LatAm Tech Weekly
#186: Snowballer collab, Coatue's Q1 2025 LP Call with Eric Schmidt, deals of the week... and much more!
Weekly writing about what is happening in LatAm tech. By day, I work at Itau BBA advising mid-sized technology companies in their next strategic transaction. 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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After many requests, I’ve decided to launch a Portuguese — and lighter — version of LatAm Tech Weekly! It’s designed for anyone just starting to explore the tech world or who simply prefers to keep up with the latest news in Portuguese.
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Happy Mother’s day Sunday!
It’s been four years since my mom was last physically here — and it’s remarkable how, as we grow and evolve, so do our feelings. Last year, this day felt heavy. Lonely.
This year, the feeling has shifted. It’s still emotional, but now carries a deep sense of gratitude and pride — for everything she was, and for the parts of her I now see in myself.
It’s still a hard day. But I’ve changed. The grief has softened, reshaped itself. And I know she’s still with me, in her own way — especially this week, as I face the intensity of organizing several Itaú events and try (often with difficulty) to remember to take care of myself too.
Anyways, I am very excited for the series of events that Itau BBA holds in New York this week!!!! And yes, you can expect a great summary next Sunday!
Shifting gears, do you know the Snowballer? If you do not, you are missing out! Cláudio Pascoal da Silva, known as Snowballer, is an Angolan economist who became influential in Brazilian finance through his Buffett-style investment insights. He shares long-term investing tips on X (@snowballer8) and in his newsletter. Despite his growing following, he keeps a low profile and rarely shows his face. This week, in the Portuguese edition of my newsletter, we teamed up to cover the largest private secondary share sale in history: OpenAI’s $40 billion tender offer. On the next few days, I will also post a video on this theme. Please find below a TL;DR version. If you are Brazilian, do not miss out on reading the full piece here!
OpenAI, originally founded as a nonprofit in 2015 to develop safe and beneficial AI, transformed into a hybrid "capped-profit" structure in 2019 to attract private capital while limiting investor returns. The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 marked a turning point, propelling OpenAI into global prominence and sparking massive user adoption. Microsoft deepened its strategic partnership, and in 2024–2025, OpenAI executed the largest private tender offer in tech history, allowing employees and early backers to sell shares at a staggering $86 billion valuation. This deal redefined private tech financing and positioned OpenAI as the central force in the race for AGI — despite growing ethical, competitive, and regulatory challenges.
Moving on — the highlight of the week was, without a doubt, Coatue’s Q1 2025 LP Meeting. The full slide deck hasn’t been made public yet, but I’ll share some of the key takeaways (with the caveat that this summary barely scratches the surface of what was actually presented). To top it all off, the special guest was none other than Eric Schmidt, who shared some very compelling insights. I’m even considering recording a quick video about his remarks — if I can find the time (sometimes I swear my calendar thinks there are 48 hours in a day).
Let’s start with the key takeaways from Philippe Laffont, Coatue’s founder and portfolio manager — followed by highlights from Eric Schmidt’s session.
Laffont emphasized that what we’re experiencing is a market correction, not a crisis — and pointed to several historical data points to support this view.
He remarked that "tokens beat tariffs", meaning that innovation — especially in blockchain and decentralized technologies — tends to outpace and outperform protectionist policies like tariffs over the long run.
According to Laffont, we are at the onset of a new industrial revolution: the AI Revolution.
He drew an insightful parallel to the early days of cloud computing — particularly Azure:
It took six years for Azure to turn profitable.
At one point, it dragged Microsoft’s profits down by nearly 10%, prompting widespread skepticism from analysts concerned about margins and high CAPEX requirements.
Sounds familiar, right? We’re seeing the same skepticism today with AI.
Laffont warned that we’re repeating the same mistake: underestimating the long-term potential of transformative platforms — just like we did during the early evolution of the cloud.
