Haun Ventures Leads $30M Round in Brazilian AI Fintech Jota

Silicon Valley's Haun Ventures has led a $30 million (R$ 150 million) Series A funding round for Jota, a two-year-old Brazilian conversational AI fintech. The investment marks the first-ever Brazilian transaction for Haun Ventures, which has $2.5 billion under management. The funding round values the startup at $185 million post-money and includes participation from existing backers HOF Capital and Alter Global, alongside newcomer Greyhound Capital.

The deal signals a major shift in venture capital interest toward Latin American B2B fintechs that integrate directly with WhatsApp. Jota operates a conversational AI financial assistant and digital account tailored for micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses. Founded by industry veteran Davi Holanda, the startup has scaled rapidly since its 2025 seed round, now serving 300,000 small business clients with R$ 3.5 billion in annualized total payment volume (TPV).

The fresh capital coincides with the rollout of "Jota 2.0," transitioning the platform from a reactive chatbot to a proactive AI agent. The upgraded system automatically categorizes expenses, manages bills, and delivers financial insights directly via WhatsApp. Jota plans to use the funds to scale its AI infrastructure and introduce contextual credit offerings.

This high-profile backing highlights the growing valuation premium for conversational banking solutions in emerging markets where WhatsApp serves as the primary business interface. The investment comes amid steady activity in regional financial markets, where digital assets also continue to trade actively, with Bitcoin priced at BTC/BRL 306,508 and Ethereum at ETH/BRL 8,185.39.