LatAm Tech Weekly
223: Something Big is Happening, the importance of empathy, 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 Carnaval Sunday!
I know what you’re thinking… it’s the biggest holiday in Brazil. And not just a holiday — it’s Carnaval. While people from all over the world fly into Brazil (especially to Rio, my hometown) to party nonstop, I’m doing the opposite. I’m in São Paulo. Writing this newsletter.
And — don’t judge me — I’ve never been a huge Carnaval person. I truly believe that watching the parade at Sapucaí is a once-in-a-lifetime experience (and I’ve done it several times). The scale, the discipline, the artistry — it’s unforgettable. But the blocos, the chaos, the logistics… not really my thing.
This year, I’m traveling right after Carnaval (and there’s a real chance I may skip next Sunday’s edition), so I’ve spent the past few days doing what I love most: sleeping, running, spending quality time with my family… and, of course, writing the LatAm Tech Weekly!
And apparently, I’m not the only one choosing this route.
Today, on my 15km run, two different people stopped me just as I was finishing. They asked if I was Julia, congratulated me on the writing, and said they were waiting for this week’s edition. (I forgot to ask your names — I’m sorry!) But truly — thank you. These moments mean a lot more than you know.
So without further ado… let’s dig in.
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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 Read of the Week: “Something Big Is Happening”
The piece that dominated my feed this week was Matt Shumer’s post on X titled “Something Big Is Happening.” With over 80 million views, it clearly struck a nerve. For context, Matt Shumer is the founder and CEO of OthersideAI, the company behind HyperWrite — one of the early AI writing assistants. In other words, he’s not a casual observer. He’s building in this space.
His central argument? We are dramatically underestimating how fast AI is progressing — and how disruptive it will be.
He draws a direct parallel with COVID. Before the pandemic, most people couldn’t imagine the world shutting down in a matter of weeks. But once it started, change happened exponentially — not linearly. His claim is that we are in a similar moment with AI.
One of the most talked-about parts of the piece is his personal reflection as a coder. He writes that programming, which many considered a “future-proof” skill, is now being rapidly automated. AI labs initially focused on coding for a reason: to build better AI systems, you need massive amounts of code. It was the first domino. He argues that the capabilities of paid frontier models are vastly underestimated by those experimenting only with free versions. One of his strongest analogies:
“Evaluating AI using free models is like trying to understand smartphones by using a flip phone.”
In other words: if you’re not using the best models daily, you’re not even seeing what’s possible...
He also warns that the speed of improvement is compounding. What feels impressive today will feel primitive in six months. And it won’t stop at coding — other knowledge work professions will be next. He’s not alone in making this case. Leaders from companies like Anthropic have publicly stated that AI writes the overwhelming majority of their production code. When the companies building frontier models are themselves using AI to build AI — that’s a powerful signal.
The Backlash
As expected, the internet had opinions. Some dismissed the piece as hype-driven or alarmist. Critics argued that AI has always been surrounded by waves of over-optimism and that human adaptability tends to rebalance labor markets.
Others, however, saw it as an important wake-up call — not because every prediction will be right, but because complacency is riskier than preparation.
The divide is interesting. It’s less about whether AI is improving (it clearly is) and more about how much of human work — and human identity — it can realistically replace.
My Take
Here’s where I stand:
If you are not paying for a frontier model and using it every single day — you are already behind.
That’s just reality. But...I also believe there are components of human experience that are extraordinarily hard to replace.
The future professional is not the person competing against AI. It’s the person who:
Uses AI relentlessly to automate the mundane
Leverages it to think faster, research better, execute more efficiently
And then doubles down on what AI cannot replicate
What are those traits?
Empathy.
Trust.
Judgment.
Charisma.
The ability to read a room.
The instinct to understand what someone actually wants — beyond what they say.
There’s a great clip of Jensen Huang, founder of NVIDIA, where he essentially says that the most successful people in the AI era won’t just be technically brilliant — they’ll be the ones people trust. Intelligence will be abundant. Trust will be scarce.
That resonates with me.
Yes, AI can build financial models, draft pitch decks, write research memos, summarize papers. It can structure information beautifully.
But a boardroom dynamic?
A founder who is scared but pretending not to be?
An internal sponsor who isn’t fully convinced—but knows alignment matters more than certainty?
A counterparty optimizing not just for price, but for positioning, signaling, and long-term strategic leverage?
A transaction where decades of relationship capital quietly shape what’s possible—and what isn’t?
AI doesn’t feel that.
