Brazil is one of the fastest developing global economies, with a strong and rapidly maturing startup ecosystem. Brazil's primary startup hub, São Paulo is ranked as the 17th startup city worldwide, while the country as a whole is ranked at 27th globally. An improving national education system and a large access to human capital, stemming from its 214 Million population, Brazilian startups have some great advantages over their counterparts in other countries.
The Brazilian government has identified the importance of providing a secure and competitive environment for Brazilian startups to thrive in. To this end, it has implemented policies and programs such as allowing for regulatory bypass for innovative startups so they can experiment under the eyes of regulators. Furthermore, it has created a number of agencies that provide free support in terms of connecting startup founders with investment and new markets. Initiatives like these increase the survivability of startups in Brazil.
Brazilian startups are well-supported in every stage of their development. In the initial stages, when funding is for concept designs and small-sale growth startups in Brazil are able to work with more than 100 incubators and accelerators nationwide. Similarly, when early success has been achieved and Brazilian startups target international expansion and heavy product development, they can get funding from one of 350+ Venture Capital funds in Brazil, ensuring all markets can be served.
1. Tenchi Security
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 11-50
Founders: Felipe Bouças, Alexandre Sieira, Dani Dilkin
Tenchi Security is a Brazilian startup that was founded in 2019 and operates in the cybersecurity market. By integrating with your supply chain, its Saas platform allows you to identify and take action against risks through continuous and constant scanning. This makes it easier for you to manage your third-party risks, which traditionally is one of the most difficult aspects of cybersecurity for businesses to manage.
Tenchi Security is at a developmental stage where it is targeting aggressive growth, as a result of this it completed a $7 Million Series A in February 2024. This investment will allow it to focus on its product development and scale its marketing efforts so it can capture more customers in its existing markets.
2. Kamino
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 1-10
Founders: Gonzalo Parejo Navajas
Kamino is a startup in Brazil that operates in the FinTech market that allows you to take more control of your financial planning in your business and set up immediately to offer your services. In addition to this, it comes with built in features for spend management, which gives you the capability to set limits, identify spending habits across the business and more. Finally, you also have embedded B2B payments built into the platform, which makes it quicker and easier for you to process inbound and outbound transactions.
Kamino has only sought a single round of startup funding since being founded, with this taking place in March 2022, raising $6.1 Million. This investment has been used to further improve its product development capability, so it can offer more financial products to its customers.
3. Gringo
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 51-100
Founders: Rodrigo Colmonero, Caique Carvalho, Juliano Dutra
Gringo is a startup in Brazil that was founded in 2019 and is currently headquartered in Sao Paulo. It is creating a one-stop shop service for drivers across the country, allowing them to access and action any outstanding items related to payment of vehicle tax, fines, drivers licences and more. You can even hire insurance and use your vehicle as collateral for a loan, allowing you to unlock money from your vehicle.
Gringo has over ten million users on its platform currently and has sought to further expand in the near future in order to reach twenty million. To facilitate this it took part in a funding round in October 2023, where it raised $29 Million to double down on its marketing and customer acquisition, which will allow it to meet the aforementioned goal.
4. QI Tech
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 101-250
Founders: Marcelo Bentivoglio, Marcelo Buosi
QI Tech is a Brazilian startup that works in the FinTech sector and is developing a platform under one roof, which allows you to access services for finance, credit facilities, banking and anti-fraud services. It has been granted licences by the Brazilian central bank and with it you will be able to engage and financially monetize your ecosystem of stakeholders. The improved flexibility this gives you in providing financial services through outsourcing helps you to decrease your costs and regulatory difficulties.
QI Tech has recently undertaken a hugely successful Series B in October 2023, raising a total of $200 Million which was led by General Atlantic. This was touted as the largest raise in Brazil for the whole year, highlighting the huge success QI Tech has achieved, also having become profitable in its first year. It intends to use these funds to target new opportunities for M/A and to pursue aggressive growth in new markets.
5. Latitud
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 11-50
Founders: Linda Rottenberg, Brian Requarth, David Vélez
Latitud is a Brazilian startup that aims to help make life easier for businesses across Latin America. It is achieving this by making it easier for Brazilian founders to start businesses abroad, such as in the Cayman Islands and more. It also offers a digital solution for offshore tax and regulatory compliance to support you with extending your operations in these localities. It has helped over one hundred companies and over 1,200 founders to set up in other locations and receive investment.
