Welcome to Tech Talents! In this newsletter, I share real-time key talent movements in the LatAm tech ecosystem, including founders entering and exiting stealth mode, executive-level movements in unicorns, and partner-level changes in local VC firms.
Here’s a quick look at what you’ll find in this week’s edition:
📖 Recent Reads: AI monopoly vs. oligopoly, “vibe hacking” & more
🎊 Startup Launches: Safefy, Countless, Fluap
👀 Talents to Watch: Board Member at Unicorn, ex-Finance at Sami
🤫 Talents Entering Stealth: ex-Director at Nike, ex-Global Growth Product Manager at Nuvemshop, ex-Head of Engineering at Kovi & more
🦄 Unicorn Movements: CMO at MadeiraMadeira
👋 Co-Founder Matching: Looking for an early or late-stage co-founder? Click here to be connected with top talent that matches your criteria
Let’s dive in…
📖 Recent Reads
My quick takes on interesting articles, news and data that I’ve come across recently.
In this 20VC episode, Martin Casado reflects on the current state of the AI market and where it’s heading. The a16z general partner argues that the only real mistake investors can make in this AI supercycle is zero-sum thinking. We’re seeing the fastest value creation in roughly two decades, with every layer of the stack generating returns thus far — hardware (NVIDIA and others), models (OpenAI and others), and applications (Lovable and others). He also notes that brand effects are already playing an important role in the GenAI market and why he believes we will likely settle into an AI oligopoly rather than a monopoly.
A new Stanford study finds that generative AI has affected employment among younger workers (ages 22–25) in software development and customer service more than other age groups or occupations. These findings support the view of many AI leaders that the technology is already capable of handling entry-level tasks and will soon take on more complex work as it matures. This may be one of AI’s most concerning effects to date: disrupting early-career opportunities could have deep long-term consequences for individuals and for overall economic development.
We’d only just started talking about “vibe coding,” and now there’s “vibe hacking.” The term appears in Anthropic’s latest threat-intelligence report, which details numerous cases of bad actors using AI tools to commit cybercrime. Model developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic have implemented safeguards to prevent misuse, but as tools evolve from copilots into autonomous agents, and as open-source models proliferate, the risks become even more serious.
🎊 Startup Launches
Founders who have just publicly announced what they are working on.
Countless
Overview
Startup Description: AI-powered financial intelligence for businesses.
Industry: AI
Team Size: 15
Time in Stealth: 15 months
Founder Profile
Arturo Burela – Co-Founder & CTO at Countless
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Top University, Ex-Big Tech, Unicorn Experience
Previous Experience: ex-Engineering Manager at Amazon, ex-Head of Engineering & Co-Founder at Curuba AI, ex-Head of Engineering at Stori, Bachelor's in Computer Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Headquarters: Mexico
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Fluap
Overview
Startup Description: Fluap is creating a digital infrastructure that connects, activates, and accompanies care.
Industry: Healthcare
Team Size: 4
Time in Stealth: 3 months
Founder Profile
Augusto Pimenta - Founder & CEO at Fluap
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Masters, Ex-Corporate, Ex-Consultant, Scaleup Experience
Previous Experience: ex-Head of Product, Design & Digital Business at Aché Laboratórios Farmacêuticos, ex-Head of Design at Dasa, ex-Head of Digital Product and Innovation at Hospital Sírio-Libanês, ex-Design Manager at Quero Educação, Professional Master’s in Science, Technology and Innovation from UFRN, Studies in Computer Engineering at UFRN, Bachelor’s in Science and Technology from UFRN.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Safefy
Overview
Startup Description: AML (Anti-Money Laundering) software for high-risk industries.
Industry: SaaS, Gaming
Team Size: 4
Time in Stealth: 18 months
Founders Profiles
Eduardo Cesar Franceschett - Founder at Safefy
Featured as a Stealth Founder in Tech Talents #11.
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Previous Exit, Ex-Big Tech, Ex-Corporate
Previous Experience: Ex-Founder at KarHub, ex-Founder at AirHomes, ex-Founder at Konfere, ex-Sales Manager at Mercado Livre, ex-Managing Partner at Axado, ex-Head of E-commerce at OdontoPrev. Holds an Executive MBA from Fundação Dom Cabral, along with a degree in Social Communication from ESPM.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Co-Founder: Rodrigo Yukio (CRO)
Ask for an Intro: Click here
👀 Talents to Watch
High-potential individuals likely to make significant career moves soon.
This section is exclusive to Pro subscribers — the go-to resource for top VCs, recruiters, and service providers who need to stay ahead of talent movements. Below is a snippet of the profiles we covered in the past two weeks. To view the full profiles, try Tech Talents Pro free for 14 days here.