There are entire layers of information that simply do not exist on the open internet for training data. They exist in conversations. In networks. In lived experience. In pattern recognition built over years. For example, during my recent trip to San Francisco, what I learned wasn’t just “facts.” It was context. Signals. Tone shifts. Who trusts whom. Who is quietly pivoting. What was the difference of this trip compared to my past trips to the region. That kind of knowledge is relational…
AI can process data. Humans connect the dots across trust networks. And that matters.
So here’s my advice.
Be ahead of the curve. Use AI aggressively, experiment continously and pay for at least one model. Integrate them into your workflow until it feels unnatural to operate without them.
But at the same time, become more human…
Invest in your communication, in your credibility, in your ability to build durable, trust-based relationships, and in your reputation.
Because if you combine:
AI-powered execution
With human-centered intelligence
You won’t be replaced.
Not as a founder.
Not as an investor.
Not as an operator.
Not as a professional — regardless of your field.
The future doesn’t belong to humans alone. And it doesn’t belong to AI alone.
It belongs to humans who know how to work with AI — and who understand that trust is still the ultimate competitive advantage.
Now, let’s move to LatAm tech.
General news:
Sankhya targets three acquisitions in 2026 as ARR approaches R$1B after adding 10 companies since 2021 with backing from GIC. The ERP platform closed 2025 with nearly R$740M ARR and deployed AI agents and a unified data layer to build an integrated ecosystem ahead of a potential US IPO around 2028. 🇧🇷
Investment Banks project US IPO market could reach US$160B in 2026 driven by high-growth tech and healthcare listings, with potential upside toward US$200B if mega private companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic come to market despite valuation and sector concentration risks. 🇺🇸
AI capex surge raises pressure on Big Tech shareholder returns as Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta move toward roughly US$650B in combined spending by 2026, forcing analysts to model ~30% operating cash flow growth to sustain free cash flow and raising risks to buybacks and dividends. 🌍
Inter accelerated credit growth to three times the market pace in 3Q25 supported by its “Inter by Design” model combining scalable digital distribution, data-driven risk controls and AI-powered underwriting. The bank expanded across products including payroll loans, credit cards, mortgages and home equity, with the payroll portfolio reaching R$1.3 billion just six months after launch. 🇧🇷
Deals:
Avenia raises US$17M Series A to scale BRLA stablecoin infrastructure backing regulated cross-border payments, multi-currency accounts and white-label compliance services, with new capital funding yield products, cards and expansion across Brazil, Latin America and the US. 🇧🇷
Laqus agrees to acquire Estar.finance to strengthen secondary market infrastructure adding a CVM sandbox–authorized tokenized asset platform to its R$50B custody ecosystem and expanding capabilities in private credit, crowdfunding and digital assets. 🇧🇷
ADN.vc reaches US$2M first close of debut fund targeting LatAm startups advancing toward a US$4M final close by April 2026, with eight investments already completed and a strategy focused on pre-seed fintech and proptech across the region. 🇵🇪
Mova Protocol raises US$3M seed to scale mobility and environmental data platform valuing the company at R$180M as it builds telemetry-driven carbon credit infrastructure and targets 1M users by mid-2026 alongside Latin American expansion. 🇧🇷
AI Pathology secures R$1.5M to advance smartphone skin cancer detection funding clinical validation and SUS integration for its AI diagnostic algorithm, which has already analyzed 2,000 images and identified 75 early cases. 🇧🇷
General news:
Gartner sees sovereign AI platforms rising to 35% of countries by 2027 up from ~5% today, as governments invest in full-stack AI infrastructure aligned with local data, regulation and language, with Brazil advancing a R$23B federal plan and private data center projects to strengthen digital sovereignty. 🌍
Startup funding in Brazil and LatAm drops sharply in January with Brazilian rounds down 53% year over year at US$311M, as AI leads activity and fintech captures 62% of volume in a more selective venture environment. 🌎
Zulu launches unified portal for cross-border treasury and payments enabling SMEs to receive international funds, manage FX and execute local payments in one workflow, after processing more than US$500M across six markets. 🇨🇴
PagoEfectivo partners with Yape to expand merchant acceptance in Peru introducing recurring and one-shot wallet payments to reduce checkout friction and accelerate mobile commerce adoption across retail and travel. 🇵🇪
DRUO processes US$223M in 2025 and targets EU expansion achieving monthly positive cash flow and planning entry into Europe in 2026 as it scales cross-border collections across the Americas. 🌎
