LatAm Tech Weekly

#192: SPECIAL EDITION - Coatue's EMW, AI & Corporate Ozempic, deals of the week... and much more!

Jun 29, 2025

Weekly writing about what is happening in LatAm tech. By day, I work 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!

You know how they say, “you don’t really miss something until it’s gone”? Well, that’s exactly how I felt last week! I didn’t send out my usual LatAm Tech Weekly on Sunday because — like any normal human — I took a week off for vacation. I actually considered putting together a “slim” version, but in the end, I decided not to. Sometimes you really do need to unplug so you can come back recharged — and that’s what I did.

It was genuinely gratifying to get so many messages from you saying things like “I missed my usual news roundup,” “I felt lost on Monday without the newsletter,” or “my week just started differently without LatAm Tech Weekly.” Hearing that means a lot. It reminds me that all the time and effort I put into this project is truly worth it — not just because I enjoy doing it, but because it brings value to you.

So, to make up for skipping a week, I’m bringing you something special today! The last time I shared a deep dive — when I broke down BOND Capital’s AI deck — it was really well received. This time, I’m doing the same with Coatue’s East Meets West (EMW) conference deck. Yep — 100 slides, and yep — I went through every single one (no ChatGPT summary here!). I also listened to BG2 Pod’s interview with the Laffont brothers during the conference. So today you’re getting a mix: my take on the presentation plus my reflections after the podcast.

Without further ado, let’s dig in! (obviously used ChatGPT to create the image below)

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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.

The Event - Coatue’s East Meets West

Every year, Coatue — one of the world’s leading technology-focused investment firms — hosts its East Meets West (EMW) conference in Los Angeles. Coatue is known for backing high-growth companies across public and private markets, with a strong focus on technology, media, telecommunications, and consumer sectors. 2025 marked the 10th anniversary of EMW, making this year’s edition particularly special.

The EMW conference is an invite-only event that brings together a curated group of founders, CEOs, investors, and thought leaders from both the public and private markets — as well as operators and policymakers who are shaping the future of tech and the global economy. The format blends on-stage conversations, fireside chats, and off-the-record sessions, creating a unique space for candid discussions about macro trends, innovation, company-building, and capital markets. Beyond the stage, EMW is also known for fostering valuable networking through smaller group meetings, dinners, and informal gatherings.