Moving on to Eric, he believes AI is advancing far faster than most realize, especially in software development. He predicts that within a year, “the vast majority of programmers will be replaced by AI programmers,” with current models from OpenAI and Anthropic already generating up to 20% of code. He highlights that AI is entering a phase of recursive self-improvement — systems writing and refining their own code — and warns, “The computers are now doing self-improvement… They’re learning how to plan and they don’t have to listen to us anymore.” By year three, he expects AI to match the capabilities of the smartest human experts (AGI), and by year six, to surpass human intelligence entirely. “People do not understand what’s happening,” he says, urging urgent attention as this new era unfolds.
Are you ready to have in your pocket an agent that is more intelligent than you? Or perhaps - is society ready?
General news:
RIO launched PRIO Ventures, a R$120M CVC fund managed by Citrino Ventures to invest in innovation across oil and gas. 🇧🇷
Mastercard, PayPal, and Visa launched AI-driven “agentic payments” — autonomous agents that suggest and execute purchases based on user behavior. 🇺🇸
Rappi will now offer zero fees for restaurants for 3 years, aiming to double its restaurant base by 2025 in Brazil. 🇨🇴🇧🇷
Jorg Friedemann is now CEO of MagaluBank, tasked with boosting digital financial services where only 5% of the retail base currently engages. 🇧🇷
World ID, founded by Sam Altman, will sponsor the 2025–2026 Conmebol Sudamericana, despite regulatory issues in Brazil surrounding biometric data collection. 🇺🇸🇧🇷
Marcello Gonçalves of DOMO.VC criticized Brazil’s short-term mindset as the biggest barrier to VC fundraising, more than high interest rates. 🇧🇷
Revelo is seeing soaring U.S. demand for its AI-ready talent network. Post-training work for LLMs now represents 22% of revenue. 🇧🇷🇺🇸
Green Hub, backed by BID Lab and ChileGlobal Ventures, will deploy $400K to support 10+ climate tech startups via revenue-based loans. 🇨🇱
Pomelo partnered with Vita Wallet to launch a virtual card for cross-border payments in Colombia, with plans to expand across LatAm. 🇨🇴
Nequi partnered with Pismo (recently acquired by Visa) to move 100% of its transactions to the cloud, boosting scalability. 🇨🇴🇧🇷
Bancom launched Luqea, a digital wallet in Peru aimed at boosting financial inclusion through secure, AI-powered payments. 🇵🇪
Deals:
diio raised $2.5M led by Base10 Partners to expand its AI-powered sales automation platform across Latin America. 🇨🇱
TaxDown raised €4M to enhance its AI tax platform, already used by 1.5M people in Mexico, and to expand in Latin America. 🇪🇸🇲🇽
Gopass raised $8M from Qualcomm Ventures and Kfund to scale its contactless mobility platform and enter Mexico. 🇨🇴
TAG Investimentos launched TAG Edge, a unit focused on startup financing via FIDCs and FIPs, aiming to build a R$3B portfolio. 🇧🇷
General news:
Central Bank of Brazil published new rules for Pix Automático, launching June 16, including same-day retries and an opt-out deadline for institutions. 🇧🇷
Appoderado.com became the first Chilean EdTech to join Endeavor Miami’s ScaleUp program, strengthening its U.S. presence under the Schoolin1.com brand. 🇨🇱🇺🇸
Turbi hit R$271M in revenue in 2024 after shifting to a fleet-owning model. It cut costs, entered the used car market, and now seeks R$1B to double its fleet by 2025. 🇧🇷
Qive (formerly Arquivei) hired Erika Daguani (ex-Ebanx, PayPal) as CPO to drive innovation in its payments solutions for CFOs. 🇧🇷
Promova saw $40M in revenue and named Brazil as its second-largest market. The AI-powered edtech plans to open a São Paulo office and reach 5M users in the country. 🇺🇦🇧🇷
Deals:
OpenAI is close to acquiring Windsurf (formerly Codeium) for $3B, its largest deal yet, to strengthen its AI coding tools against rivals like Anthropic and GitHub. 🇺🇸
