LatAm Tech Weekly
#210: Concentration in VC, secondaries, rise in M&A, Open AI's IPO, 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!
This week, we’re coming full circle. There was no shortage of good reads — and, thankfully, not all of them were about AI. I’ll start with a look at concentration in the venture world, shift gears to the rise of secondaries, touch on the M&A rebound, and of course, wrap things up with a dive into — what else — AI.
Starting with VC concentration, Carta published some interesting data points this week. While total capital invested in 2025 has climbed, the number of rounds has continued to fall, revealing a market where more money is chasing fewer companies. The “haves” — those able to raise larger, later-stage rounds — are pulling even further ahead, while a growing segment of startups struggles to attract VC attention. This concentration extends beyond funding: AI continues to dominate sector focus, talent growth is slowing even at well-funded companies, and capital and visibility remain heavily skewed toward the Bay Area. In short, the venture landscape has become a high-stakes game of selective conviction — a cocktail of fewer deals, bigger checks, and narrower bets that leaves much of the ecosystem on the sidelines.
Moving on to Pitchbook and secondaries, a new dynamic is reshaping the venture ecosystem: the rise of the secondary market as the primary source of liquidity. While the IPO window is cautiously reopening, many listings have come at down-round valuations, underscoring the gap between private-market exuberance and public-market discipline. In contrast, the VC direct secondary market is booming, with top startups like Anthropic, SpaceX, and OpenAI trading at—or even above—their last primary valuations.
According to Notice.co, Anthropic’s latest secondary pricing sits 13% higher than its $183B primary round, and across PitchBook’s top 100 private companies, the average secondary discount has narrowed to just 14.1%, half of what it was earlier this year. What was once a niche market has now grown into a $60B+ industry, giving investors and founders new ways to access liquidity without waiting for an IPO.
On the M&A front, Global M&A is officially back in full swing. According to PitchBook’s latest report, deal activity in Q3 2025 jumped 25.6% in total value and 3.8% in deal count, marking the strongest quarter since late 2021. So far this year, there have been over 37,000 transactions totaling $3.4 trillion, putting 2025 on track to surpass the number of deals recorded during the record-breaking 2021 cycle. The rebound reflects a sharp shift in sentiment as rate cuts from the Fed and European central banks ease financing costs, reviving confidence across strategic and private equity buyers. Notably, megadeals ($1B+) now account for over half of all global M&A value, with 435 such transactions totaling $1.7 trillion year-to-date.
Finally, on AI, this week, Reuters reported that OpenAI is laying the groundwork for what could become the largest IPO in history, targeting a valuation of up to US$1 trillion. According to the report, the company could file as early as the second half of 2026, with a potential listing in 2027, aiming to raise at least US$60 billion. The move follows a recent corporate restructuring that reduces Microsoft’s ownership to roughly 27% and boosts the stake of OpenAI’s nonprofit parent foundation to around 26%, signaling a strategic shift toward greater independence. CEO Sam Altman hinted that with OpenAI’s escalating capital needs, an IPO “is the most likely path forward.” While the plans remain preliminary and market-dependent, such a listing would mark a defining moment for the AI industry—transitioning from private mega-rounds to public capital markets, and testing
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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.
General news:
Prosus, owner of iFood, OLX, Sympla, and Decolar, began trading on Brazil’s B3 under the ticker PRXB via sponsored BDRs. Valued at US$160B, the global tech group—led by Brazilian CEO Fabrício Bloisi—plans to build US$100B companies from Latin America’s innovation ecosystem. 🇧🇷
Minha Escola, an edtech-turned-fintech, is set to become Brazil’s first digital bank for schools, after tripling its credit capacity to R$1.8B through Serasa’s Impulsiona Startups program. With AI tools for tuition renegotiation and plans to launch education insurance in 2026, the platform aims to transform how schools manage finances and families access education. 🇧🇷
Keeta, Meituan’s delivery arm entering Brazil, is reshuffling its local team before launch, cutting around 60 early hires amid “cultural” and target alignment issues. The company says it was part of a global performance review ahead of its Oct 30 debut in Santos and São Vicente, maintaining plans to expand to 1,500 employees by 2026. 🇧🇷
Qualcomm joined the AI chip race with two new data center accelerators, built on its Hexagon NPU technology to rival Nvidia and AMD. Launching between 2026 and 2027, the chips boosted Qualcomm’s shares 11% in New York, bringing its valuation to US$203B. 🇺🇸
The global AI market is projected to surpass US$190B in 2025, driving a 25% productivity boost for Brazilian companies.
