<s>
MercadoLibre	B-Application
,	I-Application
Inc	I-Application
.	I-Application
(	O
literally	O
"	O
free	O
market	O
"	O
in	O
Spanish	O
,	O
and	O
known	O
as	O
Mercado	B-Application
Livre	I-Application
in	O
Portuguese	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
Argentine	O
company	O
headquartered	O
in	O
Montevideo	O
,	O
Uruguay	O
,	O
incorporated	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
that	O
operates	O
online	O
marketplaces	O
dedicated	O
to	O
e-commerce	O
and	O
online	O
auctions	O
,	O
including	O
mercadolibre.com	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2016	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
had	O
174.2	O
million	O
users	O
in	O
Latin	O
America	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
the	O
region	O
's	O
most	O
popular	O
e-commerce	O
site	O
by	O
number	O
of	O
visitors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
has	O
operations	O
in	O
Argentina	O
,	O
Bolivia	O
,	O
Brazil	O
,	O
Chile	O
,	O
Colombia	O
,	O
Costa	O
Rica	O
,	O
Dominican	O
Republic	O
,	O
Ecuador	O
,	O
El	O
Salvador	O
,	O
Guatemala	O
,	O
Honduras	O
,	O
Mexico	O
,	O
Panama	B-Algorithm
,	O
Paraguay	O
,	O
Peru	O
,	O
Spain	O
,	O
Uruguay	O
,	O
and	O
Venezuela	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
was	O
founded	O
in	O
1999	O
in	O
Argentina	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
received	O
additional	O
funding	O
from	O
JPMorgan	O
Partners	O
,	O
Flatiron	O
Partners	O
,	O
Goldman	O
Sachs	O
,	O
GE	O
Capital	O
,	O
and	O
Banco	O
Santander	O
Central	O
Hispano	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1999	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
was	O
chosen	O
as	O
an	O
Endeavor	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2001	O
,	O
eBay	B-Application
purchased	O
a	O
19.5	O
%	O
stake	O
in	O
the	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
eBay	B-Application
sold	O
its	O
stake	O
in	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
in	O
2016	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
companies	O
continue	O
to	O
collaborate	O
to	O
expand	O
eBay	B-Application
sellers	O
into	O
Latin	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
eBay	B-Application
opened	O
its	O
first	O
branded	O
store	O
on	O
the	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
marketplace	O
from	O
Chile	O
in	O
March	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
month	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
acquired	O
iBazar	O
Como	O
,	O
the	O
Brazilian	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
eBay	B-Application
's	O
earlier	O
acquisition	O
,	O
iBazar	O
S.A.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
,	O
MercadoLibre.com	B-Application
launched	O
new	O
operations	O
in	O
Costa	O
Rica	O
,	O
Panama	B-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
Dominican	O
Republic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2007	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
became	O
the	O
first	O
Latin	O
American	O
technology	O
company	O
to	O
be	O
listed	O
on	O
the	O
NASDAQ	O
,	O
under	O
the	O
ticker	O
MELI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
acquired	O
competitor	O
DeRemate	O
's	O
operations	O
in	O
August	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
also	O
acquired	O
Classified	O
Media	O
Group	O
(	O
CMG	O
)	O
in	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
launched	O
the	O
MeLi	O
Commerce	O
Fund	O
,	O
dedicated	O
to	O
investing	O
in	O
technology	O
startups	O
that	O
create	O
software	O
using	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
's	O
APIs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
acquired	O
Portal	O
Inmobiliario	O
,	O
a	O
Chilean	O
classified	O
ad	O
website	O
,	O
in	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2015	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
announced	O
its	O
acquisition	O
of	O
Metroscúbicos.com	O
,	O
the	O
portal	O
of	O
Mexico-based	O
real	O
estate	O
company	O
Grupo	O
Expansión	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
relocated	O
its	O
Brazilian	O
headquarters	O
to	O
new	O
offices	O
in	O
São	O
Paulo	O
,	O
Brazil	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2016	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
announced	O
its	O
expansion	O
into	O
Córdoba	O
,	O
Argentina	O
with	O
its	O
new	O
software	O
center	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
opened	O
its	O
first	O
Colombian	O
office	O
in	O
Bogotá	O
in	O
October	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2019	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
opened	O
its	O
first	O
distribution	O
centers	O
in	O
Argentina	O
,	O
Brazil	O
and	O
Mexico	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2020	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
announced	O
its	O
new	O
distribution	O
centers	O
in	O
Chile	O
and	O
Colombia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2020	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
announced	O
its	O
new	O
software	O
center	O
in	O
Colombia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2021	O
,	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
announced	O
an	O
investment	O
of	O
$1.8	O
billion	O
in	O
its	O
Brazilian	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
operates	O
under	O
five	O
main	O
business	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MarketPlace	O
is	O
its	O
platform	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
sell	O
products	O
,	O
Mercado	O
Pago	O
is	O
its	O
payment	O
platform	O
for	O
online	O
sales	O
,	O
Mercado	O
Publicado	O
is	O
the	O
advertising	O
portion	O
of	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
,	O
Mercado	O
Shops	O
is	O
a	O
tool	O
designed	O
to	O
enhance	O
the	O
platform	O
's	O
overall	O
ecosystem	O
,	O
and	O
Mercado	O
Crédito	O
is	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
credit	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
's	O
MarketPlace	O
is	O
a	O
platform	O
designed	O
to	O
match	O
buyers	O
and	O
sellers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
3,000	O
official	O
stores	O
or	O
brands	O
work	O
with	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
also	O
runs	O
a	O
real	O
estate	O
and	O
motors	O
division	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
Classificados	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Realtors	O
pay	O
a	O
monthly	O
fee	O
to	O
list	O
properties	O
and	O
automobiles	O
on	O
the	O
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercado	B-Application
Libre	I-Application
launched	O
MercadoPago	O
,	O
a	O
secure	O
payment	O
system	O
,	O
to	O
diversify	O
payment	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
