LatAm Tech Weekly
#202: Nano Banana & Itau Day, LatAm Tech Scene, deals of the week... and much more!
Weekly writing about what is happening in LatAm tech. By day, I lead the business development team at Itau Unibanco. By night, I am reading and learning about technology in general (now, with a focus on AI). During the weekends, I’m writing the LatAm Tech Weekly.
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Happy Sunday!
First of all, thank you for all the kind “get well” messages I received this week. I’m definitely feeling better, though it wasn’t the easiest few days. My sore throat, of course, turned into a full-blown cold that only started to ease up by Friday. Still, I managed to get my long run in on Saturday — it went well — and I’m hoping to be back to 100% tomorrow. I’d better be, because next week is São Paulo Tech Week!
I’ll be speaking at Cubo Conecta’s 10-Year Celebration and also joining other gatherings, including Atlântico’s Digital Transformation Report launch and Norte’s Private Drinks. It’s going to be a packed week of events, and I hope to bump into some of you there. If you see me, don’t be shy — come say hi :)
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Opinions expressed here are solely my own and does not represent those of people, institutions, organizations that I may or may not be associated with in any capacity, unless explicitly stated.
And just like that, we’re in September… this year has flown by! On one hand, it feels like so much has happened already (especially in AI), but on the other, time is slipping away — and in less than four months, we’ll be welcoming 2026.
I’ve built a new nighttime routine: instead of scrolling social media before bed, I now spend a few minutes experimenting with different AI tools. This week, I dove into Nano Banana, Google’s playful and intuitive creative AI platform—think of it as an imaginative AI sketchbook. I’ve never really considered myself “creative,” but that’s changing fast…
Using Nano Banana, I had a cool idea and even shared it on social media the next day. I “placed” myself at Itaú Day 2025, the event we hosted last Tuesday with top bank executives to discuss the future of our institution. Of course, I wasn’t physically there—but the event was front of mind, so I visualized myself into the scene, complete with an orange Itau t-shirt to match the vibe. It was fun, surreal, and oddly empowering.
They say that when you believe in something and visualize it, it eventually comes to life. I’m holding onto that—because one day, I’d love to be at Itaú Day for real… and maybe even on stage!!!
Global markets closed August on a positive note. The S&P 500 gained 2.0% and the Nasdaq advanced 1.6%,.On the private side, PitchBook’s August wrap-up showed venture activity concentrated in late-stage AI deals such as Databricks, Cognition AI and Cohere. The IPO window also showed tentative signs of reopening, with listings from Bullish, MIAX and HeartFlow, although volumes are still well below historic norms.
In Latin America, public markets diverged but Brazil stood out, with the Ibovespa crossing 150,000 points after a 9.3% gain in August and now up 33% year to date, supported by cooling inflation and local flows. Venture activity across the region reflected the capital shift PitchBook highlighted: Mexico attracted 46% of startup funding in the first half of 2025, surpassing Brazil at 23%. August saw Brazil remain active in fintech and SaaS, Chile deliver SaaS and automation deals, and Peru draw early-stage capital into B2B platforms. Together, these signals suggest that while the global IPO window is reopening slowly, LatAm remains resilient, with entrepreneurs continuing to raise and build despite shifting capital flows.
Double clicking on LatAm’s venture scene, this week I participated in a very interesting call hosted by Silicon Valley Bank. They showed interesting data points by Lavca on the venture landscape for the region.
Key takeaways:
While overall volumes are back to pre-Covid levels, the mix has shifted significantly—both in terms of round types and geographies—reflecting the growing maturity of the ecosystem. Mexico, for example, has surpassed Brazil in terms of investment volume for the first time in decades.
As we’ve seen globally, the environment in LatAm has also become tougher for startups. The average time between rounds has stretched to around 20 months, valuations have declined across all stages, and both venture fundraising and exits are at their lowest levels.
