Atlantico

"Latin America does more with less—we’ve built more billion-dollar companies and created more market cap than India or Southeast Asia, with just a fraction of the venture capital." At the Milken Institute Global Conference, Cesar Carvalho, founder and CEO of Wellhub, shared what it meant to build without a playbook—launching in São Paulo in 2012, long before LatAm had global investor attention. His story is a masterclass in building original models under constraint—and scaling them globally. From a DTC gym concept to a B2B wellness platform active in 19 countries, the journey reflects what’s possible when you bet on local insight and execute relentlessly.

Pilar is quickly becoming one of the most active platforms in Brazil’s high-end real estate market. In 2024, the company transacted over R$2.5 billion in VGV—and hit R$1 billion in sales just last month. Built around the needs of brokers, Pilar offers better margins, professional-grade tools, and high-quality inventory—enabling top agents to operate with more scale and sophistication in a market long underserved by tech. Today, more than 700 brokers and 200 agencies use the platform, with commission rates well below the traditional 60%+ model—often between 10% and 25%. Yesterday, they announced a new funding round led by Alexia Ventures, which will their expansion across São Paulo, Curitiba, and new markets throughout Brazil. We’re proud to have backed Felipe, Luiz, Raphael and the team early—and excited to see what’s next as they continue building in one of Brazil’s most valuable categories. Congratulations on the new round! Link to the full article by Silvia Rosa in Pipeline, o site de negócios do Valor — in the comments 👇

Surgical scheduling in Brazil is broken. It s for 50% to 60% of hospital revenue—and a similar share of costs for operators—yet it’s plagued by last-minute approvals, poor coordination, and long patient wait times. Fin-X is bringing order to the chaos. Founded by Daniel Shiraishi and Sergio Campangna, they spent three years on the ground—visiting hospitals across the country, listening to doctors, operators, and s—before writing a single line of code. What they built is a platform that brings structure and intelligence to the surgical flow. Today, they're live in 150 hospitals, with another 100 on the waitlist. Their software is helping hospitals run more efficiently, reduce cancellations, and give real-time visibility to everyone involved—from surgeons to payors. Now, they’re preparing to scale across Brazil and expand into the public system (SUS), where the problem is even more urgent. We're proud to welcome Fin-X to our portfolio! Read more about the company in the excellent piece by Pedro Arbex at Brazil Journal — link in the comments.

By turbocharging legal teams with AI, Enter (formerly Talisman) is helping large enterprises fight lawsuits faster and more effectively, improving both efficiency and success rates. With clients like Light, SulAmérica, Nubank, Vivo (Telefônica Brasil), and Agibank, their impact is undeniable. We’re thrilled to Sequoia Capital in Enter’s latest funding round—Sequoia’s first investment in Brazil since Nubank over a decade ago. A huge congratulations to Henrique Vaz, Michael Mac-Vicar, and Mateus Costa-Ribeiro! In English: https://lnkd.in/dqUCeszh In Portuguese: https://lnkd.in/dNWMhcFn

Thank you Antonio Rocha, CFP® and Rodrigo Neves for welcoming us as your newest partners together with Ribbit Capital and Red Ventures! Onze is redefining corporate retirement plans by empowering enterprises and their employees to unlock their financial well-being through this essential corporate benefit, in a digitally-enabled and modern way that is "better, faster, cheaper" than incumbent solutions. https://lnkd.in/d_SNuqe7

Our 2025 Summer Internship Program is officially open for both MBA and undergrad students. Our 11 week internship offers hands-on experience working on our Digital Transformation Report, conducting market research, connecting with industry experts, and exploring potential investments with our team. Please apply here: https://lnkd.in/d-Gge8jj

Thank you Elroy Serrao and Hemant Kshirsagar, hosts of India Fintech Diaries, for having our partners Julio Vasconcellos and Ana Clara Martins on the podcast! Drawing on insights from their recent research trip to India, they explore the similarities and differences between the Indian and Latin American FinTech ecosystems, covering topics like innovation, regulation, and the exciting entrepreneurial spirit driving both regions forward.

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗗𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲. In this post, we will cover why those companies that thrive and “win” in Latin American historically win for longer (stickier market shares) and win bigger (higher returns and market share). “𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.”  So went the opening of this year’s Latin America Digital Transformation Report helping to introduce the central theme for this year. This is the first post in a series looking to extend and deepen the discussion about the key forces shaping tech in Latin America. We will publish the series weekly through the end of the year, with each post accompanied by an excerpt of data from the 2024 report along with our commentary. The two slides in this excerpt deck show how the share of the total market cap today's largest 20 companies in Brazil and Mexico represented back in the year 2000 was not significantly lower (it is more stable or “sticky”), while in a more dynamic and competitive market like the United States, that difference is striking, indicating market leaders are under constant (and strong) attack. We also can note how financial return metrics like Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) or Return on Equity (ROE) tend to be greater in Latin America as compared to the United States. We show this has been true in sectors ranging from banking and insurance (financials) to oil & gas and telecommunications. As always, questions and critiques are welcome in the comments.

Today, Atlantico released its 5th annual Latin America Digital Transformation Report. This year's central theme is “LatAm does it best” to denote how despite an arduous business environment, the companies that win here are able to build some of the best tech companies not only in the region, but globally. As per usual, the report has 100+ slides of data, original analysis, and case studies. Worth the read (and sharing with colleagues to help shine a spotlight on all the awesome things going on in LatAm today)! Thank you to our partners who made it all possible iFood, STARK BANK, Cubo Itaú, igc partners, Itau BBA, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Blip and Bronstein, Zilberberg, Chueiri & Potenza Advogados ! https://lnkd.in/du6S2W4N

Congratulations to our portfolio company, Cobre, for their $35 million Series B round! Bringing on a partner like Oak HC/FT proves the way ahead is both long and promising. Jose V. Gedeon, Felipe Gedeon, Alberto Chejne, Jose Donato Donato, and the entire team—this recognition is well-deserved for the outstanding job and hard work you've put in. Congrats!