startup selling AI agents for logistics, that changes how fast it can grow.
The choice of Atlanta comes down to customers. The logistics and supply companies SmartUp is targeting are concentrated in the southeastern United States, a region where the sector is growing strongly.
How it plans to sell: partnerships before one-by-one customers
The sales plan has two parts:
- A small, senior team. It will hire three people in Atlanta with a consulting profile and board experience, able to handle an account from the sale through to ongoing support.
- Partnerships with software vendors. Instead of chasing customers one by one, SmartUp is prioritizing deals with companies that sell inventory and warehouse management systems, which have already referred customers to it.
At the same time, it is talking to Atlanta investment funds about raising a new round. The amount has not been disclosed.
What it means for you
- If you run a B2B startup: SmartUp’s case shows that sales cycle and average deal size can matter more than market size when choosing where to expand. Run those numbers for your own business before opening an office.
- If you work in logistics: AI agents for logistics are already sold as products for specific tasks, such as taking orders. It is worth identifying which repetitive tasks in your operation could be automated.
- If you want to grow without a big sales team: partnering with software vendors that already serve your customers can open doors faster than direct sales.
Sources
- AI agents for logistics
- SmartUp
- Chilean startups
- international expansion
- United States
- artificial intelligence