Sequoia Capital is returning to its early-stage roots with US$950M in new funds — US$750M for Series A and US$200M for seed investments. The firm says it will stay disciplined amid AI hype, backing visionary founders capable of building “generational companies,” echoing its early bets on Airbnb, Google, and Nvidia. 🇺🇸
Deals:
Brazilian fintech Velotax raised US$23M in a Series A led by QED Investors, Valor Capital, and Picus Capital. The startup automates tax filing, predicts refunds, and offers AI-powered personal and payroll loans. Funds will accelerate product expansion across Latin America. 🇧🇷
Brazilian agtech Produzindo Certo raised R$20.7M in a round led by Arar Capital and SP Ventures to scale its sustainability intelligence platform. Monitoring 8.5M hectares and 10K farms, the platform helps global clients like Nestlé and Bunge track ESG compliance. Funds will expand its tech and green finance integrations. 🇧🇷
General news:
Avenue, owned by Itaú, partnered with Circle to launch USDC on its platform starting in November, enabling Brazilians to dollarize assets seamlessly. The move aligns with rising stablecoin adoption as a financial backbone, coinciding with Itaú and Bradesco joining Swift’s Ethereum-based network for instant cross-border payments. 🇧🇷
OpenAI has completed its long-awaited restructuring, officially becoming a for-profit company under a nonprofit foundation. The OpenAI Foundation now holds 26%, Microsoft 27%, and the remainder is split among investors and employees. The move unlocks greater funding flexibility and cements a US$500B valuation as OpenAI advances toward AGI. 🇺🇸
Amazon will cut up to 30,000 corporate roles—around 10% of its white-collar staff, in one of its largest restructurings ever. CEO Andy Jassy said the shift aims to streamline operations and double down on AI and cloud computing, describing the goal as a “leaner, faster, startup-like Amazon built for the AI era.” 🇺🇸
Itaú’s UX and design chief Fabricio Dore detailed how small interface changes generate massive impact. A revamped security hub reduced fraud by 140,000 cases, while design tweaks lifted engagement to 1.5M monthly users. Itaú now processes 2M daily client inputs via AI, proving that great design is a measurable business driver. 🇧🇷
Brazilian startup Jestor launched its “Hero Plan,” an AI-powered management platform offering unlimited users for R$99/month. The product drove 95% of recent growth, helping Jestor reach breakeven with 120K active users. The company now plans U.S. expansion, focusing on small-business automation. 🇧🇷
Bancoagrícola, El Salvador’s largest bank, partnered with Accion and Mastercard’s Center for Inclusive Growth to expand digital financial access via Nequi. The collaboration will let users receive international remittances in-app, boosting inclusion for underserved Salvadorans—remittances currently account for 24% of the country’s GDP. 🇸🇻
Deals:
Brazilian proptech CredAluga raised R$60M led by Provence Partners, with OLX investing US$5M for a minority stake. The partnership grants CredAluga access to OLX’s 34K real estate clients via ZAP and VivaReal, accelerating growth by up to five years and scaling its digital rent-guarantee solutions across Brazil. 🇧🇷
Brazilian healthtech ISA Saúde raised R$160M in a Series B led by IFC, joined by IDB Lab, Dalus Capital, and Endeavor Catalyst. The company will triple its city coverage and expand its AI-based home care analytics. Its Hospital-at-Home model has readmission rates below 2%, redefining high-complexity remote care. 🇧🇷
Coinbase acquired blockchain interoperability startup Echo for US$375M, marking its eighth deal of 2025. The acquisition bolsters Coinbase’s plan to build interconnected crypto infrastructure, using Echo’s tech to enable cross-chain communication essential for DeFi scalability. 🇺🇸
Krealo, part of Credicorp and owner of tyba, invested in Remitee, a startup powering instant cross-border payments in over 50 countries. Remitee’s platform lets banks, fintechs, and retailers embed international transfer capabilities directly into their systems. This marks Krealo’s 13th fintech investment in Latin America. 🇦🇷
General news:
Nvidia became the first company ever to reach a US$5 trillion market cap, cementing its dominance in the AI chip race. Shares rose nearly 4% after CEO Jensen Huang revealed US$500B in AI chip orders and plans for seven U.S. supercomputers, alongside a US$1B stake in Nokia to develop 6G technology. 🇺🇸
Brazil’s labor prosecutors urged iFood to pay social security contributions for its couriers, demanding retroactive payments to grant INSS benefits such as sick leave and retirement. iFood argues it only intermediates deliveries and calls for a modernized regulatory framework for gig work. 🇧🇷
