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Brazil fintech Magie raised $ 4 million in a ejaculate round led by Lux Capital , marking the firm ’s first investment in Brazil . The ship’s company , which has raise $ 5.1 million in sum , is create an AI - powered financial help . The current product allows people to send money and pay off bill through WhatsApp .
For cobalt - beginner Luiz Ramalho and Lux partner Brandon Reeves , Magie is a unspecific wager on Brazil ’s burgeoning fintech scene , which has been fueled by the massive success of Nubank , the Brazilian neobank that had ablockbuster initial public offering in 2021 .
reef , who ’s been at the forefront of many of Lux ’s external investments — especially Sakana AI , the firm ’s first Japanese bet — say he determine firsthand how quickly Brazilians were “ generally other adoptive parent of new financial product ” on a recent trip to São Paulo .
He cited Pix , an instant payments platform that the nation ’s fundamental banking concern rolled out in 2020 ; by 2023 , almost 42 billion payments were sent using Pix , surpass credit and debit charges combined , according to Abecs , a Brazilian association for fiscal service .
Pix paved the way for Magie . Last September , Ramalho , a Rio de Janeiro - native , realize that pix chest comprise a major opportunity : It add most Brazilian onto a uncouth net , one that Ramalho could leverage . Along with co - founder João Camargo , they designed Magie as an AI chatbot in WhatsApp where user can beam or incur money . Magie has acquired more than 12,000 users since launching in April , although the company has yet to monetize those user . “ Our goal is to really work up something with a lot of retentiveness first , ” Ramalho said .
But Ramalho ’s ultimate finish is for Magie to be a more full - fledged financial assistant — and an equalizer . He go for to potentially charge for a premium subscription , where Magie can help users work through financial decision , like what kind of loanword to take out and at which bank . He ’ll have competition from the banks themselves : Morgan Stanley launched its own AI - poweredfinancial assistant in June .
But Ramalho insists that Magie will be a more egalitarian creature , one without a vested interest in any one bank ’s services . “ There is a certain battle of interest in the banks , ” he say . “ The banks do n’t necessarily want their customers to be assure the best offers for every single bank . ”
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He said it all goes back to Magie ’s namesake : Lizzie Magie , the interior decorator who created Monopoly . In her variant , there was less stress on one person seize all the properties and a greater vehemence on everyone having land . “ You still had a winner , ” he say . “ But everybody was good off at the end of the game . ”
