Finally writing from Sao Paulo, and looking back at Itaú Week in New York, it's tough to put into words everything that happened... The Itaú BBA team is simply unbeatable. The amount of effort put in was immense, but seeing what we accomplished, every second was worth it. Below you can see a short summary, and further ahead I dive into some details.
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We kicked off with the new Itaú BBA Next 100 Years event on Monday May 13, which I had the pleasure of helping to organize. The idea of the event is to celebrate the Bank’s centennial, but always looking forward on what’s to come. We had global influential leaders, such as Al Gore and Bill Ackman, speaking to a highly selective crowd of Brazilian CEOs and partners of the main public and private equity funds.
Following that, on Tuesday, the 4th Annual Itaú BBA Tech Summit was our best yet, bringing together 300 founders and partners from top VC & Growth funds that invest in Latin America. They networked, attended lectures, and participated in over 50 one-on-one sessions to generate business.
Our 17th LatAm Itau BBA CEO Conference (Tuesday-Thursday) took things to another level. We had 150 CEOs, 500 investors, and some incredible guests like Kelly Slater, Rickson Gracie, Flavio Canto, and Ronaldo Fenômeno.
Itau Private Bank also hosted a gathering at Bloomberg with international managers and clients, and the women leaders from the institution invited other executives to a happy hour with keynote Alice Braga.
As Rickson Gracie said on stage, “it is all about the team.” And what a team we have!
When we planned this week, our goal was to make a real impact. We chose the motto “a week that makes a difference,” and the feedback we’ve received confirms we hit the mark.
It wasn’t luck...it was hard work. Imagine hearing from and interacting with:
Al Gore, former Vice President of the U.S.
Adam Selipsky, former CEO of AWS
Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard
Bill Ackman, CEO and Founder of Pershing Square
Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President of Microsoft
Kelly Slater, the greatest surfer ever
Rickson Gracie, the legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter
Ronaldo Fenômeno, two-time World Cup champion and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year
Flavio Canto, Olympic medalist and founder of Instituto Reação
Alice Braga, celebrated Brazilian actress, director, and producer
Tarcísio Gomes, Governor of São Paulo
Romeu Zema, Governor of Minas Gerais
Our team’s creativity, organization, and passion made all the difference. We truly made history and I’m already excited about what we’ll achieve next year!
The bar has been raised, and I can’t wait to see how we’ll surpass it in 2025. As they say: the leader sets the pace, and we’re all set to lead the way!
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.
Itau BBA Next 100 Years:
This event was exclusive and closed to the press, so no videos were recorded or shared on social media. We had five distinguished speakers: Al Gore, Bill Ackman, Michael Miebach, Judson Althoff, and Adam Selipsky. Each session lasted 50 minutes and included an open Q&A with an audience of 250 CEOs and partners. While a variety of topics were covered, the main takeaway for me was hearing how global leaders think about important issues like sustainability, climate change, artificial intelligence, and teamwork. It’s fascinating to see how, to a certain extent, "great minds think alike." Unfortunately, I can't share more details due to the private and intimate nature of the gathering.
Itau BBA 4th Annual Tech Summit:
This event brought together the most important tech founders from the region, with over 300 attendees from the tech ecosystem. We had panels on topics such as health tech, B2B strategies, financial infrastructure, and the intersection of software and fintech. Additionally, global VC and growth funds hosted over 50 one-on-one meetings with selected companies. There was also a dedicated networking space. The event was an all-in-one experience!
It's incredibly fulfilling to see how this event has grown since it started shy back in 2019, when I was still doing Equity Sales at Itau BBA, with just 30 investors at Nasdaq. Now, in its fourth edition, it has become a huge success, with support from sponsors like Snowflake, Valor, Softbank, General Atlantic, WSGR, Machado Meyer, AWS, and others. As I always say, especially in the tech ecosystem, everything should be done together.
My main insights this year came from the final panel with Cristiano Guimaraes (Head of Corporate and Investment Bank at Itau BBA) and Martin Escobari (Co-President at General Atlantic). They discussed how investment decisions should be driven by gut feeling—but an educated gut feeling, where thorough research and analysis are done first, and then you trust your instincts.
17th LatAm Itau BBA CEO Conference
What a conference! With over 150 CEOs and 500 investors holding one-on-one meetings, this was our biggest edition yet. We also had truly inspiring keynote speakers. My main takeaway came from a panel with Flavio Canto, Kelly Slater, and Rickson Gracie. Rickson emphasized the importance of breathing—being truly aware of your breath and using it to control your emotions—and how it relates to longevity. As he mentioned, "longevity is having a sustained desire and passion, but not pushing your limits everyday”…
Other events that took place: Itau Private Bank @ Bloomberg , Itau BBA Women Leaders Event, Person of the Year, Forbes Party, Zoox Party…. the city was booming!!! I am very excited for next year already.
Now, I will share some selected news from the week - because even though I was travelling, the tech ecosystem does not stop…. Let’s dig in!!!!
Barte, the startup, aims to streamline the cash flow of SMEs by integrating payment solutions such as boletos, Pix, and accounts, while also providing access to credit. The fintech aims to grow fivefold and see over R$ 1 billion on its platform. Operating since 2021, Barte estimates revenue to exceed R$ 100 million in 2024.