Brazilian govtech Colab plans to raise over US$10M in early 2026 after launching Colab Gov.AI, a generative AI tool built with AWS to automate public service design. The platform cuts development time by 94%, enabling government agencies to create digital services in minutes. 🇧🇷
Microsoft reported a net profit of US$27.7B in fiscal Q1 2026, up 12% year over year, with revenue up 18% to US$77.7B. Operating income climbed 24% to US$38B, far exceeding expectations and reinforcing Microsoft’s dominance in the AI and cloud cycle. 🇺🇸
Apple reached a US$4 trillion market cap for the first time, driven by strong iPhone 17 sales in the U.S. and China. Shares closed at US$269, up 10% this year, making Apple the third most valuable Big Tech after Microsoft and Nvidia as it expands its AI and services ecosystem. 🇺🇸
Crypto payments app Oobit launched operations in Brazil, led by former N26 Brazil CEO Eduardo Prota. Supported by Tether (USDT), the app already has 10,000 pilot users, with 92% of payments in stablecoins. Its DePay feature allows direct wallet payments at Visa and Mastercard terminals. 🇧🇷
Colombian fintech Minka launched “Payments Hub”, connecting banks, fintechs, and cooperatives to the country’s new instant payment system, Bre-B. The platform integrates networks like ACH, Redeban, and Credibanco through a single API, turning instant payments into a new revenue stream. 🇨🇴
Alphabet surpassed US$100B in quarterly revenue for the first time, reaching US$102.35B with net income of US$34.97B. EPS climbed to US$2.87, driven by YouTube ads (US$10.26B) and Google Cloud growth of 34% to US$15.15B, sending shares up 6% after hours. 🇺🇸
Deals:
Vammo, the Brazilian electric motorcycle rental startup, raised a US$45M Series B led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund, with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Monashees. Funds will expand its 5,000-bike fleet in São Paulo, boost production in Manaus, and support R$500M in planned investments to scale across Latin America. 🇧🇷
Rhino, Brazil’s armored car mobility startup, raised R$15M in a round led by the UK’s TMT Investments and Dubai’s AngelsDeck, bringing total funding to R$40M. The company tripled its fleet and grew revenue 700% in one year, aiming to expand its secure B2B transport services. 🇧🇷
Mexico-based edtech Ginia raised a US$1.7M pre-seed round led by Wollef, with participation from NFX and Latitud. The AI-powered platform connects students to jobs via WhatsApp, tackling Latin America’s 50% graduate underemployment rate. 🇲🇽
Brazilian retail-tech Twiggy raised R$3.5M in a pre-seed round led by FUNSES, Bossa Invest, WOW Aceleradora, and ACE Ventures. Twiggy uses AI to help fashion brands like Michael Kors and Shoulder personalize shopping with its Style ID tech, after growing 10x in revenue between 2024 and 2025. 🇧🇷
General news:
Mercado Livre reported Q3 net income of US$421M, up 6% YoY, fueled by a 34% GMV increase in Brazil and a 29% rise in unique buyers—the fastest pace since the pandemic. The company’s decision to lower the free-shipping threshold to R$19 drove strong traffic and conversion gains while keeping cash flow positive. 🇧🇷
Brazil’s e-commerce market is projected to reach US$418.8B in 2025, expanding 21% annually through 2027, according to Nuvei. PIX is set to surpass cards as the dominant payment method within two years, positioning Brazil ahead of India and Mexico among emerging markets in digital commerce. 🇧🇷
Kueski partnered with dLocal to integrate Kueski Pay into dLocal’s BNPL Fuse platform, allowing global merchants to offer “buy now, pay later” options in Mexico. The alliance aims to extend financial inclusion to millions of unbanked consumers. 🇲🇽
The GovTech Fund managed by KPTL and Cedro Capital doubled its size to R$105.7M after new commitments from Finep and Fapesp. Targeting R$150M by 2026, the fund will invest in digital transformation startups for the public sector, adding three new portfolio companies this year and partnering with Prodesp to connect GovTechs with real government challenges. 🇧🇷
Deals:
CloudWalk raised a record R$4.2B via its new FIDC “Bela”, just five months after its previous R$3.1B fund. Backed by 87 investors and major banks, the fintech will use the proceeds to finance receivables advances for its 6M InfinitePay users. The company now surpasses US$1.2B in annualized revenue, having structured 11 FIDCs worth R$14.7B since 2021. 🇧🇷
GamdSports raised R$60M from an international sports-tech fund, with disbursement beginning in 2026. Its platform combines ticketing, facial recognition, fan engagement, and analytics for football clubs such as Chapecoense and Ypiranga, aiming for national and global expansion. 🇧🇷
