Paulo Costa

Dear friends, we’re thrilled to announce that we’re (finally) launching our set custom of gen-ai solutions for the Brazilian market at the #riosebsummit. AI is a game changer for everything analytics. It’s all in Portuguese for now (sorry!),hit me up and we can walk you through our approach and why it’s different. A hint: it’s all powered by Observable. Everything is light-weigh, modular, auditable and reproducible. You can check it out at https://ai.belo.re

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Last week, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in the Bay Area, participating in some fantastic events, including Brazil at Silicon Valley. 💥 Unsurprisingly, AI remains the "talk of the town," and has been for quite some time now. 🎯 I synthesized six initial and preliminary insights into AI, both in general and within the realm of finance. These insights were drawn from my extensive reading, as well as conversations with ML specialists, founders, professors, and VCs. 🔊 I'd love to hear your thoughts on these observations. 🙂 💪 🔝 #AI #innovation #siliconvalley #future #perspectives #technology

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The power of positive energy

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At #FIIPRIORITY in #Rio, André Esteves, Chairman & Senior Partner, BTG Pactual underscores how can #Brazil leverage its #CleanEnergy matrix to address critical global challenges like #EnergyCrisis & #FoodSecurity. Watch the full panel: https://lnkd.in/dBks4iaa

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Why top global tech Investors are excited about Brazil 🌎 🇧🇷👇🏻 Brazil's tech ecosystem has transformed dramatically since 2015, evolving from a nascent market to a vibrant, thriving hub. Early pioneers like KASZEK, monashees, and Redpoint eventures (Anderson Thees and Manoel Lemos) set the stage, and today, the ecosystem is deeper with more early and later-stage capital providers like Valor Capital Group, Bicycle Capital, and Lightrock. Successful exits like the Pismo M&A have made Brazil more attractive for investment. The Nubank IPO, despite its rocky start, is now soaring. Founders like David Vélez and Sergio Furio are reinvesting in new startups, creating a powerful cycle of innovation and growth. These and other reasons why Brazil is grabbing attention according to Dave Nangle, managing partner VEF who joined me this week on The J Curve in the short snippet below ⬇️ To watch / listen to our full conversation with Dave head over to our channels on Spotify, Apple and Youtube 🔗🎙 #latinamerica #techecosystem #exits #venturecapital #entrepreneurship #vef #thejcurvepodcast

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Translating the headline: "Taco Bell wants Brazil to become the biggest operator out of the USA". It is a very bold expansion plan of the fast food company within Brazil, I would say. They currently have a little bit more than 30 stores in the country and want to open 200 more till 2030. I see the 2 sides of the coin in this situation: 1) Yes, indeed I also see a whitespace for junkie Mexican restaurants in the country, as there are not so many of them compared to other cuisines (Japanese, Arabic, Italian, and so on); 2) At the same time, Brazilians are not so used to having Mexican food, especially in its junkie version. And considering the 6 years time they want to open all of these stores, I believe the time is too short for that. Some may say: "But what about Sí Señor restaurant and other Mexican ones?". Well, most of the Mexican restaurants spread out the country offer an experience as well, and use the Mexican culture as part of it to attract customers. Many of them have Mariachi shows, characters from the famous and popular Chavo del Ocho series, and other very cool Mexican experiences that Brazilians generally like. They are not only a place to sit and eat, in most cases. Sí Señor! (El Camino Foods S.A.) restaurant, to mention another one, offers TEX-MEX food and competes in a different category with other players, such as Outback, Applebee's, Olive Garden, etc. They have a different approach and offer another type of experience to their customers. I truly hope they are very successful in the country. Similarly, I am sure they went through an extensive market research to make this decision to avoid having the same bad experience they have in Mexico, where they failed and completely left the country. Nevertheless, I would be way less aggressive with these expansion plans. Hopefully everything goes well and they crush it - with plenty of tacos.

