From Citibank Deals to Y Combinator Triumphs: How This Colombian Strategist Is Harnessing Voice AI to Slash Debt Collection Costs by 50% and Unlock Billions in Recoveries

- Gauri Singh

Money powers the world, but the way it works changes fast. AI now influences who gets credits, how startups raise money, and what investors choose next. It’s a shift that affects everyone, from big financial institutions to new entrepreneurs.

Felipe Cortés Bello learned to navigate this evolving landscape by blending solid finance fundamentals with a sharp understanding of tech: “We’re watching the biggest transition in finance since the internet. If you’re not paying attention to how AI is changing the industry, you’re already behind.”

Felipe spent his career proving that AI and machine learning can fundamentally reshape financial operations—from credit scoring to predictive modeling. Earlier in his career, this sought-after expert structured $550 million in infrastructure deals at Citibank, giving him a strong financial foundation he now blends with emerging technology. He recalls: “Citibank was where I learned discipline. There’s no room for guesswork when you’re dealing with hundreds of millions. That experience grounded everything I do now.”

Today, that discipline shaped his role as the 26-year-old CFO of Domu Technology, a Y Combinator–backed startup building licensed voice AI for debt collections. He has helped raise around $20 million and develop technology that could recover billions in unpaid loans.

More importantly, he uses AI to make collections both humane and efficient, cutting costs by half and reshaping how fintech companies think about profitability: “At the end of the day, it’s about using AI to solve a real economic problem. If you can unlock recoveries faster, you unlock growth. People assume collections are just calling people until they pay. But it’s really about timing, tone, and empathy. AI lets you deliver that at scale,” he explains.

Forged in Bogotá: A Foundation of Finance and Foresight

This sought-after finance expert’s entrepreneurial mindset began at an early age: “I always had this business mindset,” he recalls, noting that he sold candy in high school and coded video-game mods at 13. This mix of discipline and tech curiosity guided his entry into investment banking at MD Banca de Inversión. There, he helped close a $13.5 million acquisition of a meat processor with $50 million in revenue: “That was the first moment I realized finance could actually change how a company operated day to day,” he says.

Graduating from Universidad Externado de Colombia with a 4.4/5.0 GPA and Colombia's top ECAES finance score (99.5 percentile), he led the university's Investment Banking Division, mentoring 500 students on valuation and risk. He also spent two years as a Teaching Assistant in Financial Analysis, Portfolio Management, and Risk Management, helping early-semester students build technical foundations: “I didn’t come from money. I had to outwork everyone. Teaching forced me to master the material twice as deeply,” he shares.

Citibank Crucible: Mastering Mega-Deals in Volatile Markets

From 2023 to 2024, Felipe thrived as a Corporate & Investment Banking Analyst at Citibank, operating in one of Latin America’s most high-stakes financial environments. He led a $550 million syndicated loan rollover for Covioriente’s 266 km toll road concession, managing negotiations, building sensitivity models, and keeping the deal steady amid economic volatility: “You move capital to finance huge projects in third-world economies. That’s when I understood the weight of it,” he shares.

His fintech-focused work was just as crucial. Felipe managed a $9 million startup portfolio, helped raise $6 million for the AI lender Sempli, and completed a $60 million asset-backed securitization for Credivalores through Citi Social Finance. He also reviewed secured lending deals across new fintech companies. Such projects deepened his skills in AI-driven credit assessment and data-based underwriting, which he now applies at Domu. He explains how crucial those skills are in a fast-paced industry: “Working with fintechs showed me how fast things can be done when tech is involved. In banks, everything takes months. In startups, you solve things today.”

This highly regarded expert continued to build his strategic expertise through a $350 million refinancing for Sura Asset Management. He combined detailed credit analysis with forward-looking FP&A. He also worked on a $300 million tender offer for Nutresa minority shareholders under Grupo Sura, preparing the credit and repayment analyses needed for senior approval. Felipe described these deals as a turning point, saying: “Those Sura and Nutresa transactions forced me to think not just as an analyst but like someone managing risk for an entire institution.”

These experiences in securitizations, structured lending, and tech-enabled underwriting placed Felipe right at the meeting point of traditional banking and modern financial innovation. These show that he is one of those rare young strategists who can operate fluently in both traditional banking and AI-driven fintech. This combination is increasingly shaping how modern credit systems operate. As he puts it, “Citi was a battlefield. You learn to survive. You learn to think. And you learn that speed without accuracy kills deals.”

Y Combinator Catalyst: Voice AI as Fintech's Profit Engine

Felipe’s years in the trenches of high-pressure finance prepared him for what came next. After learning the discipline of Citi and the focus needed for complex deals, he was ready for an environment where speed and clear execution mattered even more. That next stage was Y Combinator.