Fintech, fintech, fintech - the sector dominates on all fronts
General news:
Itaú Asset, Brazil’s largest private bank asset manager with over R$1T AUM, is creating a dedicated crypto unit under its Multimesas structure (R$117B AUM). Led by João Marco Braga da Cunha, former portfolio director at Hashdex, the unit aims to capture alpha in the volatile digital asset market. Itaú’s existing crypto products, including BITI11 ETF and a Bitcoin pension fund, already manage R$850M. The expansion will add options, fixed-income–like products, and broader digital asset exposure. 🇧🇷
Revolut has overtaken Nubank’s $71.5B valuation, reaching $75B in a secondary share sale for employees. The deal, which allows staff to sell up to 20% of their shares, brought in investors like Coatue and Tiger Global. With a banking license in 30 countries, 52.5M clients (+38% YoY), and £1T ($1.3T) in processed transactions in 2024 (+52%), Revolut is intensifying its LatAm expansion with a local account, debit card, bill payments, and Pix, challenging Nubank’s dominance. 🇬🇧/🇧🇷
Cybercriminals stole around R$400M in a major attack exploiting a third-party platform from Sinqia, affecting Brazil’s instant payments system Pix. The breach redirected transfers from accounts linked to a global bank, but Pix itself was not compromised. Authorities confirmed the flaw was external, and the bank pledged full reimbursement. 🇧🇷
Sebrae Startups and AWS have launched the third phase of their joint program, now focusing on upskilling SMEs. After training 90k professionals in previous editions, the initiative aims to reach another 50k by 2026 with courses on cloud, AI, and Amazon Bedrock. The program will offer on-demand content and monthly webinars, boosting digital skills and competitiveness in Brazil’s economy. 🇧🇷
Vita Wallet, a Chilean fintech founded in 2019, is scaling rapidly and expects to process $2B in transactions by the end of 2025, projecting 200% annual growth. The platform simplifies cross-border payments through APIs, batch payments, real-time deposits in the U.S., and tools like the Vita Card in Colombia. Operating in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, it aims to remove barriers in global payments for individuals and businesses. 🇨🇱
Finandina, a Colombian bank, has partnered with fintech Akaunt to launch a digital dollar wallet integrated into its app. Customers can now save and transact in digital dollars seamlessly, marking one of the first cases of stablecoins embedded directly into traditional banking. 🇨🇴
Deals:
Mercado Livre has acquired a pharmacy in São Paulo to enter Brazil’s regulated drug retail market. The target, linked to Memed—a platform used by 260k doctors for 5M prescriptions monthly—signals a new competitive front. The acquisition shook shares of incumbents like Raia Drogasil, Panvel, and Pague Menos. 🇧🇷
Loto , a Colombian fintech for SMEs, raised $1M pre-seed from Fen Ventures, Crestone VC, QAPU Ventures, and Desygn Capital. Founded in 2026, it issues debit and credit cards integrated with accounting software for real-time expense tracking and fraud prevention, as well as Visa-powered incentive cards. 🇨🇴
Vela Latam, a subsidiary of Constellation Software, is acquiring Brazilian healthtech Pixeon, backed by Riverwood Capital and Oria, pending Cade approval. Pixeon, with R$150M in annual revenue and 3,000+ clients, provides hospital management, diagnostics, and patient engagement platforms, including Boa Consulta. This is Vela’s 18th deal in Brazil and its second in LatAm healthcare. 🇧🇷
Second Mind, a Brazilian software company with R$10M in annual revenue, received a strategic investment from SME The New Economy. Specializing in ERP, CRM, HR, and logistics solutions, the firm plans to scale across LatAm and expand its role in SME’s ecosystem. 🇧🇷
General news:
Klarna is moving forward with its long-awaited NYSE IPO, seeking to raise up to $1.27B through 34.3M Class A shares priced at $35–37. At the top range, Klarna could reach a $14B valuation—still 72% below its 2021 peak but well above its 2022 low of $6.5B. In Q2 2025, revenue grew 54% YoY to $823M, while net loss narrowed 42% to $53M. The IPO is being led by Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley. 🇸🇪/🇺🇸