Latitud has been successful in securing funding to support its mission of helping founders in Latin America. Its most recent capital raise in March 2022 was worth $11.5 Million and has been used to scale its tech and educational programs for founders specifically. Prior to this, it had already helped founders in Brazil raise more than $250 Million.
6. Gabriel
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 101-250
Founders: Otávio Miranda, Erick Coser, Sérgio Andrade
Gabriel is a startup in Brazil that is developing the latest brand of urban intelligence infrastructure. It's solving a problem whereby Brazil's CCTV infrastructure is underdeveloped and most cameras are decentralised and inaccessible to law enforcement. Gabriel's camera networks are more centralised, with high quality cameras that can be integrated with police operations. It has helped police officers in Brazil to solve more crimes and aims to hugely expand its network of thousands of smart cameras to new cities across Brazil, keeping you safe.
As stated, Gabriel has intentions to massively increase uptake across Brazil for its smart camera systems and as a result of this, it has secured startup funding worth $7.14 Million in January 2024 to facilitate this and help to make the streets of Brazil much safer for the general public.
7. Arado
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 51-100
Founders: Victor Bernardino, Bruno Mengatti, José Noblecilla, Yuri Janotti, Luiza Batista
Arado is a Brazilian startup that operates in the agricultural sector and is providing a software solution for farmers. Its tech platform provides you, smaller farmers with access to more reliable supply chains for essential products to your operations. All of the items you select can be ordered online and will be delivered directly to the address of your choosing. Farmers are able to capture many more customers by operating on the platform, with fair revenue splits for using the service.
Arado is aiming to level the playing field for Brazilian farmers and it needs capital to do this. In May 2023, it raised a $12 Million Series A round that allowed it to develop new management tools for its users centred around key farming issues such as demand, supply, forecasting and inventory management to make its customers more efficient and profitable.
8. Housi
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 11-50
Founders: Alexandre Frankel
Housi is a startup in Brazil that operates in the real estate market and provides you with an easier way to find the home of your dreams as a tenant and an easier way to market your property if you're a landlord or seller. Through its proprietary algorithm you can operate a subscription model for a fully furnished home of your choice, based around your specifications. It currently has more than 100,000 units and more than 500 buildings within its network.
Housi is poised for rapid expansion in the next few years and to this end it has raised funding to facilitate this. In February 2024, it raised $10 Million in funding to support its expansion into the United States and Portugal and also to establish a training centre in Espirito Santo.
9. Cayena
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 101-250
Founders: Gabriel Sendacz, Pedro Carvalho, Raymond Shayo
Cayena is a Brazilian startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in Sao Paulo. It is making it easier for you to procure food and other essential items such as drinks for your hospitality business, including bars, restaurants and hotels. It allows you to sign into a marketplace platform where you can select the items you need, the quantity and have them easily delivered to your premises for a respectable price point. It is the number one option for hospitality in Brazil.
Cavena has done very well in securing startup funding since being founded, with its most recent round in March 2022 securing $17.5 Million. The funding was used to expand its new BNPL service to more users on the platform, as well as bring in new hires for its development team to improve its underlying technology.
10. Zippi
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 11-50
Founders: André Bernardes, Bruno Lucas, Ludmila Pontremelez
Zippi is a startup in Brazil that operates in the FinTech market. It is the first PIX platform in Brazil and is a financial platform tailored to micro businesses across the country. You can get weekly credit for your business, with regular invoices and updates so you can easily keep track. You can grow your credit limit with Zippi by paying on time and clearing your balance, allowing your credit limit to scale alongside your business. This gives you an easy method of accessing finance without the need for a credit card.
Zippi has required startup funding to reach its current developmental stage, with its most recent funding round taking place in June 2022, raising $16 Million in Series A Investment. This funding was almost exclusively used to expand the internal team at Zippi across multiple departments to ensure it can continue to innovate its services.
