Decade, a fintech startup co-founded by former Nubank CTO Vitor Olivier, has secured a landmark $85 million in a seed funding round. The company aims to revolutionize the wealth management sector by leveraging artificial intelligence to provide services typically reserved for the ultra-wealthy. This significant capital injection marks the largest seed round in Latin American history, signaling strong investor confidence in the venture's ambitious vision.
A Record-Breaking Investment
The historic $85 million investment was co-led by prominent US funds Benchmark, GreenOaks, and Diffusion, with participation from Brazilian firms Norte Ventures and Atlantico. This funding amount surpasses all previous seed-stage deals in Brazil and Latin America, setting a new benchmark for early-stage fintech investment in the region. The valuation of the company following this substantial round was not disclosed by the founders.
Democratizing Wealth Management
Co-founder and CEO Vitor Olivier stated that Decade's mission is to bring a level of disruption to wealth management similar to what Nubank brought to banking. The core problem the company addresses is the widespread difficulty individuals face in investing and financial planning. By utilizing AI, Decade plans to offer scalable, high-quality advisory services to a much broader audience than traditional multi-family offices.
An AI-Powered Financial Hub
The platform functions by integrating with a user's financial accounts through Brazil's Open Finance system, creating a consolidated view of their assets and liabilities. This allows the AI to continuously monitor wealth, spending habits, risk concentration, and portfolio allocation. Users can then run financial simulations, receive projections, and get answers to complex financial questions based on their personal data.
Decade intends to operate as an agnostic layer between clients and financial institutions, ensuring unbiased recommendations. The startup has already established integrations with major platforms like BTG Pactual and XP Investimentos for data visualization, with plans for direct transaction execution. This model is supported by a monthly subscription fee of R$ 200, which includes platform access, AI tools, and support from human consultants.
Strategic Foundations and Future Outlook
The venture was born from discussions between Olivier and co-founder Felipe Meneses, who serves as Head of AI, during their time at Nubank. After Olivier departed the digital bank, the duo secured the funding and began building the team, which now consists of 26 professionals. The company is currently operating under an investment consulting license from the CVM and is seeking a manager license to expand its offerings.
Currently, the platform is in a beta phase, managing several billion reais for a select group of clients while refining the user experience. The company has opened a waitlist for new users but is prioritizing product perfection over rapid customer acquisition at this stage. Olivier emphasized that the company will only accelerate its growth once they are confident in the quality and seamlessness of the service.
With its record-setting $85 million seed round and a leadership team with a proven track record from Nubank, Decade is poised to make a significant impact. The company's strategy of combining AI with human expertise to democratize sophisticated financial planning addresses a clear market need. By starting in Brazil's favorable regulatory environment, Decade is building a foundation for potential global expansion, aiming to redefine wealth management for a new generation of investors.