Bitso Business is expanding to Chile and Peru, adding to its presence in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, the US, and Europe. At the Stablecoin Conference LatAm 2025, it launched FXaaS and Pay with Bitso to strengthen corporate payments with crypto. Stablecoin use in LatAm more than doubled in H1 2025, underscoring demand for real-time, multi-currency solutions. 🇲🇽/🇨🇱/🇵🇪
Paraná has partnered with BlackRock to attract global investment into sectors like infrastructure, energy, agri-tech, and innovation. The collaboration includes technical studies, international roadshows, and connections between local companies and global funds. 🇧🇷
Paytrack, a corporate travel and expense management fintech, raised R$240M from Riverwood Capital earlier this year. The company now projects R$5B in managed expenses by 2025, with expansion focused on Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay. 🇧🇷
Multiplike Gestão, a Brazilian FIDC manager with R$3.7B AUM and over R$50B in structured credit, received Central Bank approval to operate as a finance company (SCFI). The license expands its ability to offer direct credit, finance services, anticipate receivables, and issue CDBs. 🇧🇷
Binance will invest over 1B pesos ($53M) to launch Medá, a licensed Electronic Payment Institution (IFPE) in Mexico. Medá will facilitate deposits and withdrawals in pesos, expanding digital financial services and inclusion. Binance is now approved in Brazil, Argentina, El Salvador, and Mexico. 🇲🇽
Tapi and Vexi have partnered to expand financial inclusion in Mexico, giving Vexi users more payment options via Tapi’s API. The alliance helps young and unbanked users build credit history and access features like mobile top-ups and payment scheduling. Digital payment adoption among Mexican youth is already at 74% and expected to reach 21M users by 2027. 🇲🇽
Deals:
Anthropic raised $13B in its Series F, valuing the company at $183B—nearly triple its March valuation. The round was led by ICONIQ with Fidelity and Lightspeed. Revenue has surged from $1B to $5B ARR in 2025, fueled by enterprise adoption and API usage, with 300K+ corporate clients. 🇺🇸
Sankhya made its 10th acquisition, taking a majority stake in Brazilian logistics software startup Lincros. Founded in 2013, Lincros serves 230 clients with AI-driven logistics tools. Sankhya, which grew ~30% in 2025, targets R$1B in recurring revenue by 2026 and has R$200M reserved for further M&A. 🇧🇷
Yapp, a Brazilian HRTech, raised R$6M in pre-seed funding from foreign angels. A spin-off from Yellow, it will expand into the US and Canada with its AI-powered recruitment automation platform. Already serving 50 companies and managing a pool of 20M professionals, it aims to scale revenue 6–7x by 2026. 🇧🇷
Mattilda, a Mexican edtech fintech, secured a $50M credit line from Lendable to expand financial solutions for schools. Operating in Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador, Mattilda helps schools cut defaults, automate billing, and access liquidity. The capital will fuel scaling, international expansion, and acquisitions. 🇲🇽
Toteat, a Chilean restaurant management startup, raised $7.4M to expand across LatAm and develop new AI-powered solutions. Processing 100M+ orders annually, it will invest in sales, strategic markets, and AI adoption to lead regional food service digitalization. 🇨🇱
General News:
Allied Tecnologia sold R$890M in tax credits to a major bank for about R$350M to strengthen cash flow, prioritizing immediate liquidity over delayed government payments. 🇧🇷
99Food ended its “guaranteed earnings” model for couriers in Goiânia after strong demand growth. Initially offering minimum payouts, the program was deemed unnecessary as 90% of drivers now earn above the guaranteed amount. In 1.5 months, the platform surpassed 1M deliveries with 28-minute average times, making Goiânia a hub for nationwide expansion. 🇧🇷
Bora, a new joint venture between Minu.co and Wibx, launched a blockchain-based loyalty platform that unifies points into digital tokens redeemable for products, experiences, or cash via Pix. It debuts with 30 partners, including Caixa, and aims to move R$15B in points within five years. 🇧🇷
Wenia, the crypto arm of Grupo Cibest, launched a Global Account allowing users to send and receive USDC directly to and from U.S. bank accounts via its app. Users can hold digital dollars, earn up to 6% rewards, and convert to pesos through Bancolombia or Nequi. 🇨🇴