The turning point came in August 2024. As interim CFO during Domu’s YC batch, Felipe led the company’s $4.5 million seed round: “I handle the whole process from start to finish, so a lot of it really depends on me,” he shares.

For Felipe, Domu is where his two worlds converge: “What I try to do is blend the discipline of classic finance with the speed of the tech shaping it.”

He also notes that his Wall Street–trained models helped value Domu’s recurring revenue from bank contracts: “YC forces you to compress five years of learning into three months. You either adapt or you drown,” he says.

During this time, he also built Domu’s FP&A, pricing strategy, and long-term financial plans, work he continued even after moving into an advisory role. He integrated AI tools directly into the FP&A process, making forecasts more accurate and helping the team model yield scenarios using large language models.

His biggest impact shows up in Domu’s core product. The company’s voice AI agents, LLMs trained to sound like top-performing collectors, follow rules like the FDCPA with 90% human-like empathy. They increase recovery rates by 25% and cut labor costs by half. Early U.S. pilots are already unlocking $5 million in assets every quarter, with room to scale across a $15 billion industry: “We’re changing the whole industry, replacing labor with evolution. Collectors aren’t the problem. The problem is scale. AI finally gives collections infinite scale,” he shares.

Domu’s early traction is now being cited by multiple fintech founders as proof that empathetic AI is commercially viable. This shows that Felipe’s work influences how the broader industry approaches compliance, automation, and customer experience.

At Domu, this shows up most clearly in his FP&A work, where he uses LLM-powered scenario planning to map yields against burn rates and support the company’s 40% CAGR SaaS growth: “I’m basically the bridge. I translate founder chaos into investor confidence,” he says. It’s the same mindset he brought to structuring project finance and M&A deals across Latin America and to building early tools like peer-reviewed market data aggregators.

Today, he continues to combine traditional platforms like Bloomberg and Capital IQ with AI-supported transaction strategies.

Early-stage founders are now actively adopting his approach of pairing disciplined modeling with AI-powered insights, a framework that many describe as a “new standard” for fundraising readiness.

Roman Montiel is a Treasury Coordinator at EnfraGen, LLC, which specializes in grid stability solutions and renewable energy assets (such as run-of-river hydro and solar plants) across Latin America.

He says of Felipe’s expertise: “He will do everything in his power to succeed and build new things, and has amazing entrepreneurial drive in finance and tech-driven projects.

"Felipe is a great operator; often people have a lot of ideas but only a few can operate to make them reality."

Roman adds: "He is highly reliable—you can be confident that Felipe will execute and get the job done. He is a strong team player, consistently focused on how he can support his team and help others excel."

Emilio Gnecco is an Investment Banking Professional who has known Felipe for nine years.

He believes Felip has a rare ability to bridge core finance, such as, modeling for M&A, covenants, with AI applications for efficiency.

Emilio recalls: “Felipe helped simplify these processes by applying AI and technology-driven solutions, bringing structure and efficiency to the workflow and reducing execution risk.

"In one transaction, Felipe automated the review of financial statements and the transcription of key information into Excel, significantly reducing manual work and improving accuracy."

"In another transaction, he developed a financial calculator for complex financial calculations, making the analysis faster, more consistent, and easier to use.”

Emilio adds: "Felipe consistently looks for ways to improve processes through technology while maintaining high professional standards. He is committed, takes ownership of his responsibilities, and is always willing to go the extra mile. "His collaborative approach helps teams perform better, especially under tight deadlines and high-pressure situations."

The CFO Visionary: Unlocking AI's Ethical Wealth Wave

Felipe leads with a simple philosophy: pair discipline with kindness. It’s a mindset that made him one of fintech’s most reputable voices. With AGI approaching, this sought-after expert advocates for upskilling rather than displacement, turning collections work from repetitive tasks into strategic roles:  “The market rewards the bold, let’s evolve together. AI shouldn’t replace people; it should free them to do higher-value work,” he explains.

From his early days in Citibank’s boardrooms to breakthrough wins at Y Combinator, Felipe moved beyond traditional CFO duties. Throughout his experiences, one thing stands out: transformation happens when technology serves people, not replaces them. His work at Domu proves that data can drive fairness, and that more intelligent systems can unlock opportunity for millions. As finance enters its most disruptive chapter yet, Felipe’s works are a reminder to use AI to lift, not limit, the human potential behind every transaction. In his words: “If you build systems that help people, the money follows. It always does.”

About Author: Gauri Singh is a content contributor with experience writing business and technology-focused articles for professional audiences. Her work covers leadership profiles, operational strategy, and emerging trends across industries. Gauri has contributed to long-form editorial content designed to present complex topics in a clear, structured, and accessible way. She works closely with editorial teams to ensure accuracy, clarity, and alignment with publication standards.