# Carlos García Ottati

> Venezuelan entrepreneur Carlos García Ottati is the Mexico City-based cofounder and CEO of Kavak, a used-car buying, selling, reconditioning, and financing business founded in 2016. His career spans Amazon, McKinsey, and Linio; Kavak became Mexico’s first technology unicorn in 2020 and subsequently underwent operational and financial restructuring.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Kavak
- **Organizations:** Kavak, Linio, McKinsey & Company, Amazon
- **From:** Caracas, Venezuela
- **Nationality:** Venezuelan
- **Education:** MBA, University of Oxford, Saïd Business School, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello
- **Known for:** Cofounded Kavak in 2016., Led Kavak as it became Mexico’s first technology unicorn in 2020.

## Career timeline

- **Childhood** — Started a lawn care business at age twelve.
- **2010-2011** — Completed an Oxford MBA.
- **Before Kavak** — Worked at Amazon and McKinsey, then served as Linio’s chief marketplace officer.
- **2016** — Cofounded Kavak with Loreanne García Ottati and Roger Laughlin.
- **2020** — Kavak became Mexico’s first technology unicorn.
- **2022** — Announced spending cuts and a reduced team amid a difficult economic outlook.
- **2025** — Kavak raised insider equity at a reported $2.2 billion valuation.
- **2026** — Announced a $300 million Series F and discussed Kavak’s adoption of AI agents.

## Achievements

- Cofounded Kavak in 2016.
- Led Kavak as it became Mexico’s first technology unicorn in 2020.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Kavak announced a $300 million Series F on February 17.
- **2026-02** — Discussed the transition from AI copilots to agents on the a16z podcast.
- **2026-03** — Returned to Cracks for episode 373, discussing setbacks, leadership, and AI.

## Links

- Website: https://www.kavak.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlosjuliogarciaottati/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/carlosjgarciao
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlosjgarciao/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/carlos-garcia-ottati
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-07