Salvy secures R$ 10M in seed extension, aims for breakeven. Brazilian Neotelco, accelerated by YC, secured funding from Pioneer fund and one of the Dropbox founders.
Grilo Mobilidade, a startup specializing in electric tricycles for last-mile product delivery in Porto Alegre and São Paulo, reached break-even in the first quarter of this year.
Enseada, family office from the founding family of SulAmérica, has just invested in Rezultz, a company that provides a platform to boost B2B sales. With this investment, Rezultz joins the family office's portfolio of direct investments, which already includes over a dozen companies. Among them are Hashdex, Isa Labs, and Pipo Saúde. Typically, the startups invested by Enseada are between pre-seed and Series A.
Health Angels aims to invest R$ 20 million in healthcare startups in 2024. The first Venture Builder focused on dentistry and public health will be led by Rafael Kenji Hamada, CEO of FHE Ventures.
CRMBonus has just raised a round of R$ 400 million, valuing the giftback startup at R$ 2.2 billion post-money — more than double its previous round. The funding was led by Bond Capital, the San Francisco-based asset manager founded by Mary Meeker, in its first investment in Brazil.
Fintech NG.CASH, targeting Generation Z, raised R$ 65 million in a round led by Monashees, with participation from other global funds such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), 17Sigma, Tekon, and The Generalist. This marked the largest Series A for fintechs in Latin America in 2024. The investment comes 20 months after the seed round, totaling over R$ 125 million raised and R$ 2 billion transacted by the company.
Opea, a Brazilian credit and securitization company, announces the acquisition of True Securitizadora, a local company specialized in the structuring and distribution of securitization bonds, and Maximus, which operates in credit consulting and management for the real estate sector within the Brazilian market. The acquisitions are part of Opea's strategy to strengthen its position in securitization and expand its products and services portfolio.
Chinese Temu requests registration in Remessa Conforme to enter Brazil. The online sales platform belongs to the Pinduoduo group; initially, the carrier that will operate alongside Temu, as per records with the Revenue, will be J&T Express Brazil.
B3 implements digital portability for variable income assets. The feature is available for clients of the 15 enabled brokers at the moment, free of charge.
During the traditional quarterly report of the card industry in Brazil, Abecs - the association representing companies in the sector - presented an analysis indicating a positive correlation between the start of Pix, in November 2020, and the increase in overdraft credit concessions. According to data from the Central Bank (BC), between 2021 and 2024, there has been a 54% increase in overdraft credit concessions.
Strada, the logistics fintech backed by major trading companies, sets its sights on reaching R$10 billion (with cheaper freight). The logistics company, with Amaggi, ADM, Cargill, and LDC as partners, discusses the new products it is bringing to the agribusiness logistics market and acknowledges a slowdown in growth in 2024 due to a 20% decrease in the value of road freight.
Sankhya is announcing the acquisition of Asis, a tax management company based in São Paulo. The transaction marks another step in the recent journey of the Minas Gerais-based management and ERP company towards achieving the milestone of reaching R$1 billion in revenue by 2025. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
ABSeed launches a new R$150 million fund with a focus on SaaS and B2B. Seed 3 will continue the strategy of its predecessors, seeking early-stage startups.
Uber acquires Delivery Hero's business in Taiwan for nearly $1 billion. The American delivery giant has also agreed to acquire $300 million in new shares of the German company.
Totvs Techfin, in partnership with Itaú, expands its portfolio and advances in 'ERP banking.' Totvs Techfin is testing working capital, 'Bolepix,' and will launch an embedded digital account within the management system later this year.
Following the milestone of reaching breakeven at the end of 2023, Creditas has achieved its first quarterly profit since its foundation. The fintech, specializing in vehicle, real estate, and salary-backed loans, recorded a positive R$1.4 million in the period ending on March 31st. Founded in 2012, the startup was one of the first Brazilian unicorns.
Brazil accounts for 38% of IT spending in Latin America and is the largest investor in AI infrastructure in the region, with an expected expenditure of US$24 million this year, according to a survey commissioned by Lenovo and conducted by IDC consulting firm. This investment is mainly driven by supercomputer projects for oil and gas and extensive cutting-edge deployments in telecommunications.
After raising R$5.9 million, Brazilian startup StopClub, which helps drivers determine when it's worth being an Uber driver, is going global. The first stop is the United States, and by the end of the year, the platform aims to have 50,000 subscribers.
A leading startup in intelligent routing technology in Latin America, SimpliRoute is targeting Brazil as its primary market for growth starting this year. In addition to solutions for last-mile delivery, the company introduced a series of new tools in its business plan at the end of 2023 to expand its operations into first-mile delivery as well.
The Dutch technology holding company Prosus, owner of iFood and the largest shareholder in the Chinese company Tencent, announced that Brazilian Fabrício Bloisi, president of iFood, will be its new CEO. Diego Barreto, former CFO, will now be the CEO of IFood (Congrats to both!!!!!)
Hacking.Rio 2024 will feature a hackathon exclusively for women, with prizes of up to R$30,000. The competition will take place in a hybrid format, with the final held in person during the sixth edition of the event in Rio de Janeiro.
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