A startup of financial solutions QI Tech received an extension of the R$1 billion investment received in October last year, which took the business to the status of “unicorn”, as companies worth more than US$1 billion are called. QI Tech became the 26th Brazilian startup (see list) to reach this level of market value. It is the second time in two years that a national company has reached such a value, due to the drought in venture capital worldwide, driven by rising interest rates in the United States.
The new investment received by the startup is US$50 million (R$260 million) and was led by the same investors from the last round, General Atlantic and Across Capital. The new funding comes after QI Tech purchased, for an undisclosed amount, the Singulare investment platform. The operation added around R$100 billion in assets under management to the business.
The startup operates by offering banking services to different segments. It provides the technology of the Vivo Money application, for example, a digital wallet from the mobile phone operator that uses QI Tech’s technological infrastructure to offer cell phone credit recharge, cashback (money back on purchases), pay bills and make transfers via Pix. Other solutions sold include anti-fraud and credit protections. The company has clients such as 99, QuintoAndar and Shopee.
Pedro Mac Dowell, Marcelo Bentivoglio and Marcelo Buosi founded QI Tech in 2018 Photograph: Mayara Araujo/QI Tech/Disclosure
Symbol of a change in the profile sought by venture capital investors, the company is not part of the group of startups seeking long-term profitability. QI Tech was one of the first startups to achieve a national A+ rating from the risk rating agency Fitch and operates as a direct credit company, in addition to having a license to distribute securities assets. The startup claims to be profitable from the first year of operation.
Another business that reached the value level of US$1 billion last year was Pismo, purchased by Visa. However, the acquisition was complete, unlike what happens with unicorns, which sell portions of the business to investors with each investment. In 2022, only two startups in Brazil became worth US$1 billion, Dock (technology for financial services) and Neon (financial payments institution).
