Vetto AI has appointed artificial intelligence researcher Lucas Smaira as its new Head of Research, marking a significant step in the company’s global ambitions. The Brazil-born scientist joins the platform after years working at some of the world’s most advanced AI labs, including Google DeepMind and Mistral AI. His arrival signals Vetto AI’s intent to move from simply supplying data and talent to actively shaping how next generation AI models are conceived and built.
Vetto AI’s Role in the Global AI Landscape
Based in Brazil, Vetto AI operates as a platform that connects Latin American researchers and specialists to high impact AI projects around the world. The company positions itself at the intersection of advanced AI research and real business use cases, helping organizations access specialized expertise that is often concentrated in a few global hubs. Bringing in a research leader with frontier lab experience is designed to deepen these connections and reinforce Brazil’s presence in the international AI conversation.
Academic and Technical Foundations of Lucas Smaira
Smaira began his academic journey in Computer Science at the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, one of Brazil’s most prestigious engineering schools. He later completed his studies in France, graduating from École Polytechnique and Télécom Paris, where he also obtained master’s degrees in Applied Mathematics and Data Science. This combination of rigorous mathematical training and applied data science has underpinned his career at the cutting edge of AI research.
Experience Across Frontier AI Labs and Healthtech
Between 2018 and 2023, Smaira worked at DeepMind in London, where he served as Tech Lead in the Multimodal Research group and headed the Data Infrastructure team. During this period, he led initiatives in reinforcement learning, as well as models for video, text and images, and drove projects focused on data annotation and quality improvement. More recently, he contributed at Mistral AI and founded a healthtech venture exploring how AI can accelerate clinical trials and drug discovery, expanding his experience at the interface of research and high stakes real world applications.
Mandate as Head of Research at Vetto AI
According to Smaira, what drew him to Vetto AI was the ambition to put Brazil at the center of the global debate on AI, not just as a user of models but as a contributor to how they are designed. He sees a major opportunity to narrow the gap between frontier research and the concrete needs of companies and individuals, and wants to help build this bridge together with the Vetto AI team. CEO José André Nunes highlights that hiring Smaira is part of a strategy to work more closely with frontier labs and influence the development of AI models themselves, strengthening the company’s ethical, technical and strategic contribution to the field.
With Smaira stepping in as Head of Research, Vetto AI is reinforcing its mission to connect Latin American talent to the frontiers of AI innovation. The company aims to transform its proximity to global labs into tangible advances in model quality, data practices, and real-world impact for clients. This appointment positions Vetto AI, and by extension Brazil, to play a more active role in shaping the next wave of intelligent systems rather than simply adopting them.
Source: Startups.com.br