Itaú, Latin America's largest bank, has bought NeoSpace, a Brazilian startup that develops foundation models for artificial intelligence, for close to R$3 billion, Brazil Journal reports.
What the bank says it is buying
CIO Ricardo Guerra told the outlet the goal is to turn Itaú into a kind of "financial ChatGPT". He did not claim the breadth of a general-purpose model. His argument is that the bank holds far more detail on customers' spending, investing, borrowing and financial planning than generic models can draw from the internet, plus a century of experience with financial products.
NeoSpace is also meant to help with credit modelling and fraud prevention. Guerra said the bank had worked with NeoSpace as a customer for two years and decided to buy it once it concluded that mastering this technology would become core to its work and that it could not depend on third parties.
The numbers
- In January 2025 Itaú made a minority investment of US$15 million in NeoSpace at a valuation of about US$100 million.
- The new valuation is roughly six times that level and about 10 times NeoSpace's estimated revenue of R$300 million for this year.
- Before the sale, NeoSpace had been negotiating a US$250 million round with international funds at a valuation significantly above the Itaú deal, according to the report.
- NeoSpace was founded in 2023 and, per its founder Bruno Pierobon, has a team of 80 AI researchers. Pierobon also founded Zup, which Itaú bought in October 2019 for R$500 million.
The report says the rationale is strategic: having an advanced model in-house and attracting talent, rather than the startup's financial results.
Where the product stands
In June Itaú launched ia.i, a chat-style interaction engine inside its app where customers can ask questions about their money. Guerra said it is still young: it does not yet know every bank product or hold all customer information. Filling it is not simple, because much of the knowledge lives with employees, who must be interviewed so their knowledge can be compiled and digitised. The engine also learns from customer interactions.
Guerra also expects customers to prefer talking to their bank over navigating app menus, and says the bank needs a model that can deliver that. That is his forecast, not an announced product.
The report does not say when NeoSpace's technology will reach ia.i or other bank systems.