Pix projected to reach 50% of Brazil e-commerce payments by 2028 surpassing credit cards as adoption accelerates across a user base covering 95% of the population and reshaping online checkout economics. 🇧🇷
Deals:
Segura secures late-stage round led by Riverwood Capital to accelerate growth of its privileged access management platform and expand cybersecurity capabilities ahead of the expected February 2026 close. 🇧🇷
MrBeast’s Beast Industries acquires youth fintech Step integrating a 7M-user teen banking platform into its expanding financial ecosystem as the creator leverages a 466M global audience to target Gen Z financial services. 🇺🇸
ONEVC closes US$50M Fund III above target 25% oversubscribed and already deploying capital into AI-native startups, reinforcing the firm’s early-stage focus on B2B and fintech opportunities in Latin America. 🌎
Visma acquires Brazil’s MaisMei to expand SMB software footprint adding a platform with 4M registered microentrepreneurs and deepening its consolidation strategy after prior acquisitions in the country. 🇧🇷
EU unconditionally approves Google’s US$32B acquisition of Wiz clearing the tech giant’s largest deal and strengthening its cloud security positioning as regulators cite sufficient market competition. 🌍
General news:
Itaú Unibanco accelerated its AI and technology modernization strategy in 2025 reporting a 35% increase in deployment speed, an 84% surge in generative AI initiatives and a 34% rise in traditional machine learning models. Since 2018, the bank has reduced high-impact incidents by 99% and cut single-transaction costs by 45%, reinforcing efficiency and digital resilience. With Pix via WhatsApp and personalized investment intelligence already scaled, Itaú is positioning AI and security as core drivers of long-term competitiveness. 🇧🇷
Microsoft opens two new AI and cloud data centers in São Paulo reinforcing its previously announced R$14.7B Brazil investment plan while expanding regional cloud capacity and committing to train 5M Brazilians in AI by 2027, positioning the country as a strategic Latin American technology hub. 🇧🇷
Vuun accelerates regional expansion after US$70M in sales as the Colombian proptech reaches profitability and scales its WhatsApp-driven sales intelligence platform across Mexico, Peru and other Latin American markets to boost developer conversion rates. 🇨🇴
Monet launches microcredit line for Venezuelan migrants in Colombia offering loans from US$50 to US$500 to help regularized migrants access formal finance, targeting a large underserved population still excluded from traditional banking services. 🇨🇴
BiPay receives regulatory approval to operate as an electronic money issuer in Peru advancing Bitel’s digital wallet strategy after surpassing 600K users and preparing to compete more directly with established local wallet ecosystems. 🇵🇪
Card payments in Brazil reach R$4.5T in 2025 rising 10.1% year over year with credit cards leading growth and online transactions surpassing R$1T, reinforcing expectations that total volume could exceed R$5T in 2026. 🇧🇷
Inter posts strong 2025 with profit up 45% and ROE at 15.1% driven by secured lending and improving operating leverage as the bank reaches 25M clients and targets deeper monetization of its existing base in 2026. 🇧🇷
TOTVS advances LYNN AI strategy to expand enterprise adoption committing roughly R$75M annually to scale its purpose-built ANI platform and Task as a Service model across more than 70K clients, aiming to deliver higher accuracy, governance and cost efficiency in enterprise AI. 🇧🇷
Agibank shares fall after NYSE debut amid weaker fintech sentiment dropping more than 8% on the second trading day after pricing below the IPO range, highlighting continued volatility for Brazilian digital banks in public markets. 🇧🇷
Deals:
BUSUP acquires Spanish mobility startup IOMOB marking its first M&A move to build a unified multimodal mobility platform, with Brazil generating 60% of revenue and integration targeted for late 2026 ahead of a potential Series B in 2027. 🇪🇸
Zippi raises R$220M for third FIDC with Credit Saison and Itaú to expand working capital lending nationwide after more than doubling key metrics in 2025 and targeting R$350M in AUM by 2026. 🇧🇷
Lebane raises US$4M seed to scale AI real estate platform co-led by Atlántico and Zacua Ventures to accelerate growth in Mexico and develop embedded financial products for the region’s US$700B construction market. 🇦🇷
Agibank prices downsized NYSE IPO raising US$240M valuing the digital bank near US$1.9B as it doubles down on payroll-backed lending and balance sheet expansion. 🇧🇷
BemAgro raises R$30.3M Series A to fund global expansion led by The Yield Lab Latam to accelerate digital agriculture adoption and support entry into the US market by 2027. 🇧🇷
General news:
SoftBank reports quarterly profit rebound driven by Vision Funds with net income of ¥248.59 billion ($1.62 billion), reversing a ¥369.2 billion loss a year earlier as Vision Fund 2 generated $20.3 billion in gains in the nine months to December 2025, including $17 billion tied to OpenAI, underscoring the growing impact of AI valuations on the group’s recovery trajectory. 🇯🇵
