Subscribe for notification
Business

Lux Capital’s $4M for AI Fintech Magie

Lux Capital led a seed round in which Brazil fintech Magie raised $4 million, signalling the firm’s inaugural investment in Brazil

The company is developing An AI-powered financial assistant, which has raised $5.1 million. The present product enables users to transfer money and pay bills via WhatsApp.

For Lux partner Brandon Reeves and cofounder Luiz Ramalho, Magie is a more comprehensive investment in Brazil’s emerging fintech sector, which has been significantly stimulated by the enormous success of Nubank, a Brazilian neobank that conducted a blockbuster IPO in 2021.

On a recent trip to Sao Paulo, Reeves, who has been at the forefront of many of Lux’s international investments, particularly Sakana AI, the firm’s first Japanese bet, observed for the first time how rapidly Brazilians were “generally early adopters of new financial products.”

He referred to Pix, an immediate payments platform the country’s central bank implemented in 2020. Abecs, a Brazilian association for financial services, reported that by 2023, Pix had processed nearly 42 billion payments, surpassing the combined costs of credit and debit cards.

Pix facilitated Magie. In September of last year, Ramalho, a native of Rio de Janeiro, recognized that Pix presented a significant opportunity. It connected the majority of Brazilians to a shared network, which Ramalho could capitalize on. They developed Magie as an AI chatbot in WhatsApp that enables users to send or receive money in collaboration with cofounder João Camargo.

Magie has acquired over 12,000 users since its inception in April; however, the company has yet to monetize them. Ramalho stated, “Our initial objective is to construct a product with a high retention level.”

However, Ramalho’s ultimate objective is for Magie to become a more comprehensive financial assistant and an equalizer. He envisions the possibility of charging a premium subscription fee, enabling Magie to assist users in making financial decisions, such as selecting a bank and the type of loan to take out. He will face competition from the institutions: Morgan Stanley implemented its AI-powered financial assistant in June.

Morgan Stanley CEO, Edward Ted Pick | Euronews.com

However, Ramalho is adamant that Magie will be a more egalitarian instrument, devoid of any vested interest in the services of any particular bank. “The banks are subject to a certain conflict of interest,” he stated. “The banks may not necessarily desire for their customers to be presented with the most exceptional offers from each bank.”

James Emmanuel

James is a Computer Science student with a robust foundation in tech and a skilled DevOps engineer. His technical expertise extends to his role as a news reporter at Protechbro, where he specializes in crafting well-informed, technical content that highlights the latest trends and innovations in technology.

Disqus Comments Loading...

Recent Posts

AI Data Centers Face Power Crunch in 2027

In the next few years, AI's insatiable need for energy is likely to grow, which could cause data centers to…

17 mins ago

Binance Launchpool Lists USUAL with Pre-Market Trading

The Usual (USUAL) token has been listed on Binance Launchpool, and pre-market trading will commence shortly. Market optimism has been…

27 mins ago

Amazon Expands Telehealth with Low-Cost Plans

Amazon One Medical is adding more telehealth services with the start of low-cost treatment plans and medication delivery for a…

31 mins ago

Franklin Templeton Extends Platform to Ethereum

Franklin Templeton has extended its Benji tokenization platform to the Ethereum network following its previous launches on Aptos, Avalanche, Arbitrum,…

44 mins ago

US PPI Rise 2.4%; Impact on Bitcoin Unclear

Latest data shows US PPI inflation at 2.4%, above forecast, dampening investor sentiment due to its potential impact on the…

1 hour ago

PancakeSwap Launches Telegram Bot for Crypto Trades

DeFi's increasing accessibility is seen by PancakeSwap's new Telegram bot, which allows users to swap over 3,000 tokens from the…

2 hours ago