QI Tech, a Brazilian financial infrastructure company, has opened an office in Shanghai to strengthen ties with Chinese clients already using its technology in Brazil. The move creates the company's first physical presence in Asia and supports plans to later sell selected services within the Chinese market. Founder and CEO Pedro Mac Dowell said local operations allow teams to serve Asian clients without relying on frequent travel from Brazil.
Local Presence and Client Support
The Shanghai office began operating a few weeks ago and will initially support Chinese customers who already use QI Tech's products in Brazil. The company previously handled these relationships from Brazil, but the time zone gap made daily collaboration difficult. QI Tech has also introduced a rotation program that sends Brazilian employees to China for six-month periods.
Antifraud Technology as the First Offering
The first service QI Tech plans to offer in the Chinese market is fraud prevention technology. Mac Dowell noted that fraud is a global problem and the company developed robust tools to address complex cases in Brazil. The unit includes registration systems, facial recognition, identity verification, credit analysis, and fraud prevention, and it is performing about 20 percent above the annual budget.
Client Demand and Market Potential
Some Chinese clients already using QI Tech's tools in Brazil have asked whether they could hire the same services in China. The local office will help the company study demand and adapt offerings to the Chinese market. Mac Dowell said Brazil's highly digital financial system and sophisticated fraud challenges forced the company to build solutions that can be applied in other countries.
Company Background and Scale
Founded in 2018 in São Paulo by Pedro Mac Dowell, Marcelo Bentivoglio, and Marcelo Buosi, QI Tech operates behind the scenes for banks, fintechs, and companies in other sectors. It supplies technology and part of the regulatory structure needed to offer accounts, cards, credit, and payments without building everything from scratch. The company processes more than 20 million credit operations per month, totaling between R$7 billion and R$9 billion.
Funding and Growth
QI Tech has raised roughly US$300 million across its history. Its first major investment came in 2021 when Singapore's sovereign fund GIC invested US$50 million, followed by a US$200 million round led by General Atlantic in 2023. A 2024 extension raised the company's valuation to about US$1.5 billion, an additional US$63 million was secured in 2025, and the company projects annual revenue of R$2 billion with growth of about 80 percent for 2026.
Regional Expansion Beyond China
Alongside the Shanghai office, QI Tech recently opened a base in Uruguay that serves clients across Latin America and currently employs around 20 people. The China expansion may also support Asian companies entering Brazil, especially in the automotive sector where Chinese manufacturers have increased their presence. Mac Dowell expects to visit Shanghai again in October as the company maintains local teams throughout the year.
QI Tech's Shanghai office represents a strategic step in the company's ambition to build a global presence from its Brazilian foundation. By combining local operations with technology already validated in Brazil, the company aims to serve Chinese clients more closely and explore new revenue opportunities. The move highlights how Brazilian fintech infrastructure providers are beginning to export solutions to some of the world's most competitive financial markets.
Source: Exame.com