PicPay and Agibank shares slide after U.S. listings as PicPay drops 23.7% since its Nasdaq debut and Agibank also trades below IPO levels, reflecting softer investor sentiment toward fintech and software names amid broader market risk aversion. 🇧🇷
Belvo launches AI-powered Intelligent Ecosystem and rebrands positioning itself as a full-stack open finance partner capable of cutting data-to-decision time by up to 10x and reducing credit risk by up to 50%, supported by more than 80 million connected accounts across Mexico and Brazil. 🇲🇽
TokenOne receives CVM authorization to operate equity crowdfunding platform enabling the company to transition into a regulated digital investment marketplace focused on private credit instruments and expanding Brazil’s crowdfunding infrastructure. 🇧🇷
Deals:
Anthropic raises $30 billion Series G at $380 billion valuation led by GIC and Coatue to accelerate AI infrastructure and product development after annualized revenue surged from $1 billion in early 2025 to $14 billion currently. 🌍
Listo raises R$1 billion through new FIDC issuances structured by Itaú BBA and UBS BB to expand its R$1.5 billion credit portfolio, with the automotive fintech targeting a doubling of scale within 18 to 24 months. 🇧🇷
General news:
Startups and Maravalley form partnership to boost Rio’s innovation ecosystem aiming to deepen connections among founders, investors and corporations, with the hub already hosting 100 resident companies — including 70 startups that have raised R$250 million and generate roughly R$1 billion in annual revenue — as both organizations seek to expand regional integration and deal flow. 🇧🇷
EITA prepares Series A to scale AI mental health mentor targeting R$5 million to R$10 million to expand its WhatsApp-based CBT assistant and corporate distribution, after reaching 30,000 active users, monthly net adds of about 10,000 and an 86% return rate while developing new enterprise risk and psychology tools. 🇧🇷
Central bank reports Pix data incident at Agibank affecting roughly 5,300 keys due to isolated system failures, with authorities confirming no sensitive financial data or balances were exposed and opening a formal investigation that could lead to sanctions. 🇧🇷
U.S. venture capital faces valuation reset amid higher rates with PitchBook estimating 222 former unicorns lost their status in 2025 and many recent vintages trading at discounts of up to 68.2%, even as total unicorn value rose to $4.7 trillion and AI leaders continued to attract disproportionate capital. 🇺🇸
Deals:
Move Smart raises R$550,000 pre-seed to scale industrial AMRs in a round led by Koinz Capital to expand its autonomous mobile robots capable of moving 100 kg to two tons, with funding directed to team growth, governance and preparation for a larger future raise. 🇧🇷
Anthropic announced this week that it closed a massive $30 billion Series G funding round led by investors including Singapore’s GIC and Coatue Management, more than doubling its valuation from about $183 billion in its previous round to roughly $380 billion post-money — one of the largest private tech financings in history — with the company saying the capital will support further AI research, product development and infrastructure expansion as demand for its Claude models and enterprise AI tools continues to surge.
South by Southwest (SXSW) 2026
Date: March 12–18, 2026
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Description: The world’s most influential festival blending technology, culture, innovation, and entertainment through talks, workshops, and immersive experiences.
More infoSouth Summit Brazil 2026
Date: March 25–27, 2026
Location: Porto Alegre, Brazil
Description: A global innovation platform connecting startups, corporations, and investors to foster entrepreneurship and scalable business growth.
More infoBrazil at Silicon Valley 2026
Date: April 6–8, 2026
Location: Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Description: A conference connecting Brazilian leaders and entrepreneurs with Silicon Valley to promote innovation, investment, and cross-border business.
More infoVTEX Day 2026
Date: April 16–17, 2026
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Description: One of the world’s largest digital commerce events, bringing together global retail leaders, brands, and technology innovators.
More infoGramado Summit 2026
Date: May 6–8, 2026
Location: Gramado, Brazil
Description: A technology and innovation festival combining business, strategy, marketing, and public-sector innovation discussions.
More infoRIO2C 2026
Date: May 26–June 1, 2026
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Description: A creativity-driven event connecting technology, media, audiovisual, music, sustainability, and entrepreneurship.
More infoSouth Summit Madrid 2026
Date: June 3–5, 2026
Location: Madrid, Spain
Description: A global innovation conference connecting startups seeking scale with investors and corporations looking for new opportunities.
More infoWeb 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
“The most intelligent people are not those who know the most, but those who have the judgment to understand context — to read the room, to adapt, and to respond appropriately.” Jensen Huang