Neo4j, valued above $2B, is expanding in LatAm with a focus on Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia. It relaunched its startup program with up to $16K in credits, technical support, and access to 200K developers. Demand is fueled by generative AI, with its GraphRAG solution reducing hallucinations and boosting accuracy. 🌎 LatAm
OpenAI announced new safety measures for teens using ChatGPT, including parental controls, account linking, and alerts for acute distress. Sensitive conversations will be redirected to advanced models like GPT-5-thinking, supported by 250+ medical professionals worldwide. 🇺🇸
Brazil’s Tax Authority issued Normative Instruction 2,278, requiring Payment Institutions to report balances and transactions via e-Financeira retroactive to Jan. 2025. Previously applicable only to banks, the rule extends oversight to fintechs to combat money laundering. 🇧🇷
Deals:
Kapital, a Mexican fintech, raised $86M at a $1.3B valuation, becoming LatAm’s newest unicorn. Kapital serves 300K SMEs across Mexico, Colombia, and the US, covering cash flow, payroll, payments, and credit. Backers include Tribe Capital, Pelion Ventures, and YC. 🇲🇽
OpenAI acquired Statsig for $1.1B in stock, one of its largest deals to date. Statsig founder Vijaye Raji becomes CTO of the new Applications division. The acquisition strengthens OpenAI’s consumer, scientific, and enterprise products as it scales ChatGPT, Codex, and new tools. 🇺🇸
General news:
Instant payments are reshaping global e-commerce. In India, UPI is set to grow from 55% to 57% of digital transactions by 2027, while credit card use declines. Brazil shows a similar trend, with Pix projected to rise from 40% to 51% in the same period. Chile, however, is moving in the opposite direction, with international credit cards climbing from 58% to 60%. Nuvei’s Global Expansion Guide highlights how adapting to local payment preferences is critical for global companies. 🇮🇳/🇧🇷/🇨🇱
Getnet and Eyemobile launched a new card machine solution with built-in payment splitting, allowing transactions to be divided seamlessly among multiple recipients while maintaining a smooth checkout experience for consumers. 🇧🇷
Deals:
180 Seguros raised R$50M in a pre-Series B, with R$35M in equity from 8VC, Monashees, and Canary, plus R$15M in debt from FJ Labs. Growing ~500% in 2025, the insurtech will boost regulatory capital and accelerate AI initiatives. Over 80% of claims are already processed via proprietary AI, and the company plans to launch a B2B2AI model to connect partners’ autonomous agents directly to its systems. 🇧🇷
Pointsville closed a $50M Series A led by Valor Capital, with participation from Tether, Itaú’s founding family, Superscrypt (Temasek-backed), and others. The platform targets the $10T RWA tokenization opportunity by 2030, bridging traditional finance with blockchain. Valor partner Bruno Batavia, ex-Brazil Central Bank, joins the board. 🇧🇷/🇺🇸
Le Pot Commun acquired 100% of Brazilian fintech Abacashi, marking its entry into the crowdfunding market. Abacashi aims for R$20M in annual revenue soon and R$60M in the medium term, offering one of the lowest fees in the market at 6% and payouts in three days. 🇧🇷/🇫🇷
Mistral AI is raising €2B at a $14B valuation, more than doubling since mid-2024. Revenue is set to grow 5× from €10M in 2023 to €60M in 2025, driven by enterprise adoption and partnerships. Backed by a16z, Nvidia, Microsoft, and EU funds, Mistral plans new low-carbon data centers near Paris and a future IPO. 🇫🇷
SEK, a Pátria-backed cybersecurity firm, acquired Netbr, a Brazilian IAM solutions provider serving banks and telcos. Netbr’s CEO André Faccioli will remain in charge. SEK now expects R$300M in 2025 revenue, with the deal still pending antitrust approval. 🇧🇷
Stefanini acquired 100% of Romania’s Cyber Smart Defence, consolidating a partnership started in 2020. The deal strengthens Stefanini’s European expansion in cybersecurity, integrating vulnerability assessment, risk mitigation, and continuous monitoring under the Stefanini Cyber brand. 🇧🇷/🇷🇴
Odata secured a $1.02B green loan from BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, and Société Générale to expand its data center footprint in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia. Already operating 12 sites with 210MW, Odata aims to reach 2.5GW in capacity, reinforcing LatAm’s role as a global data hub. 🇧🇷/🇲🇽/🇨🇱/🇨🇴
General news:
SuperSign, a Brazilian legaltech, is preparing for its next growth phase, targeting LatAm expansion. Founded less than a year ago, it already has 10k users and 200 paying clients. Its AI tools generate contract summaries, risk analysis, and fraud detection for SMEs underserved by incumbents. SuperSign is now seeking its first funding round and a co-founder to lead revenue growth. 🇧🇷
AEVO, a Brazilian innovation management platform, has opened an office in the Netherlands to kick off international expansion. Backed by a $1M follow-on from FUNSES1, AEVO already serves clients in 10+ countries. It aims for international revenues to reach 30% by 2027. 🇧🇷/🇳🇱
Nvidia invested in quantum computing firm Quantinuum, which raised $600M, doubling its valuation to $10B in under a year. Honeywell remains the majority shareholder, while Nvidia focuses on integrating HPC with quantum algorithms. The round also included JPMorgan, Mitsui, and Amgen, reinforcing momentum toward a possible IPO in 2027. 🇺🇸
Amazon-region startups raised at least R$45K each at the Climate Innovation Hub Demoday in São Paulo. Apoena Bioindustrial, ForestiFi, and Genera Bioeconomia focus on clean energy, biodiversity, and ecosystem restoration. They will showcase their solutions at COP30 in Belém. 🇧🇷
Anthropic will pay $1.5B to settle a copyright lawsuit from authors whose books were allegedly used to train its AI model Claude. Covering 500k works, the settlement includes $3k payouts per title and deletion of unauthorized copies. It sets a major precedent for copyright in the AI era. 🇺🇸
Deals:
Hubfi, a Brazilian fintech providing backoffice outsourcing for brokers and financial firms, raised R$1.8M led by Investidores.vc with 59 investors. With AI-driven tools in development, Hubfi plans to scale operations and strengthen its team. 🇧🇷
You will see below an updated list of events. If I forgot your event, and you want to include it - please sure to send those my way asap!
Cubo Conecta 2025
Date: September 11, 2025 - during Brazil Tech Week!!!
Location: São Paulo, SP
Description: Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Cubo Conecta is the flagship event of Cubo Itaú, bringing together thousands of entrepreneurs, investors, and innovation leaders from across Latin America. The event offers over 90 hours of content and facilitates more than 5,000 digital connections, highlighting the potential of the technology and innovation ecosystem in the region.
Brazil Climate Summit 2025
Date: September 13–14, 2025
Location: New York, NY, USA
Description: The Brazil Climate Summit focuses on Brazil's role in the global green transition, emphasizing the importance of private sector involvement and international capital to accelerate low-carbon businesses. The event gathers leaders from various sectors to discuss sustainable development strategies.
More infoGartner CIO & IT Executive Conference 2025
Date: September 22–24, 2025
Location: São Paulo, SP
Description: A gathering of CIOs and IT leaders to discuss digital transformation, organizational leadership, and innovation strategies across industries.
More infoMoney 20/20 USA 2025
Date: October 26–29, 2025
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Description: One of the world’s leading fintech and payments conferences, Money 20/20 gathers global leaders across banking, payments, tech, and startups to explore the future of money and financial services.
More infoWeb Summit Lisbon 2025
Date: November 10–13, 2025
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Description: One of the world’s most influential tech conferences, Web Summit Lisbon connects 70,000+ attendees from startups, enterprises, and media to discuss trends shaping the tech industry.
More infoBrazil Tech Summit 2025
Date: December 9, 2025
Location: São Paulo, SP
Description: Part of the Global Startup Ecosystem Series, Brazil Tech Summit brings together entrepreneurs, government leaders, and investors to foster tech-driven innovation across Latin America.
More info
Marcus Valverde published an article in Capital Aberto on startup inside rounds, citing Indiana University and Harvard Law School research: often survival tools in downturns when external capital is scarce, with exit valuations lower than the last financing round in over 80% of cases, but with fewer risks of unfair dilution since existing funds are incentivized to keep teams engaged. 📊
"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him". Niccolò Machiavelli
uma newsletter objetiva e consistente -dentre as que tenho acompanhado é aquela que vale a pena ler e compartilhar