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WHAT'S BEHIND ZILIA’S US$120MN BRAZIL SEMICONDUCTORS INVESTMENT? Brazil's Zilia Technologies (formerly SMART Modular Technologies) is set to invest 650mn reais (US$120mn) to boost semiconductor production. With potential new incentives and a new controlling investor, Zilia aims to expand its operations significantly. CEO Rogerio Nunes highlighted the support for the new incentive program in Brazil and emphasized Zilia's dual national and global identity. The company was acquired by China’s Longsys, which now holds 81% of shares, while SGH retains 19%. The investment will enhance production capacity and fund R&D initiatives. Zilia’s two factories in São Paulo and Manaus will see expansions and new equipment installations to support integrated circuit encapsulation and testing. This move is part of a broader nearshoring strategy to serve markets in the US and Latin America. Thanks again to BNamericas for the full article with more background and insights click the source link in the comments below 💡 🙏👇 Visit International Semiconductor Executive Summits #Semiconductors #Brazil #Investment #TechIndustry

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At the beginning of July, the Amazon Community Funds Network - Fundo Babaçu, Fundo Podáali, Fundo Dema, Fundo Mizizi Dudu, Fundo “Luzia Dorothy do Espírito Santo”, Fundo Puxirum, Fundo Indigena Timbira, Fundo Indigena do Rio Negro (FOIRN), Indigenous and community-led organizations from Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador, gathered in Esperantina, Piaui, Brazil 🇧🇷 to participate in an international learning exchange funded by Tenure Facility. Throughout the 3-day event, participants discussed the relevant connections between social movements and community funds as well as the importance that these funds bring to ensuring grassroots Indigenous, Afro-descendant and local communities’ rights. Participants shared valuable lessons and identified potential collaboration strategies to strengthen community funds in the #Amazon region. Our regional coordinator for Latin America, Karin Ericsson, shares her reflections: ⤵ 🗣 "For Tenure Facillity's regional coordinator for Latin America, Karin Ericsson, the exchange was a great opportunity to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of the funds of each of the organisations present, as well as the dynamics of coordination between these organisations that are part of a network. “We are a partner and funder of the indigenous, quilombola and traditional peoples' movements in Brazil, and there is also a lot of support for territorial community funds. Our aim is to be able to channel the funds in order to offer them to the peoples. This mechanism of territorial community funds is something that interests everyone. Everyone wants to know how this is being created, because there is a concrete proposal here, which meets the demands of the peoples. So we have a responsibility to adjust processes as a donor in order to be a better and better quality partner,” 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ekrVdPF5

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#fintechs are ruling the #venturecapital in #latinamerica — From April to June 2024, Latin American startups raised $2.2 billion in venture capital, with Brazilian companies leading by securing $1.2 billion. This represents a significant 160% increase compared to the same period last year. Notable investments include $308 million for CloudWalk Pagamentos and $125 million for Celcoin. Mexico and Argentina followed Brazil in terms of funding. Worth noting the Argentine Vercel with $250 million. Fintech startups were the most attractive, securing $1.3 billion in investments. Additionally, deep tech funding surged by 302% year-over-year. Brazil also led in the number of funding rounds, with 142 out of 239 across the region, highlighting its growing influence in the Latin American startup ecosystem. #Startups #BrazilStartups #DeepTech #InvestmentGrowth #TechInnovation #VCFunding #StartupEcosystem

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CRMBonus raised 80 Million from Bond Capital and is Now Valued at 400 Million - CRM&Bonus, a Brazilian platform that manages “gift back” programs from retailers, raised $80 million (BRL $400 million) from Bond Capital in a Series-B round that valued the company at BRL 2.2 Billion or $400 Million dollars, which doubles its Series-A valuation. Bond Capital, founded by Mary Meeker, was created by partners from Kleiner Perkins, a firm known for its early-stage bets on companies such as Amazon, HP and Compaq Computer Corporation. It is the first investment by Meeker in #latinamerica. According to CEO Alexandre Zolko, funds will be used to artially pay for previous CRMBonus acquisitions and to build CRM Ads to go head-to-head against Google Ads and Meta. Details of the deal in www.beyondthelaw.news #Thefirmsbehindthedeal Bronstein, Zilberberg, Chueiri & Potenza Advogados represented and acted as legal counsel to CRMBonus. -- Partner Eduardo Zilberberg led the Bronstein Zilberberg deal team with contribution from partner Sergio Bronstein and associates Paula Bobrow, Fabio Baum and Manuela Genovese Pedro. #venturecapital #latinamerica #latam

