Latam Startups
Brazil-Based FinTech Startup Bull Raises $3.9M to Scale AI-Powered Credit Infrastructure
Maya and Caravela led the round, with participation from Canary, to support product development, new credit offerings and commercial expansion.
Brazilian credit-as-a-service platform Bull has raised approximately $3.9 million in Seed funding to strengthen its technology, expand its customer base and develop additional credit products.
The round was led by Maya and Caravela, with participation from Canary. The dollar values in this article are approximate conversions based on the Brazilian Central Bank’s published exchange rate of one Brazilian real to $0.19549. Central Bank of Brazil
Bull enables businesses to launch and operate credit products without developing the required technology, regulatory infrastructure and operational processes internally.
Investing in AI and Credit Operations
Bull will direct part of the funding toward artificial intelligence, data infrastructure, cybersecurity and automation. The company also plans to continuously improve the decision-making models used to evaluate and manage credit.
These investments are intended to reduce operating costs, improve risk management and prepare the platform to support multiple credit products. Bull believes integrating AI and cybersecurity into its core infrastructure will allow customers to launch new financing services more quickly and safely.
The company will also expand its commercial and marketing teams, participate in industry events and invest in brand awareness. Management believes Bull has reached sufficient operational maturity to accelerate customer acquisition across financial services, retail, employee benefits, marketplaces and technology platforms.
Following an Earlier $2 Million Round
The Seed financing comes less than a year after Bull raised approximately $2 million in a pre-Seed round led by Canary, with participation from Endeavor through Scale Up Ventures.
Bull decided to raise additional capital before using most of its earlier funding. José Pires Neto, co-founder and chief operating officer, said the company preferred to strengthen its financial position while capital was available rather than wait until funding became necessary.
The strategy is intended to give Bull enough resources to maintain its growth rate and invest in new products without creating near-term cash constraints.
Growing Credit Origination
Founded in 2025 by Juliana Freitas and José Pires Neto, Bull has progressed from a minimum viable product to serving more than 20 medium-sized and large customers in approximately one year.
The company expects monthly credit originations to exceed $19.5 million during the third quarter of 2026. It is also targeting approximately $195 million in cumulative operations by the end of the year while testing a new credit product distributed through partner ecosystems.
Bull initially focused on private payroll-deductible loans for formally employed workers. However, its infrastructure was designed from the outset to support several credit categories.
Building Credit-as-a-Service Infrastructure
Bull combines technology and regulatory infrastructure with customer support, collections, reconciliation and connections to credit investment funds. This means clients can outsource more of the credit lifecycle rather than combining services from several providers.
The company says investors financing its credit operations have recorded default rates below the broader market average. This performance has helped Bull access additional capital to fund its expanding loan activity.
Freitas and Pires Neto previously led FortBrasil, which reached two million customers and originated around $3.9 billion in credit before being acquired by DM in 2023.
With the Seed round completed, Bull plans to broaden its product portfolio and position its platform as an infrastructure provider for Brazilian companies seeking to offer credit without building specialised operations from scratch.
Latam Startups
Brazilian FinTech Startup Stay Raises $5.7M Funding Led by Citrino to Expand Corporate Pension and Employee Benefits Platform
led by Citrino to expand employer-sponsored retirement plans, strengthen corporate partnerships and increase access to long-term financial benefits across Brazil.
The round also attracted participation from Norte, 17Sigma and BTV, strengthening Stay’s investor base as it develops technology infrastructure connecting employers with private pension providers. The company previously secured R$15 million (approximately $2.85 million) in an earlier financing round backed by MAYA Capital and Better Tomorrow Ventures.
Led by Founder and CEO Tsai Chi-yu, Stay provides corporate retirement benefit solutions and long-term employee incentive programmes. The startup currently serves nearly 100 companies and tens of thousands of employees, with clients including Claro, iFood, Milky Moo and Hospital de Câncer Araújo Jorge.
Stay Secures $5.7M Funding Led by Citrino
The R$30 million investment will support Stay’s efforts to expand its corporate pension infrastructure and reach more employers across Brazil.
Citrino led the financing round, joined by Norte, 17Sigma and BTV. The lead investor’s relationships with major Brazilian business families and experience in long-term asset management align with Stay’s focus on retirement products that require sustained financial commitments.
Tsai Chi-yu described Citrino’s participation as an important endorsement of the company’s business model, emphasizing the role of trust in retirement planning. He noted that managing retirement savings over several decades requires credibility and long-term relationships with investors, insurers and corporate clients.
The new financing follows Stay’s previous R$15 million funding round and comes as the company seeks to strengthen its position in Brazil’s employer-sponsored retirement benefits market.
Stay Connects Employers With Private Pension Providers
Stay operates as a technology intermediary between employers and insurance companies offering private pension products. Its platform enables businesses of different sizes to provide retirement benefits to employees without independently developing the infrastructure required to administer pension programmes.
The company also offers long-term incentive programmes, known in Brazil as Incentivos de Longo Prazo (ILPs), designed to encourage employee retention and align financial benefits with longer-term employment relationships.
In 2024, Stay established a partnership with Zurich Seguros, expanding its ability to distribute corporate pension products through an established insurance provider. The collaboration supports the startup’s strategy of combining technology infrastructure with existing financial services networks.
By integrating retirement planning and employee incentive solutions, Stay aims to make corporate pension benefits more accessible to businesses that may lack the resources to manage these programmes independently.
Stay Expands Corporate Client Base Across Brazil
Stay has reported significant growth in its corporate customer base, serving nearly 100 companies and tens of thousands of employees through its pension and incentive programmes.
