Brazilian lender Itau Unibanco agreed on Monday to buy all of the shares of NeoSpace, a startup that builds large AI models, for 2.925 billion reais, or about $589 million, according to a securities filing. Itau has been using NeoSpace's technology inside the bank for almost two years.
Itau will pay an installment at closing and defer the balance over five years, provided the contract's conditions are met. The size of the first payment was not disclosed. The acquisition still needs approval from Cade, Brazil's antitrust regulator, and from the country's central bank, along with customary closing conditions.
NeoSpace was founded in 2023 and builds AI models designed to find patterns in very large datasets. Founder Bruno Pierobon will stay on as chief executive, the current team stays in place, and NeoSpace will keep operating independently of the bank.
Key facts
- 01Itau Unibanco agreed on October 26, 2026 to buy all of NeoSpace for 2.925 billion reais, about $589 million.
- 02Part of the price is due at closing; the rest is deferred over five years, subject to contract conditions.
- 03The deal needs approval from Brazil's antitrust regulator Cade and the central bank.
- 04Itau has used NeoSpace models for almost two years in credit decisions, CRM and fraud prevention.
- 05Itau led an $18 million NeoSpace round in early 2025 and took a 15% stake.
The bank already knows the product well. Itau has used NeoSpace models in credit decisions, customer relationship management and fraud prevention. In early 2025 Itau led an $18 million funding round in the startup and took a 15% stake. Monday's agreement covers all of NeoSpace's shares.
Itau said it wants to use NeoSpace to strengthen its in-house AI work, including ia.i, its generative AI assistant, and to personalize more of what it offers clients. In the filing, the bank said the purchase "strengthens the continuity of the relationship" with NeoSpace.
The dollar value moved during the day. The roughly $588 million figure is based on Friday's rate of about 4.98 reais per dollar. After the dollar climbed about 8.7% to 5.42 reais on Monday, the same price works out to roughly $540 million.
Itau's NYSE-listed shares fell 23.78% to $7.37 on Monday as Brazilian assets sold off after the country's presidential runoff. Coverage of the move attributed it to the election result, not the NeoSpace deal.
Itau reports quarterly earnings on November 3, 2026. The bank has not disclosed NeoSpace's revenue or operating costs, or a timeline for regulatory approval.
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