Luzia raised $13.5M led by Prosus to evolve from a chat assistant into an everyday AI layer and open an office in Brazil. 🇪🇸🇧🇷
Agibank raised R$440.6M from the IFC in a five-year social loan to expand credit access for INSS beneficiaries. 🇧🇷
UpMat raised R$1.5M in a Seed round led by Potencia Ventures to expand its AI-powered educational platform to reach 3.5M students by 2025. 🇧🇷
General News:
Mercado Libre grew net income 44% to $494M, with Argentina driving growth. It plans to invest $2.6B in Argentina and R$34B in Brazil. 🇦🇷🇧🇷
OpenAI is restructuring by keeping its nonprofit in control while converting operations into a Public Benefit Corporation, aiming to scale commercially while preserving mission oversight. 🇺🇸
Y Combinator declared 2025 the "year of AI agents," highlighting voice-powered LLMs and full-stack AI startups as key to industry transformation. 🇺🇸
OLX and Creditas launched a rental guarantee product in Brazil, removing the need for fiadores and deposits in lease agreements. 🇧🇷
KPMG brought together 200+ startup leaders at Web Summit Rio for its Emerging Giants event, fostering innovation and networking. 🇧🇷
BondingAI launched xLLM, an enterprise-grade language model offering private, explainable AI without GPU dependency, tailored for corporate systems. 🇧🇷
INSS suspended benefit advances via PicPay due to concerns over undisclosed fees, prompting a regulatory review of the INSS Vale+ program. 🇧🇷
Jeitto reported a 12.8% revenue increase in Q1 2025, with 10M users reached by offering credit to underbanked populations using AI-based risk models. 🇧🇷
Figma launched a fully localized Portuguese version for Brazil, deepening engagement in one of its top markets alongside new global AI tools. 🇧🇷
Deals:
Uber is investing $100M in China's WeRide to scale robotaxi services to 15 cities, extending a partnership that began in Abu Dhabi. 🇺🇸🇨🇳
DoorDash acquired Deliveroo and SevenRooms for $5.1B, expanding its presence in Europe and the Middle East and entering hospitality tech. 🇺🇸🇬🇧
Colb raised CHF 6M (~US$7.3M) to tokenize pre-IPO shares and expand its stablecoin and payments infrastructure. 🇧🇷🇨🇭
GDO Fantasy Game raised R$2M to scale its community-focused fantasy platform, prioritizing strategy and grassroots league expansion. 🇧🇷
Billor raised $40M through Inco to support its U.S. IPO roadmap, with R$900M already moved via its logistics finance platform. 🇧🇷🇺🇸
Allugg raised R$30M via FIDC to expand its hardware rental business and reach R$25M ARR by end-2025, targeting B2B tech clients. 🇧🇷
AWS announced a $4B investment to build three data center zones in Santiago, its largest project in Chile to date. 🇨🇱
Coinbase is acquiring crypto derivatives leader Deribit for $2.9B, the largest M&A in crypto history, enhancing its global position. 🇺🇸
General news:
Itaú reported record Q1 2025 net profit of R$11.12B (+13.9%), driven by retail and small business credit and rising ROE. 🇧🇷
Central Bank published Resolution No. 472 to cap interoperability fees for receivables-backed credit operations, effective June 1. 🇧🇷
EmCasa is launching Garagem, a new AI-powered platform for real estate agents to manage CRM, communications, and transactions, shifting focus from in-house agents to broader partnerships. 🇧🇷
Investing in Latina women is a massive untapped opportunity, as they drive 70–80% of global buying decisions but receive less than 5% of VC funding. 🇧🇷🇲🇽
Crédito do Trabalhador's portability launch was postponed to May 16 to finalize platform approvals; R$10.1B has already been lent to 1.8M workers. 🇧🇷
Sebrae released a ranking of Brazil’s top startup hubs: São Paulo leads with 3,695 startups, followed by Belo Horizonte and Rio. 🇧🇷
Gates Foundation will close by 2045 after donating an estimated $200B. Gates criticized declining global aid and urged more philanthropy. 🇺🇸
Central Bank will allow financial institutions to issue LCIs starting July 1, to boost real estate credit as savings shrink. 🇧🇷