11. Pagaleve
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 51-100
Founders: Eduardo Zucareli, Henrique Weaver
Pagaleve is a Brazilian startup that was founded in 2021 and is making waves in the FinTech market. It offers a BNPL service to people across Brazil, meaning you can split the cost of the items you love across a number of months without having to use a credit card. The best part about it is that these instalments are interest-free, meaning you don't have to pay anything more than usual. You can easily download the app and search for stores that use Pagaleve.
Pagaleve has required external investment to grow to the level it is at currently and build its platform. Its most recent funding round took place in September 2022 and during this round it raised investment worth $25 Million. This funding was used to improve the underlying technology of the platform as well as double the number of retailers it worked with from 500 to 1000 by the end of 2022.
12. Cellva Ingredients
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 11-50
Founders: Sérgio Pinto, Bibiana Matte
Cellva Ingredients is a startup in Brazil that is aiming to improve the way we think about food. It is developing cruelty-free alternatives to a range of animal products utilising cellular engineering, allowing Cellva to grow their own meats. This allows you to still have the great tasting foods you love, without needing to harm animals and the biodiversity of various ecosystems to get it. It has currently started with pig-related products and will expand to other animals as it grows.
Cellva Ingredients has recently completed its first round of startup funding in February 2024, when it raised R$6.5 Million. This funding will allow the team to expand its existing lab infrastructure and facilitate the development of infrastructure for product production to properly begin in 2025 whilst awaiting regulatory approval from the Brazilian government.
13. Vammo
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 1-10
Founders: Billy Blaustein, Jack Sarvary
Vammo is a Brazilian startup that works within the mobility and automotive sectors. It produces and sells a range of vehicles powered with electric engines, allowing you to get around for less and reduce your impact on the environment. It also provides a range of necessary upkeep services for your vehicles, in addition to providing power stations, where you can quickly grab a freshly charged battery. This makes charging a matter of taking a few minutes to swap the batteries.
Vammo is aiming for international expansion and has recently secured the investment needed for this. In December 2023, it raised a total of $30 Million, which it will use to scale its operations in Brazil during the short-term and then expand into Columbia and Mexico in the medium-long term. Other Latin American countries are also on their radar for the future.
14. Z1
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 51-100
Founders: João Pedro Thompson, Matheus Craveiro
Z1 is a startup in Brazil that was founded in 2020 and operates in the FinTech market. It has developed a neo-bank that is specifically targeted to teenagers across Brazil and Latin America. In addition to getting a debit card and a functional bank account, Z1 also provides you with essential tools for financial education, ensuring that you and the rest of the youth in Brazil can become more financially savvy and make smarter choices, leading to a more developed economy.
Creating a bank requires a lot of capital and Z1 is no different, it most recently raised investment in April 2023. This funding was worth $10.6 Million and Z1 made use of these funds in order to develop a new range of products and app features, expand its young user base and set up services to help its users that are transitioning into adulthood.
15. Fiibo
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Ceara, Brazil
Size: 51-100
Founders: Ítalo Martins
Fiibo is a Brazilian startup that operates Brazil's best health and wellness platform. Using Fiibo, you can provide your employees with easy access to a range of essential healthcare support, such as dedicated telemedicine, nutrition, dentistry, vaccines and much more. This can all be accessed through an easy-to-use portal that makes it quick and easy for HR to action any benefits and give employees more flexibility to take control of their health and wellbeing.
Fiibo has been poised for healthy expansion, entering its second year of operations and it has facilitated these expansion plans by raising a round of startup funding in August 2023, raising a total of $3.6 MIllion. This funding round was led by Headline and Fiibo intends to scale up its customer acquisition and provide more services for its business customers.
16. SWAP
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 101-250
Founders: Alexandre Takinami, Douglas Storf, Mateus Furini, Ury Rappaport
SWAP is a FinTech startup in Brazil that provides a Bank-as-a-Service platform, which allows you to whitelabel a range of critical financial solutions so that you can compliantly provide them to your customers. Some of the services you can provide with SWAP are banking, bank cards, compliance as a service, benefit cards and corporate expense cards. It also has plans to add additional solutions in the future.
SWAP has only secured a single round of startup funding since being founded, with this round taking place in October 2021. During this round, SWAP raised $25 Million, which it has used since then to continue growing in its native Brazil and provide more products and services for the domestic market.