Sabbatical for almost a year
Founder Highlights: Ex-Corporate, Scaleup Experience, Healthcare
Previous Experience: ex-Finance at Sami (Mar 2021 - Nov 2024), ex-Senior Auditor at Big 4 (Aug 2020 - Feb 2021), Economics at Universidade Federal do Piauí.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Time in Current Position: N/A
Recently left a CEO role, no current full-time position
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Investor, Ex-Corporate, Top University, Unicorn Experience, Scaleup Experience, Fintech
Previous Experience: Board Member at Unicorn, ex-Founder & CEO at Investment Firm (Jan 2022 - Aug 2025), ex-Founder & CEO at Scaleup (Jan 2018 - Sep 2020), ex-Board Member at Scaleups, ex-Corporate Development at Big Tech.
Headquarters: United States/Brazil
Time in Current Position: N/A
🤫 Talents Entering Stealth
Talents with relevant experiences who have just entered stealth mode.
Marcos Moraes – Software Engineer at Stealth Startup
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters, Previous Exit, Unicorn Experience, Scaleup Experience
Previous Experience: ex-Head of Engineering at Kovi, ex-Founder at Craque, ex-Director of Software Engineering at Loft, ex-Cofounder & CTO at Spry, Master's in Space Systems Engineering and Management from INPE, Bachelor's in Computer Science from Centro Universitário Salesiano de São Paulo.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Time in Current Position: 1 month
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Carlos Monroy Berrones – Co-Founder at Stealth Startup
Stealth Description: Building something new in PropTech
Founder Highlights: Ex-Corporate
Previous Experience: ex-Director, Finance & Business Planning at Nike, ex-Head of Financial Planning & Strategy at Shopee, ex-Business Analytics & Insights Associate Director - Revenue Growth at Walmart, ex-Revenue Growth Management Senior Manager - Finance at PepsiCo, Bachelor's in Business Administration and Management from Universidad Anáhuac Querétaro.
Headquarters: Mexico
Time in Current Position: 1 year, 3 months
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Matheus Clemente – Founder at Stealth Startup
Founder Highlights: Technical Founder, Ex-Consultant, Unicorn Experience, Scaleup Experience
Previous Experience: Ex-Teacher at Coderhouse, ex-Product & Strategy at Plusdin, ex-Global Growth Product Manager at Nuvemshop, ex-Growth Marketing Manager at Conta Simples, ex-Product & Strategy at Rock Content, Software Engineering at Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais.
Headquarters: Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Time in Current Position: 2 years, 3 months
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Igor Donni – Co-Founder at Stealth Startup
Stealth Description: Exploring agentic AI solutions for financial infrastructure and compliance.
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Top University, Ex-Corporate, Latitud Fellow
Previous Experience: ex-Co-Founder, CFO at Bamboo Debt Capital Markets Platform, ex-Investment Banking Associate at Credit Suisse, ex-M&A Advisory at IGC Partners, Bachelor's in Economics from the USP.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Time in Current Position: 1 month
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Natan Reiter – Founder at Stealth Startup
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Masters, Previous Exit, Ex-Big Tech, Ex-Corporate
Previous Experience: ex-Chief Innovation Officer at Cortex, ex-Business Mentor at ACE Aceleratech, ex-CEO & Founder at ITB360, ex-Sales Director at Softcorp, ex-Partner Sales Engine Lead LATAM at Microsoft, ex-Country Manager (Brazil) at N3 (part of Accenture), MBA from Georgia Institute of Technology, Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Management from Limestone College.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Time in Current Position: 1 month
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Roberto Núñez Candiani – Founder at Stealth Startup
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters, Top University, Ex-Corporate, Latitud Fellow, Unicorn Experience
Previous Experience: ex-Founder at Coffee Science, ex-Interim Managing Director at Finerio Connect, ex-VP of Product at Habi, ex-Head of the Digital Bank at Banco Sabadell México, ex-CMO/CPO at kubo.financiero, MBA from IPADE Business School, Bachelor's in Digital Technology from Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Headquarters: Mexico
Time in Current Position: 1 month
Ask for an Intro: Click here
🦄 Unicorn Movements
Promotions, new hires, and other movements in local unicorns’ executive-level.
Erica Lima – CMO at MadeiraMadeira
Previous Role: VP Private Label at MadeiraMadeira
Previous Experience: ex-Growth Director, Innovation & Operations at Alpargatas, ex-Asia General Manager (China) at Diana Paolucci S/A, MBA in Marketing from USP, MBA in Strategic Business Management from FGV, Bachelor's in Economics from UFSC.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Time in Current Position: 1 month
👋 Co-Founder Matching
Looking for an early or late-stage co-founder?
In case you missed it, I recently launched a co-founder matching platform focused on the Brazilian market. The platform is independent of any VC or accelerator, completely free (zero equity, zero cost), always active, and carefully curated based on experience and matching preferences.
👉 Click here to be connected with top talent that matches your criteria.
You can get started in three simple steps:
Define your preferences (technical, business, industry, timing, etc.).
Receive compatible profiles via email or on the web platform.
Send and accept connection requests with those who interest you most.
Here’s a quick demo video of the platform:
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