Tensec secured R$319.8M in strategic credit from Upper90 to scale its B2B cross-border payments platform. The deal will multiply annual transaction volume tenfold to R$27.3B, leveraging AI-driven automation in FX, treasury, and international payments. 🇧🇷
General news:
Meta’s WhatsApp update sparked concern among startup founders after new terms restricted AI providers from using its Business API. Experts clarified that the change mainly targets large AI models like ChatGPT, not smaller certified partners, so most startups using official APIs remain unaffected. 🇧🇷
OpenAI launched ChatGPT’s new Study Mode, a feature developed with over 40 universities and inspired by the Socratic method to foster reasoning through guided questioning. Aimed at democratizing personalized tutoring, it also reignites debate over balancing AI automation with human-led education. 🌎
Medellín hosted the Ibero-American International Startup Congress, gathering 1,200 participants, 300 startups, and 42 high-potential projects. The event generated $7.5M in pre-investment deals, launched the $3M LATAM Ventures Investment Club, and fostered stronger collaboration between Latin American and European innovation ecosystems. 🇨🇴
Amazon shares surged over 10% to a record $250.19 after posting Q3 net income of $21.2B, up 38% YoY. Growth was driven by AWS and e-commerce, with an additional $9.5B boost from its stake in Anthropic—highlighting AI’s rising influence on Big Tech performance. 🇺🇸
Brazilian startup Mention launched an AI-powered media monitoring platform that tracks mentions in real time and measures unique article views at up to 50% lower cost. The company projects R$2.5M in monthly revenue next year as it expands its modular suite for automating brand–press communications. 🇧🇷
Deals:
Greentable raised R$2M from BR Angels to double production and deliver 1.3M frozen meals by 2026. Founded by Pedro and Nelson Semeoni, the startup evolved from dark kitchens to B2B partnerships with brands like Barilla and expects R$60M in revenue next year. 🇧🇷
Zucchetti secured a R$35M credit line from BNDES to develop AI-driven cloud management systems offering personalized business experiences. With 100K clients, the company plans to expand its AI team and pursue acquisitions in data science and predictive analytics. 🇧🇷
Moonflow acquired Mexican fintech Kobro to strengthen its footprint in Latin America’s fast-growing markets. The acquisition expands Moonflow’s client base, enhances its AI receivables platform, and supports continued growth after two years of 200%+ annual expansion across 26 countries. 🇲🇽
Ant International invested in Mexican fintech R2, which provides embedded lending infrastructure across Latin America. The funding will expand R2’s AI-driven credit solutions and support greater SME financial inclusion through marketplaces, POS systems, and payment processors. 🇲🇽
ReForest Latam raised $1M in a pre-seed round led by iThink VC to scale its AI- and biotech-powered reforestation platform. Its patented iSeeds capsules—containing native seeds and microorganisms—are used to restore ecosystems across Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil. 🇦🇷
Colombian fintech DRUO raised a seed round led by Global PayTech Ventures to expand its direct debit payment network across the US and Latin America. With 10K financial institutions and nearly 1M users, DRUO cuts transaction costs by 0.5% and boosts fraud protection 25x. 🇨🇴
The Founders Club acquired the Angel Investor Club, adding 420 new members and reaching a total of 1,100 participants. Startups in the network have collectively raised R$35M, with a target of R$40M by 2025, strengthening connections between founders and angel investors in Brazil. 🇧🇷
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!
IT Summit 2025
Date: November 6, 2025
Location: WTC Event Center, São Paulo, Brazil
Description: IT Summit 2025 is a premier event for technology and cybersecurity leaders, bringing together over 500 selected participants to discuss digital transformation, innovation, and strategic business opportunities. The conference offers exclusive content sessions tailored to executive interests, alongside continuous digital experiences and partner micro-events with groups such as CISOs Club, Tech Leaders, and CIOs do Agro—fostering year-round connections and high-level networking.
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 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
Pitchbook Sizing the US VC Secondaries Market
a16z Charts of the Week
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without,” attributed to Buddha
Thanks for this collection of links. Fan here.