# Itaú to Acquire AI Startup NeoSpace for R$2.9 Billion

*Brazil's largest private-sector bank is investing in proprietary AI models to personalize financial services, improve credit decisions and strengthen fraud prevention.*

- Published: 2026-10-26
- Section: Insights
- URL: https://brazilstockguide.com/insights/itau-to-acquire-ai-startup-neospace-for-r2-9-billion/

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**By Brazil Stock Guide —** Itaú Unibanco announced on Monday (October 26) an agreement to acquire 100% of NeoSpace, a Brazilian startup specializing in advanced artificial intelligence models. The R$2.925 billion ($535 million) transaction marks another step in the country’s largest private-sector bank’s strategy to build proprietary AI capabilities and expand the use of generative artificial intelligence across its operations.

NeoSpace has been working with Itaú for nearly two years, developing AI models trained on the bank’s own data. The technology enables more personalized financial products and services, particularly in lending, customer relationship management and fraud prevention.

The acquisition turns an existing technology partnership into a fully owned business. According to Itaú, NeoSpace’s models have already delivered significant results across several areas and could become more powerful by combining the startup’s technical expertise with the bank’s vast customer data and operational scale.

A central objective of the deal is to accelerate the development of **ia.i, Itaú’s generative AI assistant**. The platform is designed to deliver more contextualized interactions and financial recommendations tailored to individual customers’ profiles and needs.

The investment also reflects Itaú’s ambition to reduce its reliance on external technology providers by developing AI models in-house. The ability to train specialized systems on proprietary financial data could provide a competitive advantage in areas such as credit underwriting, risk assessment and fraud detection.

**The acquisition price of R$2.925 billion** will be paid partly at closing, with the remaining installments spread over five years, subject to certain conditions. Itaú did not disclose how much will be paid upfront or provide details of the conditions governing future payments.

Despite the full acquisition, NeoSpace will retain operational and management autonomy, and its existing team will remain in place. The arrangement is intended to preserve the startup’s innovation capabilities while allowing it to benefit from Itaú’s financial resources and scale.

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Source: Brazil Stock Guide, https://brazilstockguide.com/insights/itau-to-acquire-ai-startup-neospace-for-r2-9-billion/