Public Markets

Much like Meeker’s point about looking to the past to better predict and understand the future, the presentation kicks off by setting the stage with what happened in previous cycles. Coatue comes across as particularly positive — even optimistic — about what they’re calling the “AI supercycle.”
One of the reasons each wave gets bigger is that it builds on what came before. For example, the networking wave wouldn’t have happened without PCs, and SaaS depended on all the layers that preceded it. AI is massive for the same reason — it stands on the shoulders of all these earlier trends.
An interesting discussion is how we should classify the companies that make up the S&P 500 going forward. Where do we draw the line between TMT and “industrial” sectors when just about everyone is using AI and technology to build something from the ground up? With that in mind — and pushing back against the common view that “tech already dominates the index” — they raise a provocative question: Could AI-driven companies end up representing 75% or more of total U.S. market cap?
ChatGPT vs. Google
No major surprise here — ChatGPT is growing faster than anything we’ve seen before. The platform is quickly approaching 1 billion monthly active users (for comparison, BOND’s deck pegged it at 800 million MAUs). A very interesting discussion following such growth is its effect on Google.
While it’s true — at least for me — that I hardly ever use Google to search for anything anymore (why wade through ads and click around when I can just ask ChatGPT and get what I need right away?), it’s tough to find solid data that backs up this general sense of declining Google search usage. And of course, it’s no surprise that Google wouldn’t be eager to share numbers that reflect any drop-off. Coatue then went after a numerical approach to prove this general sentiment that seems natural.
“Data is useless unless you can connect data sets that don’t naturally speak to each other.”
That’s exactly what they did in the chart below: they combined two distinct data sources.
Their data science team processes about 100 million credit card receipts per day to track U.S. consumer behavior. They also analyze a separate data set from consumers’ email receipts. By merging these, they discovered that after someone subscribes to ChatGPT (marked as the 0% point), their Google page views drop by roughly 8%. The shift isn’t instant — but it’s clearly underway.
"If you don’t do macro, macro will do you." Dan Loeb (founder of Third Point)
Coatue believes that while watching macro trends and debt-to-GDP is essential, there’s another key dynamic to consider: rising productivity could shift the equation in a positive direction, bringing down inflation and, eventually, interest rates. Once again, it’s about looking to the past to help predict the future — we saw this play out during the PC wave, when experts underestimated the impact of tech innovation. The big question now is: are we seeing history repeat itself?
Private Markets
2021: I think we can all agree it was an unhealthy economic environment. There was too much capital going out and not nearly enough coming back. IPOs, in particular, performed poorly during that period. The chart below really caught my attention — IPOs actually performed worse than they did after the financial crisis. And it’s worth noting: the data doesn’t even include SPACs. If it did, the picture would look even worse.
But there is a silver lining… now, in 2025, things are improving:
IPOs are preforming better (Coreweave, Circle); speed of M&A has increased again (think Scale AI & Meta or Google & WIZ).
Companies that are listing are showing a higher growth with profitability, learning the lessons from 2021 - thus yielding better returns when debuting in the public space.
Why list if you can stay private?
✅ Access to larger pools of capital
✅ Liquidity for shareholders
✅ Brand visibility and credibility
✅ Acquisition currency — Publicly traded stock can be used as currency for M&A, making it easier to pursue strategic deals.
✅ Discipline and transparency
✅ Broader ownership base — Listing allows retail and institutional investors to participate in the company’s success, which can build goodwill and advocacy.
So, what all of this means for YOU?
There are plenty of other fascinating insights in the Coatue deck, so I definitely recommend giving it a full read. One theme that really stood out to me was the idea of increasing margins while reducing headcount — but at the same time ramping up GPU capex. There’s also a deep dive on how AI could reshape the labor market, which really got me thinking.
But for the purposes of this newsletter, I’ll stop here. And if you’ve made it this far — first off, thank you! I’ll leave you with a chart that I found especially thought-provoking. If you’re a startup founder, it’s a chance to reflect on where you are and what steps might come next. If you’re an investor, it’s a helpful lens for thinking about your portfolio companies. And if you’re simply excited about tech, it’s a great theme to wrap your head around.
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AI & Corporate Ozempic
Earlier this month, private equity heavyweights gathered in Berlin for SuperReturn International, one of the world’s largest and most influential private capital conferences. The event brought together fund managers, investors, and executives to discuss trends shaping the industry — and not surprisingly, AI was front and center.
Robert F. Smith, founder of Vista Equity Partners, shared a striking prediction about how AI could transform finance jobs: “We think that next year, 40% of the people at this conference will have an AI agent and the remaining 60% will be looking for work.” He emphasized that AI isn’t just about replacing roles — it’s about reshaping them, noting that “all of the jobs currently carried out by one billion knowledge workers today would change due to AI. I’m not saying they’ll all go away, but they will all change.”
In many ways, these comments echo what Scott Galloway calls “corporate Ozempic” — the idea that companies, much like individuals using the drug to shed weight fast, are rapidly slimming down by cutting costs, streamlining operations, and leveraging AI to drive productivity. It’s part of the broader shift from growth at all costs to leaner, more disciplined business models, as firms brace for this next phase of tech-driven transformation. The theme was also discussed in the Coatue EMW’s deck with examples in employee count in Microsoft and AppLovin.

