LatAm Tech Weekly
238: Fresh updates from Money 20/20 Europe, deals of the week... and much more!
Weekly writing about what is happening in LatAm tech. By day, I am part of the corporate 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. And obviously, always running!
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Happy Sunday!
This past week I had the opportunity to attend Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam for the very first time. The event itself was impressive, but what stood out most wasn’t any particular keynote or product launch. It was the conversations.
Over the course of three days, I had 31 one-on-one meetings: 18 startups, 5 corporates, 4 CVCs, and 4 investment funds. Different geographies, different business models, different stages of maturity. Yet, surprisingly, nearly every conversation converged on the same topic: AI (obviously). Not necessarily because everyone has figured it out… quite the opposite.
The common denominator across almost every meeting was that talking about AI without falling into abstract futurism remains incredibly difficult. Everyone agrees it will transform industries. Everyone agrees it will reshape software, financial services, commerce, and productivity. But when the discussion moves from vision to reality — real products, real revenue, real customers, real risks — the answers become much less obvious.
And perhaps that’s what makes this moment feel (at least for me) very fascinating. We still don’t know what the winners will look like. We don’t know which business models will emerge, which incumbents will adapt, or which startups will capture disproportionate value. The future remains uncertain.
I came back exhausted, slightly sleep-deprived, and with more open questions than I had when I arrived. Which, in my experience, is usually a sign that the trip was worth it…
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Key take aways from the event:
Agentic commerce has clearly moved from concept to roadmap. The discussion is no longer whether AI agents will eventually shop on our behalf, but rather how the financial infrastructure needs to evolve once the “customer” is no longer a human clicking buttons. A practical example: imagine an AI agent automatically rebooking your flight after a cancellation, selecting the best option based on your historical preferences, loyalty programs, and calendar availability — and then paying for it autonomously. That raises entirely new questions around authentication, permissions, liability, fraud prevention, and payment authorization. Several conversations revolved around how banks, card networks, and fintechs are beginning to redesign systems for a world where software itself becomes an economic actor.
Stablecoins have officially graduated from the “crypto corner.” Much less speculation, much more infrastructure. The most serious conversations focused on how stablecoins can rebuild cross-border payments, treasury operations, FX settlement, and liquidity management. One example repeatedly mentioned was multinational companies using stablecoins to move capital instantly between subsidiaries across geographies instead of relying on correspondent banking rails. Another was emerging-market merchants increasingly accepting stablecoin settlement to reduce FX volatility and payment friction. The narrative is shifting from “crypto asset” to “financial plumbing.”
What makes this trend hard to ignore is the pace of adoption. B2B stablecoin payments grew 60x in just 30 months — from less than $100M per month in early 2023 to more than $6B per month by mid-2025. And 2026 is accelerating even faster, with January-to-April volumes already running 135% above the same period last year. Total stablecoin payment volume is estimated to have reached roughly $390B in 2025, of which approximately $226B came from B2B transactions — a staggering 733% YoY increase.
That said, the market is still incredibly early. Even at $390B, stablecoin payments represent only a tiny fraction of the roughly $150T global cross-border payments market — around 0.02% penetration. In other words: the runway remains enormous.
Adoption is also becoming increasingly tangible in emerging markets. Around 13.4% of companies globally already use stablecoins for international settlements, and given Latin America’s FX volatility and cross-border payment friction, some industry participants estimate that nearly 70% of LatAm companies are already using stablecoins in some form for international payments.
Regulation is increasingly being viewed as a competitive advantage rather than an obstacle. That was one of the most surprising takeaways for me. In previous fintech cycles, regulation was often framed as something startups needed to avoid or “disrupt.” Today, many founders and investors are realizing that clear frameworks around AI, digital identity, open finance, and digital assets may actually accelerate adoption by increasing trust. Europe’s AI Act, MiCA, and Open Banking regulations were repeatedly cited as examples of how regulatory clarity can unlock institutional participation and long-term investment. The emerging view seems to be: irrational regulation kills innovation, but thoughtful regulation scales ecosystems.
