Brazilian Fintech Jota Secures US$30 Million to Expand AI-Powered Digital Banking

Jota, the Brazilian fintech that combines digital banking with conversational artificial intelligence, has secured a US$ 30 million Series A round, reaching a post-money valuation of US$ 185 million. The new capital will support the company's product expansion as it aims to grow its user base and introduce new AI-powered financial services for entrepreneurs.

Haun Ventures makes its first investment in a Brazilian startup

The funding round was led by Haun Ventures, the venture capital firm founded by former U.S. federal prosecutor and former Andreessen Horowitz general partner Katie Haun.

The investment marks the firm's first backing of a Brazilian startup. Haun Ventures manages approximately US$2.5 billion in assets.

Existing investors HOF Capital and Alter Global, both of which joined Jota during its pre-seed stage, also participated in the round alongside new investor Greyhound Capital.

The financing comes just over a year after the company's previous fundraising.

An AI-powered digital account designed for entrepreneurs

Jota was founded by Brazilian entrepreneur Davi Holanda, who spent six years at PagBank leading the development of more than 15 financial products, including the company's entry into payment terminals and prepaid and credit cards.

After leaving PagBank following its IPO, Holanda helped establish Bankly, a Banking-as-a-Service platform that was later acquired by Méliuz before being sold to Banco BV.

Named after the Portuguese abbreviation for Pessoa Jurídica (PJ), Jota provides a digital account that operates through both its mobile application and WhatsApp.

Users can make payments through text messages, voice commands, or by sending photos. They can also receive payments by generating QR codes that can be shared digitally or printed.

In addition, customers can interact with the AI assistant through chat to obtain financial calculations, revenue reports, and recommendations related to their businesses. Account information, including balances and transaction history, can also be accessed by simply asking the chatbot.

"Forty years ago, the financial interface was the bank branch. Then came internet banking and mobile apps. We believe the next interface will be AI agents working continuously for customers," founder Davi Holanda told Brazil Journal.

AI assistants extend beyond digital banking

Alongside its digital account, Jota has introduced several AI agents designed to simplify day-to-day business management.

Among the latest additions is Jota Calendar, which integrates with Gmail and Outlook to read users' schedules and automatically generate reminders.

The company also launched Jota Reminders & Tasks, an AI assistant that schedules payments and collections while acting as a virtual personal secretary.

Another feature, Jota Overdraft, connects to users' financial accounts through Open Finance, monitors balances across institutions, alerts customers when an account enters overdraft, and recommends—or automatically performs—actions such as transferring funds from another account with available cash.

Currently, these AI-powered tools are offered free of charge.

FalaTap drives the company's revenue model

At present, Jota's primary source of revenue is FalaTap, a recently launched solution that transforms smartphones into payment terminals capable of accepting card payments in up to 12 installments.

The fintech introduced the product one month ago and expects it to help the company reach approximately US$ 9.3 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by December through payment processing services and receivables anticipation.

New funding will support lending and next-generation AI

The newly raised capital will be used to expand Jota's product portfolio with two additional services.

The first is an integrated lending solution connected to the company's overdraft feature. Whenever the platform detects that a customer's account has entered overdraft, it will automatically offer a loan with a lower interest rate to cover the negative balance.

The second initiative is Jota 3.0, an upgraded version of the company's AI assistant designed to operate more proactively.

According to Holanda, the new product will adopt what he describes as a "reverse trial" model.

"We'll continue offering the complete product for free, but with a daily usage limit. Users who want to exceed that limit will pay for a subscription," he explained.

Jota targets one million users

Looking ahead, the company plans to more than triple its customer base before the end of the year.

Jota currently serves around 300,000 users and aims to approach one million customers, using the new investment to accelerate product development and expand adoption of its AI-driven financial platform for entrepreneurs.