Brazil now holds the world’s 3rd highest real interest rate at 8.65%, behind only Turkey and Russia, pressuring growth and credit. 🇧🇷
Contactless payments grew 38.6% in Q1 2025, now used by 71% of Brazilians and totaling R$423B in NFC transactions. 🇧🇷
Deals:
Mira Murati (ex-OpenAI) is raising $2B for her new startup, Thinking Machines Lab, valued at $10B and focused on open, customizable AI systems. 🇺🇸
General news:
Mexico led Latin American startup investments in April, totaling $1.1B — up 181% from March — driven by Kavak’s $527M in equity and credit. 🇲🇽
Google is launching an AI-for-climate accelerator on May 22 with 15 startups, including 4 Brazilian ones; each will receive mentorship and $350K in credits. 🇺🇸🇧🇷
Brazil's per capita income hit R$2,020 in 2024 (+4.7%), while income inequality fell to historic lows; yet over 108M Brazilians live on less than R$24/day. 🇧🇷
Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan called for AI that augments human abilities, urging tech leaders to embrace autonomy and “founder mode.” 🇺🇸
Bitcoin surged past $100K, reaching $103,280 on renewed optimism tied to Trump’s crypto stance, ETF interest, and global rate expectations. 🇺🇸
Ethereum jumped 10% to $2,006, with a $239.9B market cap, amid rising volume and renewed investor interest despite still being far from its ATH. 🌍
Central Bank of Brazil reported a Pix data breach affecting 50 Cashway users; no financial data was compromised and affected users will be notified only via their bank. 🇧🇷
Eduardo Lins (Movile cofounder) released a book promoting social purpose over profit, donating all proceeds to the Karimu NGO. 🇧🇷
Fogo Alto selected 10 startups for a 3-month acceleration focused on foodservice tech, including AI for inventory and CRM for restaurants. 🇧🇷
Pinterest shares soared 15% after Q1 beat estimates, with 570M MAUs and strong guidance for Q2; it's positioning itself as a Gen Z shopping hub. 🇺🇸
You will see below all events in Tech to happen still on the first semester of 2025. I need to start to organize the second semester list. Tips? Send those my way!
Itau BBA Fifth Annual Tech Summit
Date: May 13
Location: New York
Description: An afternoon in New York with the main founders & funders of LatAm with panels and 1:1 sessions.
INVITE ONLY
APIX
Date: May 15
Location: São Paulo
Description: Over the last decade, APIX has become one of the most anticipated global events focused on APIs and Integrations and its role on business strategies. A dynamic day filled with knowledge sharing and networking for professionals seeking new connections, global trends, partnership opportunities, and valuable technical and business insights regarding Open Finance, Partner Ecosystems, Legacy Modernization and Digital Experiences.
MORE INFO SOON!!!
VTEX Day
Date: June 2-3
Location: São Paulo
Description: Considered one of the largest digital commerce events in the world, VTEX Day brings together big names in retail, including customers, suppliers and influencers, in an environment dedicated to innovation and knowledge. The event is an opportunity to explore solutions, discuss trends, strengthen connections and gain valuable insights to boost business.
FEBRABAN Tech
Date: June 10-12
Location: São Paulo
Description: FEBRABAN Tech is a fundamental event for the financial sector, bringing together banks, fintechs, financial institutions and experts to debate the innovations that are shaping the future of the market. Held annually by the Brazilian Federation of Banks (FEBRABAN), the event reached a record of 55 thousand visitors in 2024.
No time, no time - I read through ITUB’s Q1 earning releases and newspapers for the news above
No time, no time - apart from listening live to Coatue’s LP Meeting for Q1 2025
Eric Schmidt on AI and its rapid advancement:
“The computers are now doing self-improvement… they’re learning how to plan and they don’t have to listen to us anymore.”