At this moment when the venture capital sector is recovering from its lowest levels in the past two years, the Brazilian startup QI Tech has achieved a historic and valuable Series B funding round that is making waves worldwide.
QI Tech, a company that provides technological infrastructure for B2B financial solutions, secured a $200 million investment led by General Atlantic. Across Capital, an existing shareholder, doubled its investment.
Although the new valuation has not been disclosed, it is estimated that QI Tech has likely become a ‘unicorn,’ which means it has surpassed the $1 billion mark or more.
The company, headquartered in Sao Paulo, remains under the control of its current founders: Pedro Mac Dowell (CEO), Marcelo Bentivoglio (CFO), and Marcelo Buosi (COO).
The funds raised will primarily be used for mergers and acquisitions, with the goal of adding complementary verticals to their existing services. The company plans to be cautious in its investment decisions.
They also have a future public listing in mind, but they are not in a hurry. To put it in perspective, Nubank, the successful Brazilian startup, reached a market capitalization of $38.3 billion on the New York Stock Exchange after receiving only $30 million in its Series B round in 2015.
QI Tech has developed its own technology in various solutions for corporate clients, such as credit issuance, banking services, and fraud prevention.
This enables them to offer a comprehensive approach, including digital registration, data validation, a credit engine, digital accounts and Pix payments, among other services. They also have cross-selling opportunities, as many companies prefer to work with a single provider.
The company serves important clients such as Vivo, Unidas, Enjoei, Quinto Andar, 99, and Banco Bari. While they don’t disclose their revenues, they claim to have been profitable since their first year and maintain healthy margins.
The CFO mentioned in a recent interview that they issue around BRL 700 million in credits per month, with approximately 20,000 daily transactions, and they have an efficient team of 115 people thanks to automation.
Despite competition in various aspects of their business, QI Tech stands out for its comprehensive services and highly automated products.
Their focus on the credit vertical is their main competitive advantage, as they have developed their own technological infrastructure over four years.
In this model, companies like Vivo and 99 raise funds through a Credit Rights Investment Fund (FIDC) issued by QI Tech, which then trades the securities in the market.
These funds are used to finance operations such as loans or refinancing of overdue customer accounts, and QI Tech provides all the behind-the-scenes infrastructure for the services without assuming the risk of the portfolio.