Its clients include telecommunications company Claro, food delivery platform iFood, dessert brand Milky Moo and Hospital de Câncer Araújo Jorge, demonstrating adoption across different sectors of the Brazilian economy.
According to the company, assets under management have increased more than 30-fold since its founding. Although Stay did not disclose the current value of those assets, the reported growth reflects the expansion of its corporate retirement business.
The startup has established a target of exceeding 100 corporate clients by December 2026. Reaching that milestone would support its efforts to broaden employer participation and extend access to retirement benefits across additional industries.
Addressing Brazil’s Employer-Sponsored Pension Gap
Stay is targeting a market where access to corporate retirement benefits remains limited. According to Tsai Chi-yu, fewer than 3% of Brazilian workers currently participate in employer-sponsored pension plans, compared with estimated participation levels of 70% to 90% in selected markets across Europe, Asia and the United States.
The company views this gap as an opportunity to expand private retirement savings through employer partnerships, particularly as Brazilian households face increasing financial pressures.
Tsai has highlighted rising household defaults and the growing influence of betting-related spending as factors affecting personal financial stability. Against this backdrop, Stay aims to encourage long-term savings by making retirement planning part of employee compensation and benefits packages.
The company’s approach also reflects growing interest in financial wellness programmes that extend beyond conventional workplace benefits. Employer-sponsored pensions and long-term incentives could become part of broader employee financial support strategies as businesses seek to improve retention and financial security.
Stay Targets Further Expansion in Brazil’s Pension Market
With R$30 million in new funding, Stay plans to expand its corporate distribution network, strengthen relationships with insurance providers and increase adoption of its retirement and incentive products.
Its growth strategy combines technology-enabled pension administration with partnerships that provide access to established financial infrastructure. The company will also focus on attracting additional corporate clients as it works toward exceeding 100 employers by the end of 2026.
As Brazil’s corporate pension market develops, Stay’s expansion will depend on its ability to establish long-term partnerships with employers and insurers while demonstrating the value of retirement benefits to businesses and their employees.
The latest investment positions the startup to continue developing its pension technology platform and broaden access to employer-sponsored retirement savings across Brazil.
Latam Startups
Brazilian Startup Plinq Raises $250K in Seed Funding to Expand Background Check App for Women
Led by Spectra Investments, the funding will support Plinq’s mobile app and its move from individual searches to a subscription service.
Brazilian startup Plinq has raised about $250,000 in its first funding round, led by Spectra Investments. Angel investors also participated, including Anton Osika, Liana Selles, Fernando Montera and José Gerardo Carrero. The dollar amount is an approximate conversion of the R$1.3 million round announced in August 2026.
Plinq helps women search publicly available judicial records when checking the background of a potential romantic partner. Founded in 2025 by CEO Sabrine Matos, the company plans to use the investment to develop its mobile app and expand its ten-person team.
How Plinq’s Background Checks Work
Users enter a person’s name and phone number, and Plinq searches public sources, including court records and official publications, to compile a report. The company says its web platform attracted more than 60,000 users and processed nearly 85,000 searches during its first year.
Matos founded Plinq after learning of a femicide case in which the perpetrator had faced multiple domestic violence proceedings that the victim reportedly did not know about. The startup’s aim is to make existing public information easier to find and understand before a relationship begins.
Plinq says 10% of the risk alerts identified by its platform relate to domestic violence records. Those alerts reflect information found in public databases; a search result alone cannot establish a person’s current conduct or guarantee someone’s safety.
Mobile App and Subscription Plans
When the round was announced, Plinq said it planned to launch a women-only mobile app in early September 2026 and replace one-off web searches with a monthly subscription. The proposed app includes identity checks using facial recognition. The launch date was a company plan at the time of the funding announcement; the cited report does not confirm that the app has since launched.
Plinq aims to reach one million active users within six months of the app’s launch. For 2027, it has outlined further features, including a way for users to alert nearby women if they feel at risk during a date. It is also considering services for Brazilian women living abroad. These remain expansion targets rather than existing features or user figures.
Latam Startups
Brazil-Based AI Startup Nuvia Raises $1.8M to Expand AI Sales Agents Across Latin America
Amador Capital and Nascent led the round, which will support product development and commercial growth.
Brazilian startup Nuvia has raised $1.8 million in a funding round led by Amador Capital and Nascent. Existing investor NXTP participated alongside Crivo Ventures, Delusional Capital and investors brought together through Spectra Investimentos. Nuvia plans to use the capital to develop its platform, strengthen its team and expand in Brazil and other Latin American markets.
Nuvia develops AI agents for sales and customer service. Its platform brings conversations from WhatsApp, Instagram, voice calls, websites and email into one system and connects them with customer relationship management tools. The aim is to help businesses respond to enquiries, qualify prospective customers and carry conversations through more complex sales processes.
Building a presence beyond Brazil
Nuvia is focusing on markets where companies handle large volumes of customer conversations, particularly through WhatsApp. Most of its customers are currently in Brazil, but the company also serves clients in Mexico, Colombia and the Iberian Peninsula. The new funding will help it grow its sales and marketing operations as it pursues a wider Latin American customer base.
The startup says its agents can support tasks that extend beyond answering routine questions. In one example cited by the company, retailer Chocolat Du Jour handled approximately 25,000 customer interactions during an eight-day Easter period, with AI agents managing 91% of the conversations. These figures describe that customer’s reported use of the platform, rather than a result Nuvia has demonstrated for every deployment.
Founded in 2024, Nuvia is led by CEO John Paz, a former Brazil general manager at fintech Pomelo. The latest round follows an earlier raise of about $1.7 million, bringing its disclosed funding to approximately $3.5 million. Reports differ on the date of that earlier round, so the total is more useful here than assigning it a specific month.
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