General news:

Prosus posted a $179M operating profit, driven by growth at iFood, OLX, and e-commerce, and targets doubling its market value by 2028. 🇳🇱
Selvia is building a WhatsApp-based financial back office for doctors in Brazil, starting with a smart PJ account that automates taxes, invoices, and cash flow in real time using AI. 🇧🇷
Méliuz bought an additional US$28.6M in Bitcoin, becoming the Latin American public company with the largest Bitcoin treasury, with shares up 115% since adopting its Bitcoin strategy. 🇧🇷
Celero launched Tina, a generative AI assistant to transform SME financial management through predictive insights and automation. 🇧🇷

Deals:

Mark Zuckerberg is investing $14.3B for a 49% stake in Scale AI and bringing CEO Alexandr Wang to lead Meta’s AI efforts, aiming to reboot Meta’s AI race position. 🇺🇸
Thinking Machines, founded by ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, raised $2B in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz at a $10B valuation. 🇺🇸
DEX raised R$10M (with up to R$50M more tied to targets) to expand its event and food tech solutions across Brazil. 🇧🇷
Mercado de Recebíveis raised a new round led by URCA Angels, doubling its valuation to R$200M as it scales receivables-backed credit. 🇧🇷

General news:

Alura and Google are launching a free DevOps cloud course with 100,000 spots for beginners. 🇧🇷
Itaú Unibanco’s tech institute partnered with Eldorado to advance AI and quantum computing research. 🇧🇷
Flourish Fi won at FEBRABAN TECH 2025 for its gamified financial health solutions. 🇧🇷
Tensions between OpenAI and Microsoft are rising as OpenAI pushes to restructure into a for-profit public benefit corporation, risking up to $20B in future funding. 🇺🇸
E-scooters are returning to Brazilian cities as Whoosh doubles its fleet and expands to 6 new cities, aiming for sustainable growth. 🇧🇷
Tapi and DolarApp are partnering to enable service payments in digital dollars and euros across Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia. 🇲🇽 🇦🇷 🇨🇴
Bossa Invest launched Bossa IA, an AI tool for VCs that provides portfolio insights and simulations via WhatsApp. 🇧🇷
Brazil’s Central Bank opened a public consultation on new accounting standards for virtual assets and utility tokens. 🇧🇷
Do Payment launched Do Pay, its proprietary payment platform for faster liquidity in Latin America’s gaming sector. 🇵🇪

Deals:

Waltz raised $50M in equity and debt to help Latin Americans finance U.S. residential properties. 🇺🇸 🇱🇦
Pagaleve raised R$47M via a FIDC structured by Bamboo, backed by Verde Asset and Credit Saison. 🇧🇷
Kipon raised R$400K led by DOMO.VC to scale its AI-driven HR platform. 🇧🇷
Tax Deed Pro raised $1.6M from Equity Group to expand its affordable housing project in Mississippi. 🇺🇸
Jusbrasil made a strategic investment in Maritaca to advance Brazilian legal AI. 🇧🇷

General News:

Chilean startup Zerviz expanded its partnership with Five9 to drive AI-powered CX transformation across Latin America. 🇨🇱 🇲🇽 🇨🇴 🇵🇪
Lemontech is expanding into Mexico with new AI-powered legaltech solutions and compliance tools. 🇨🇱 🇲🇽
Magie is launching a PJ account and app to complement its WhatsApp banking features. 🇧🇷
Brazil’s Central Bank approved Swap to operate Pix Direto, boosting its BaaS platform capabilities. 🇧🇷
EBANX partnered with Peru’s Yape to enable seamless international payments for millions of users. 🇵🇪
Belvo and Ualá teamed up to use employment data to expand credit access for millions of Mexicans. 🇲🇽

Deals:

Tensec raised $12M to expand its cross-border payments infrastructure in APAC and the EU. 🇨🇱 🇸🇬 🇪🇺
AG Antecipa launched its first FIDC with R$16M to boost SME credit access. 🇧🇷

General news:

Itaú BBA created a new vertical to deepen expertise and expand credit in infrastructure and energy, with 30% of its R$600B portfolio focused on the sector. 🇧🇷
AI-native startups are redefining efficiency benchmarks, operating with 60% fewer employees while growing faster, according to Astella, Distrito IA, and NVIDIA. 🌎
BIS warned that stablecoins are unfit to anchor the monetary system and proposed a “unified ledger” for tokenizing central bank money. 🌎
Osten Invest partnered with Chile’s Elite Capital to expand alternative investments in Chile using a white-label platform. 🇧🇷 🇨🇱
Central Bank president Gabriel Galípolo said IOF tax changes won’t affect Brazil’s interest rate path. 🇧🇷
Suspension of the IOF tax hike brought relief to markets, but uncertainty remains as Brazil weighs next steps. 🇧🇷

Deals:

FCamara acquired 100% of Dfense to strengthen its cybersecurity business and hit R$1B in revenue by 2030. 🇧🇷
Kiara Capital closed the first round of its B2B fintech fund with R$75M, backing five startups across Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and the US. 🇧🇷 🇲🇽 🇨🇴 🇺🇸
Shopper quietly raised R$150M in a Series D round backed by iFood, GIC, and Minerva to expand digital grocery delivery. 🇧🇷
Welli raised $25M in Series A to expand its medical loan platform across Latin America. 🇨🇴 🇱🇦
Qonta raised R$3.7M in pre-seed funding to bring BaaS to brick-and-mortar businesses. 🇧🇷
Rosey Ventures launched a R$30M CVC fund to back early-stage edtech and healthtech startups. 🇧🇷

General news:

SoftBank aims to become leading 'artificial super intelligence' platform provider🌎
iFood Pago surpassed R$1.6B in revenue in its first year, exceeding goals. 🇧🇷
Cosmic Stories is seeking a driven entrepreneur to join as CEO/founder to lead their innovative AI storytelling platform. With an MVP ready and deep market insight, they aim to transform long-form storytelling by sharing data and empowering creators. The ideal partner loves entertainment and can navigate between Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, and São Paulo. Backed by founders with strong film and tech experience, they’re raising $2.2M to scale this creative revolution. If interested, reply to this e-mail. 🇺🇸 🇧🇷
Alura rebranded as Grupo Alun, unifying its tech education platforms. 🇧🇷
EBANX partnered with Aplazo to bring BNPL options to Mexico’s e-commerce. 🇲🇽
Sinatra is scaling fast after raising R$4M, expanding to 7 countries and targeting R$5M ARR by year-end. 🇧🇷
PwC is cutting prices on some services as AI-driven efficiencies reduce project costs by ~30%. 🌎
Amazon lost its VP of generative AI amid fierce competition for talent. 🌎
Meta hired OpenAI’s Trapit Bansal to boost its superintelligence efforts. 🌎
Uber is negotiating to back Kalanick’s bid for Pony AI’s U.S. unit, signaling his return to autonomous driving. 🇺🇸
Onfly launched Spend Control to digitize Brazil’s corporate travel cards. 🇧🇷
CVC is betting on AI to enhance its phygital travel sales model. 🇧🇷
iFood Benefícios is going global, enabling international use of benefit cards. 🇧🇷
BNDES approved a R$23.2M loan to Bionexo for AI healthcare innovation. 🇧🇷

Deals:

Future Cow raised R$4.85M to scale its precision fermentation dairy tech. 🇧🇷

You will see below an updated list of events, including for the second half of the year. If I forgot your event, and you want to include it - please sure to send those my way asap!

LATAM Finance Forum 2025
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Date: July 3
Description: A pivotal gathering for Latin America’s digital infrastructure ecosystem: investors, operators, and cloud/AI leaders converge to shape the future of finance and regional technology deployment.
More Info
Cubo Conecta 2025
Date: September 2025 (exact dates to be announced)
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.
More info
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 info
Gartner 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 info
Web 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 info
Brazil 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