The industry is quietly preparing for a world where AI agents become economic actors. A surprising number of discussions centered around how agents will identify themselves, authenticate, receive permissions, and eventually transact autonomously. One speaker compared it to “building passports and bank accounts for AI.” For example: if an AI agent negotiates cloud-computing capacity for a company, who legally authorizes the purchase? Who owns the wallet? Who is liable if the transaction is fraudulent? The infrastructure for machine-to-machine commerce barely exists today, but many players are already building toward that reality.
The biggest AI opportunity in financial services may not be customer service. While chatbots still receive attention publicly, the more meaningful use cases discussed behind closed doors were far less visible and much more economically impactful: AI-driven underwriting, treasury optimization, fraud detection, compliance automation, and intelligent payment routing. One example mentioned frequently was AI dynamically selecting the cheapest and fastest payment rail in real time depending on geography, FX costs, and fraud probability. Another was AI improving underwriting for SMB lending by analyzing nontraditional operational data rather than just credit scores. The consensus seemed clear: the real value is less about replacing customer support and more about improving financial system efficiency itself.
Fintech appears to be entering a “rebundling” phase. Over the past decade, the market rewarded highly specialized products — one company for cards, another for payroll, another for lending, another for treasury. Now, there’s growing recognition that customers increasingly want integrated experiences rather than fragmented point solutions. In practice, this means companies that started with one product are expanding horizontally. Examples include payroll platforms moving into banking, ERPs embedding payments and credit, and vertical SaaS players becoming full financial operating systems for their industries. The next generation of winners may not be the most specialized fintechs, but rather the platforms capable of orchestrating multiple financial services seamlessly.
Digital identity may be the most underappreciated topic in fintech today. Many of the future opportunities being discussed — from AI agents to stablecoins and cross-border payments — ultimately depend on solving identity and trust at internet scale. Several conversations pointed toward a future where identity becomes portable, programmable, and continuously verified rather than static. One practical example: proving you are a unique human online without exposing your full personal data. Another: enabling an AI agent to act on your behalf with predefined permissions while remaining fully auditable. The industry increasingly understands that without robust digital identity infrastructure, many of the “future of finance” visions simply cannot scale safely.
Perhaps the most interesting observation of all: AI was discussed in almost every meeting, but very few people talked about models. This relates to what I saw when I visited Silicon Valley earlier this year… (I shared my key takeaways of that trip here). Six months ago, conversations revolved around benchmark performance and which LLM was “winning.” This year, the discussion shifted almost entirely toward outcomes. Founders talked about reducing fraud losses, increasing approval rates, accelerating underwriting, lowering customer acquisition costs, or improving treasury efficiency. In other words: the industry seems to be slowly moving from experimentation to implementation. AI is becoming less of a technological curiosity and more of an operational layer embedded into real businesses. And, as I saw in San Francisco, which model I am using for a specific use case will be less relevant, as everything will be built on top of AI.
General news:
• Anthropic confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC, taking a major step toward what could become one of the largest public offerings in history. The company reported a $47B annualized revenue run rate in May and has been fueled by strong enterprise adoption of Claude Code, intensifying competition among leading AI developers. 🇺🇸
• Vammo secured R$75M in debt financing to expand its electric motorcycle fleet from 7,000 to 15,000 vehicles in São Paulo. The company is scaling infrastructure to meet growing demand for sustainable urban mobility solutions. 🇧🇷
• Bitso launched onchain.cc, a self-custody trading platform for advanced users seeking direct access to on-chain markets. The platform processed more than $70M in volume during beta and supports over 14 blockchain ecosystems with access to cryptocurrencies, tokenized assets and commodities. 🇲🇽
• LQN partnered with QKapital to simplify U.S. mortgage access for Latin American investors. The collaboration combines AI-powered mortgage infrastructure with lending expertise to streamline underwriting and loan origination for cross-border real estate investments. 🌎
