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MercadoLibre, Inc.

E-Commerce MarketplaceFounded 1999
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Founders

Who Founded MercadoLibre?

Marcos Galperin, Hernan Kazah · Founded 1999 · HQ today: Montevideo, Uruguay

Who founded MercadoLibre?

MercadoLibre was founded by Marcos Galperin, Hernan Kazah in 1999 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is now led by Ariel Szarfsztejn.

Founders
Marcos Galperin, Hernan Kazah
Founded
1999
Headquarters
Montevideo, Uruguay
Number of founders
2
Current CEO
Ariel Szarfsztejn (since 2026)
Where was MercadoLibre founded?
MercadoLibre was founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1999. en.wikipedia.org
When was MercadoLibre founded?
MercadoLibre was founded in 1999.
Who started MercadoLibre?
MercadoLibre was founded by Marcos Galperin and Hernan Kazah.
How old is MercadoLibre?
MercadoLibre is 27 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

In 1999, Marcos Galperin was finishing his MBA at Stanford when he offered to drive investor John Muse, of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, to the airport after a campus talk. On the ride he pitched an online marketplace for Latin America, and Muse became an early backer. Galperin returned to Buenos Aires, recruited classmate Hernan Kazah and others, and launched MercadoLibre in August 1999 from a garage. Funding from investors including JPMorgan Partners and Hicks Muse followed later that year.

Marcos Galperin

Background

Galperin earned an economics degree from the Wharton School and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he wrote the plan for MercadoLibre in 1999.

Role at MercadoLibre, Inc.

Marcos Galperin is an Argentine entrepreneur who founded MercadoLibre in 1999 and was its CEO for more than 26 years. He led it through the dot-com crash, the 2001 eBay deal, the 2007 NASDAQ IPO and the build-out of Mercado Pago and Mercado Envios. On January 1, 2026, he handed the CEO role to Ariel Szarfsztejn and became executive chairman.

Marcos Galperin was born in 1971 in Buenos Aires. Education: St. Andrew's Scots School.

Hernan Kazah

Background

Kazah was a Stanford GSB classmate of Galperin and co-founded MercadoLibre with him in 1999.

Role at MercadoLibre, Inc.

Hernan Kazah co-founded MercadoLibre and held senior operating and finance roles during its first decade. He left around 2011 and co-founded Kaszek Ventures, one of Latin America's best-known venture capital firms. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

MercadoLibre, Inc.: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Ariel Szarfsztejn

Chief Executive Officer

2026 – Present

As President of Commerce, he is the absolute driving operational force behind MercadoLibre's dominance, ensuring it can deliver packages faster than Amazon across the incredibly complex terrain of Latin America.

Marcos Galperin

Founder & CEO (now Executive Chairman)

1999 – 2025

Led the company for more than 26 years before becoming executive chairman on January 1, 2026.

Compare MercadoLibre, Inc. Leadership With Competitors

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Keep researching MercadoLibre

Who Founded MercadoLibre? FAQ

How did Marcos Galperin pitch MercadoLibre while a student at Stanford?

In 1999, while finishing his Stanford MBA, Marcos Galperin drove investor John Muse to the airport after a campus talk and pitched him on an online marketplace for Latin America. Muse became an early backer.

Who were the early angel investors who backed MercadoLibre in 1999?

Following John Muse's initial seed check, Galperin and Kazah raised $7.6 million in November 1999 from blue-chip institutional investors including JPMorgan Partners, Flatiron Partners, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, and Goldman Sachs, fueling rapid regional expansion across Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.

What was eBay's strategic partnership and 19.5% equity stake in 2001?

In September 2001, eBay acquired a 19.5% equity stake in MercadoLibre in exchange for transferring its Brazilian subsidiary (iBazar) to MercadoLibre and agreeing not to compete in the region. This landmark deal eliminated a well-funded rival and provided MercadoLibre with eBay's technical and operational expertise.

Why did eBay eventually sell its stake in MercadoLibre in 2016?

In October 2016, eBay sold its remaining 18% equity stake in MercadoLibre for over $1.0 billion to unlock capital for its domestic operations. The transaction generated a very large return of over 20x for eBay and established MercadoLibre as a fully independent market leader.

What were the humble beginnings of MercadoLibre in the Saavedra garage?

MercadoLibre's first office was located in a damp underground parking garage belonging to Galperin's family leather business in Saavedra, Buenos Aires. The founders worked without windows on makeshift folding tables, coding the initial platform with a small team of engineers.

How did the founders adapt the US marketplace model to Latin America's unique hurdles?

The founders recognized that the US e-commerce playbook could not be copied directly. Latin America lacked reliable postal delivery, credit card penetration was under 20%, and consumer distrust in digital transactions was high. The founders systematically built Mercado Pago and Mercado Envíos to solve these structural barriers.

What happened to the rival Latin American startups founded during the dot-com boom?

Dozens of well-funded competitors (such as Submarino, Lokau, and DeRemate) launched in 1999 to 2000. MercadoLibre outmaneuvered and consolidated rivals, eventually acquiring DeRemate's operations in 2008 to cement absolute marketplace supremacy.

How did the Stanford GSB alumni network support MercadoLibre's early success?

The Stanford network provided Galperin and Kazah with top technical advisors, venture capital introductions, and key early executive hires, creating an entrepreneurial Silicon Valley culture within a Latin American corporate enterprise.

Who founded MercadoLibre?

It was founded by Marcos Galperin. His massive genius was survival. In 2001, the global Dot-Com bubble burst, destroying thousands of startups. Galperin desperately secured a massive partnership with eBay (where eBay bought a 19.5% stake in MercadoLibre). This massive alliance prevented eBay from entering Latin America as a competitor, completely securing MercadoLibre's absolute regional monopoly for a decade.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.