17. Agrolend
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 11-50
Founders: Alan Glezer, Andre Glezer, Leopoldo Vettor, Valeria Bonadio
Agrolend is a Brazilian startup that was founded in 2020 and operates in the Agricultural market. It provides a solution that allows small and medium sized farmers to secure finance so you can easily buy the equipment and stock you need to complete your next harvest. Furthermore, the repayment rates on its loans are reasonable, meaning you won't be paying an arm and a leg just so that you can do your job. Agrolend aims to help farmers to feed the world.
Agrolend has required funding to reach its current level of success, with its most recent round being a $28 Million Series B that took place in November 2022. The funding has been used to create and offer new credit facilities to the more than 10,000 farmers Agrolend is currently supporting across Brazil.
18. Coala Saude
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Size: 51-100
Founders: Rafael Kader, Mateus Mattos, Matheus Peressoni
Coala Saude is a startup in Brazil that operates in the healthcare market, with a specific focus on children's care in Latin American schools. It is the first paediatric telemedicine solution in Brazil and allows schools and families to help children get the support they need. Its digital platform also ensures that all of the medical information for students is secured safely and also helps to provide preventive medicine through providing informational leaflets in schools, informing children about a range of health subjects.
Coala Saude is currently expanding across schools in Latin America and has required capital support to facilitate this. As a result of this, it raised a total of $2.5 Million led by Owl Ventures in August 2023. Additionally, this funding has been used to support the development of its product range and the engineering of its tech platform.
19. Onfly
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Size: 101-250
Founders: Marcelo Linhares, Elvis Soares
Onfly is a Brazilian startup that was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Belo Horizonte. It helps you to manage your corporate travel by providing you with a complete travel platform that allows you to book your travel arrangements, keep track of expenses and keep your employees happy and in the loop. This reporting and various integrations allow you to smoothly keep track of your travel operations and identify if any changes need to be made on the fly.
Onfly has been very prolific in using external funding to grow itself, with its most recent funding round being completed in June 2023, for $16 Million. This funding has been used by Onfly to explore the possibility of new mergers and acquisitions, in addition scaling up its marketing and sales operations to facilitate new customer uptake.
20. Genial Care
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 1-10
Founders: Kenny Laplante
Genial Care is a Brazilian startup that specialises in mental health and neurology-related medical care such as Autism Spectrum Disorder. It aims to help families with children under the age of six and eleven months. It offers face to face assessment so that a diagnosis for the child can be made and then further consultations can be completed to ensure that the child has the appropriate measures and support in place to succeed in the earliest stages of their development. The best part is that Genial Care empowers parents to be knowledgeable and a part of every process.
Genial Care has recently raised more than $10 Million in a January 2024 funding round to support its care of children with neurological disorders. This funding is intended to be used in three ways, with improving the underlying technology it uses, making the app and ecosystem better for medical professionals and to expand the network of care providers and professionals under the app's umbrella.
21. Mombak
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 11-50
Founders: Peter Fernandez, Gabriel Silva
Mombak is a CleanTech startup in Brazil that was founded in 2021 and provides carbon removal solutions to a range of businesses in Brazil. When it removes carbon, it then receives carbon credits which it can sell to your company, which will go towards offsetting your carbon production for your Net-Zero goals. Microsoft has stated it will purchase 1.5 Million carbon credits from Mombak between now and 2032.
Mombak has been building a huge fund to support its work of saving the rainforests and decreasing carbon emissions. Its fund to save the rainforest reached $100 Million in August 2023. It aims to use these funds to plant more than 3 Million trees in Northern Brazil, along with hundreds of thousands of seeds of endangered Brazilian species.
FAQs
What Are The Strongest Startup Industries In Brazil?
The strongest tech startup industries in Brazil are FinTech, E-Commerce, Agriculture and Transportation.
What Is The Average Investment In The Startup Industry In Brazil?
Brazilian startups raised a total of $1.7 Billion in 2023, which between 12,000 startups means that the average Brazilian startup raised over $140,000 in 2023.
How Many Startups Are There In Brazil?
There are currently more than 12,000 active tech startups operating in Brazil.