• Nvidia unveiled its RTX Spark AI superchip for personal computers, extending its AI strategy beyond data centers into consumer devices. The platform will power new PCs from manufacturers including Dell, Lenovo and HP as Nvidia bets on AI agents becoming a core computing workload. 🇺🇸
Deals:
• da2 secured a strategic investment from Koinz Capital through an equity-for-expertise model valued at roughly R$500K. The insurtech is building a data-driven insurance distribution platform for SMEs and plans to scale nationally after completing insurer integrations. 🇧🇷
General news:
• Grupo Integração launched Integração Ventures, a media-for-equity investment arm designed to support scale-stage companies through media, content and communication assets rather than direct capital. Its first investment values agtech Sapiens Agro at R$40M and reflects growing interest in alternative startup financing models. 🇧🇷
• Brazil’s corporate venture capital market deployed approximately $700M across 66 rounds between July 2024 and June 2025, with increasing participation in later-stage investments. The trend highlights a shift toward more strategic and disciplined startup engagement focused on long-term innovation and business integration. 🇧🇷
• NetLex is accelerating growth through industry-specific AI solutions tailored to sectors such as healthcare, financial services and energy. The legaltech now serves around 400 large enterprises and continues expanding across Latin America while investing heavily in AI-powered contract automation. 🇧🇷
• Littio expanded its platform to include tokenized gold and Bitcoin, allowing users to manage digital dollars, euros, pesos, gold and Bitcoin within a single interface. The launch follows the company surpassing $1B in transaction volume and strengthens its digital wealth strategy. 🇨🇴
• Mercado Libre and Mercado Pago launched four new products in Uruguay, including yield-generating accounts, a prepaid Mastercard and new merchant solutions. The rollout reinforces Mercado Pago’s ambition to become a primary financial platform across Latin America. 🇺🇾
• Monetae launched El Salvador’s first fully integrated digital financial ecosystem, combining digital dollars, tokenized assets, cryptocurrencies and U.S. stock investing in a single platform. The company is leveraging El Salvador’s digital asset framework to expand access to savings, payments and investments. 🇸🇻
• Mercado Libre is seeking approval to launch an investment fund business in Mexico through Mercado Pago Fondos. The initiative expands the company’s financial services strategy as fintech revenue continues to outpace growth in its e-commerce operations. 🇲🇽
Deals:
• Uncover raised an R$80M Series A led by Cloud9 Capital with participation from ABSeed Ventures and Endeavor to accelerate international expansion. The AI-powered marketing analytics platform has already supported more than R$30B in advertising spend for global brands. 🇧🇷
• SoftBank is in talks to lead an $800M funding round for Agile Robots as it deepens its commitment to AI-powered robotics and humanoid systems. The potential investment aligns with SoftBank’s broader strategy to build a dominant position in the emerging physical AI market. 🇩🇪
General news:
• Uber introduced new limits on AI spending after internal use of tools such as Claude Code and Cursor reportedly exhausted the company’s annual AI budget in just four months. The company also reduced headcount in non-core areas while continuing to expand autonomous vehicle initiatives. 🇺🇸
• Escale Biz launched an AI-powered platform for SMEs, combining executive training, automation tools and specialized AI agents across functions such as sales, marketing and finance. The company aims to serve 20,000 small businesses in its first year. 🇧🇷
• Mono partnered with Bancoomeva to accelerate enterprise adoption of Colombia’s instant payment network Bre-B. The solution enables real-time collections and disbursements while improving cash flow management and payment reconciliation for businesses. 🇨🇴
• GouPayments, Zulu, Banco de Occidente and Aval Casa de Bolsa partnered to expand instant payments for Colombian businesses. The initiative extends Bre-B infrastructure into corporate and cross-border payments, helping modernize business financial operations. 🇨🇴
Deals:
• Factorial raised a €150M Series D led by General Catalyst, reaching a €2.5B valuation as it accelerates its transition into an AI-first workforce management platform. The company also secured an additional €540M commitment and plans to expand aggressively in Brazil. 🇪🇸
• Adros raised a pre-seed round from angel investors at a R$10M valuation to accelerate development of its AI-powered CRM and commercial management platform for healthcare providers. The startup focuses on patient acquisition, conversion and retention through automation. 🇧🇷
• DeepSeek is preparing its first external funding round, seeking approximately $7.4B at a valuation of up to $59B. The round could become one of the largest technology financings in China as the company scales AI infrastructure, talent and distribution. 🇨🇳