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Tomorrow April 17th we will be hosting an investors roundtable together with VNTR Capital and PULSAR during Web Summit Rio! All investors (GPs, LPs, Angels, CVCs, and more) are invited to participate in this networking session to exchange ideas and insights on the industry. Registration and more info here 👇 #websummitrio #rio #venturecapital #vc #latam

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_We shall emphasized that VC landscape in Brazil entered a period of consolidation in 2023. _LAVCA has released that investors deployed US$4 billion across 770 transactions in Latin America, with US$1,764 billion being directed at 325 Brazilian start-ups. #venturecapital #startups #mastropasqua

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🚀 Investing in Resilience: Investor Focus in Brazil Last month, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Startup City Magazine, and I’m thrilled to announce that the article has been published this week! In our conversation, we explore various aspects of brazilian startups and their emerging trends. "Brazil's robust economy and population provide ample opportunities for startups to grow, even without international expansion" You can read the full article here:  https://lnkd.in/dKZ_aZ7V

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I recently had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion at South Summit Brazil 2024 titled "Thriving Together: Open Innovation Unleashed." The conversation was nothing short of provocative, challenging conventional wisdom and shedding light on the crucial gap between theoretical knowledge and practical innovation.   We delved deep into the dynamics between academia and industry, exploring how the theoretical frameworks taught in universities often fail to apply in the real world.   While research shows the average success rate for startup pilots in corporations is only 30%, Innovate-Israel data shows that when corporations use the proper tools and methodology to collaborate, the success rate rises to 70%!   The panelists shared unique insights on how to bridge this gap and harness the power of open innovation to drive meaningful change. We dissected the challenges organizations face when attempting to translate theoretical concepts into actionable strategies, emphasizing the need for collaboration, and had a heated discussion on this matter.   Collaboration is the only way for organizations to remain relevant. Corporations cannot rely only on internal innovation, or they will disappear. Watch the video now to learn how to do it right and innovate in a rapidly changing world.   https://lnkd.in/dTG-aWDs   Sebastian W. Francisco de Azeredo María Benjumea José Renato Hopf Wagner Lopes Rodrigo Ewald Mendonça Uri Levine South Summit Liz Fleming Blanca Galietta Andrea Beleván Eduardo Lorea Josemaria Siota #openinnovation #collaboration #innovation #business #opportunities #newopportunities #expansion #globaltour #worldwidetour #keynotespeaker #innovationworkshop #innovationlecture #startupnation #bestpractices #corporateinnovation #speaker #lecture #workshop #workshops #futureofbusiness #southsummitbrazil2024 #brazil #panel #innovationinsights

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My partner Bernardo Moraes and I joined Felipe Donato on the Voomp PODCAST to discuss key insights about building a successful company in the online education market. Voomp is linked to Cogna Educação, one of the biggest educational groups in Brazil. https://lnkd.in/dJQby4G6 📣 3 major takeaways from the talk: 1) The power of microniches in online education: you don't need to aim for the entire country to build something valuable. Focusing on microniches gives you a chance to generate more value for a specific audience. This is a great practical application of the concept of "Beachhead Market" taught in the book "Disciplined Entrepreneurship" by Bill Aulet. 2) You don't need to be a marketing expert to start a company. The MED-REVIEW group was created by doctors with no previous marketing and sales experience. The key aspect is our focus on helping medical doctors become specialists in their field using our accelerated learning platform. 3) The founders must be able to put their egos aside so the company can grow. Founders must be flexible and understand that different stages of the business will demand different skills from them. As a leader, you must be willing to pass on roles that other professionals can achieve a higher performance. PS: MED-REVIEW is focused on continuously delivering high-quality content to its customers and IS HIRING for 100% remote positions. DM us for more information. PS2: The entire talk is in Portuguese (PT-BR). If you are an English speaker, just turn on the subtitles =)