• Robbin raised an $8M seed round co-led by Canary, Atlântico and Caravela while also structuring a $100M FIDC with Augme. The company is scaling its AI-native B2B credit and payments platform and expanding embedded finance solutions for retailers and suppliers. 🇧🇷
General news:
• iFood launched its first drone delivery route in the São Paulo metropolitan area, combining drones, autonomous robots and human couriers to reduce delivery times from up to one hour to roughly five minutes. The initiative represents a major step toward scaling autonomous last-mile logistics in Latin America’s largest urban market. 🇧🇷
• Pix has become the primary payment method for nearly 60% of Brazilian small businesses, with adoption reaching 97% among sole proprietors. The system processed nearly 80B transactions and more than R$35T in volume in 2025, reinforcing its role as Brazil’s dominant payments infrastructure. 🇧🇷
• Mastercard expanded its settlement infrastructure to include stablecoins, enabling intraday, weekend and blockchain-based settlement across networks such as Solana, Ethereum, Base and Arbitrum. The initiative strengthens Mastercard’s strategy to bridge traditional payment rails with digital asset infrastructure. 🌎
Deals:
• Helion raised a $465M Series G led by Thrive Capital, reaching a $15.5B valuation as investor interest in nuclear fusion accelerates alongside demand for AI-related energy infrastructure. The company plans to expand production capacity and advance commercialization ahead of its power delivery agreement with Microsoft starting in 2028. 🇺🇸
General news:
• ClickHouse is expanding into Brazil as demand accelerates for real-time data processing and AI-driven analytics across financial institutions and enterprises. Valued at over $15B, the company is positioning its platform as foundational infrastructure for AI agents and autonomous decision-making systems. 🇧🇷
• Lulo Bank launched its first certificate of deposit (CDT), expanding its savings product suite with yields of up to 13% annually. The launch supports the digital bank’s strategy to deepen customer engagement and accelerate its path toward profitability. 🇨🇴
• Meta is reportedly exploring a major equity offering to help finance growing investments in AI infrastructure, data centers and consumer AI products. The discussions highlight the unprecedented capital requirements emerging in the global AI race. 🇺🇸
• Brazil at Silicon Valley will host its first event in Brazil on September 16 in partnership with Fiesp. The initiative aims to strengthen ties between Brazil’s innovation ecosystem and Silicon Valley while fostering collaboration among entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers. 🇧🇷
Deals:
• Banco Plata secured a $300M private credit facility from Oaktree, Macquarie, Fasanara Capital and Banco Covalto, with the facility expected to reach $500M by year-end. The financing strengthens the bank’s capital structure as it scales lending operations and expands product offerings in Mexico. 🇲🇽
Anthropic sparked one of the most important AI policy debates of the week by publicly advocating for an industry-wide mechanism that could temporarily pause frontier AI development, arguing that society may need time to adapt to the technology’s potentially transformative consequences.
In a blog post, the company warned that future AI systems could dramatically amplify human productivity, begin improving themselves, and eventually reduce the role humans play in the development process, creating risks that current governance frameworks may be unprepared to handle. Anthropic compared the challenge to international nuclear arms control and proposed discussions around coordinated safeguards, verification mechanisms, and broader industry deliberation. The proposal is significant because it highlights a growing tension at the heart of the AI race: while capabilities continue advancing at an unprecedented pace, concerns about safety, governance, and economic disruption are becoming increasingly difficult to separate from the competition for technological leadership. As AI labs push toward more powerful systems and larger commercial opportunities, the debate over whether progress should be accelerated, regulated, or occasionally paused is likely to become one of the defining questions of the industry.
Web Summit Rio 2026
Date: June 8–11, 2026
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Description: Part of the Web Summit global series, the event connects startups, investors, and tech leaders across Latin America.
More infoFebraban Tech 2026
Date: June 24–26, 2026
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Description: One of the main financial technology and innovation events for the banking and financial services sector in Latin America.
More info
I will NOT lie, nothing this week….
“Talking about AI without abstract futurism is still extremely challenging” Julia De Luca (kkkk my takeaway of Money 2020)