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Join us this week on The J Curve as we dive into the incredible journey of Geraldo Thomaz, co-founder and co-CEO of NYSE-traded VTEX! 🌐💡 Through numerous pivots and iterations, VTEX has evolved into a global digital commerce powerhouse, serving industry giants like Walmart, Coca-Cola, and L’Oreal. Before going public, VTEX raised $365M from prominent investors such as SoftBank Latin America Fund, Naspers Limited, Riverwood Capital, Endeavor Catalyst and more. In our conversation, we go deep into the key elements of this evolution and share Geraldo's invaluable lessons along the way. We discuss: 1️⃣ From zero to Walmart: key strategies for landing enterprise customers 2️⃣ Optimize for scalability: key trade-offs VTEX made for global growth 3️⃣ Building a high-performing partnership: trust, complementary skills, and a divide-and-conquer management approach 4️⃣ From founder to public company CEO: main lessons on leadership transformation 5️⃣ Take LatAm to the world: how to inspire global entrepreneurial ambitions in the region? Watch / listen to the episode by tuning into The J Curve podcast on 👇 Youtube 👀 ===> https://lnkd.in/eGraR9q3 Spotify 🎙===> https://lnkd.in/e-xAPqk2 Apple Podcast 🍏 ===> https://lnkd.in/enP4G_tU Huge thank you to Milena Oliveira, founding partner at Volpe Capital for introducing me to Geraldo and for some excellent question suggestions. I really really appreciate that. #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #DigitalCommerce #GlobalGrowth #TheJCurve #PodcastAlert

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Publishers vão se aliar a OpenAI Aqui só um primeiro exeplo como : OpenAI has struck a deal with Reddit OpenAI will use content from the social media platform for its artificial intelligence chatbot, sending shares in the company up as much as 15 per cent in after-hours trading. Thursday’s announcement is the latest in a number of deals between the Microsoft-backed start-up and media brands as the competition for high-quality and reliable data to underpin powerful new AI models intensifies. At the same time, OpenAI is fighting copyright lawsuits from publishers who are reluctant to allow their content to be used by the ChatGPT-maker. The agreement gives OpenAI access to content on Reddit’s website and will allow the social media platform to embed more AI tools. Financial terms were not disclosed, but a jump in Reddit’s stock would mean a windfall for Sam Altman, the co-founder and chief executive of OpenAI, who has invested tens of millions of dollars into the social media group. Altman, who has said he has no equity stake in OpenAI, held close to 10 per cent of Reddit’s stock ahead of its public listing in March via various entities, according to public filings. The 39-year-old, a serial entrepreneur and investor, did not lead the negotiations with Reddit, according to OpenAI. The deal will also be a boon to Reddit’s monetisation efforts, which have until now mainly focused on building up its advertising-based business model. On its roadshow ahead of its listing, Reddit told investors that it also hoped to see a windfall from selling its data to third parties so that they could train their AI. It has already struck deals with Google and Cision. OpenAI has struck a series of deals with publishers this year, including the Financial Times, US-based Associated Press, Germany’s Axel Springer, France’s Le Monde and Spain’s Prisa Media. Those deals give the San Francisco-based start-up access to material which can in turn be used to develop and run generative AI technology that can create text, images and code from human prompts. “We are thrilled to partner with Reddit to enhance ChatGPT with uniquely timely and relevant information, and to explore the possibilities to enrich the Reddit experience with AI-powered features,” said Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s chief operating officer. Including Reddit in ChatGPT “upholds our belief in a connected internet, helps people find more or what they’re looking for, and helps new audiences find community on Reddit”, said Steve Huffman, Reddit’s co-founder and chief executive. While some media brands have partnered with OpenAI, others have resisted. The New York Times and other publishers have instead sued OpenAI and Microsoft for harvesting their articles. In December, the NYT filed a lawsuit seeking billions of dollars in damages from the two companies for “profit[ing] from the massive copyright infringement, commercial exploitation and misappropriation of The Times’s intellectual property”.

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