Itaú invests in American AI simulation startup

Itaú Ventures confirmed its participation in an extension of Simile's Series B round, an American startup that creates virtual environments to simulate human behaviors and market decisions. The investment reinforces the bank's artificial intelligence strategy and aligns with its goal of being fully cloud-based by 2028.

Itaú and Simile: How the Partnership Began

The relationship between the two organizations began before the investment, with Itaú being Simile's first client in Latin America. From the initial stages of technology development, the bank tested applications in different areas and acted as a co-creator of solutions for its operations.

What Simile Offers the Market

Simile develops AI models capable of simulating how people, organizations, and markets respond to varied scenarios, allowing products or services to be tested before launch. The proposal is to create virtual environments where AI systems can experiment with strategies, learn from errors, and improve decision-making in complex contexts.

Investment Round Details

The Series B extension was led by manager Greenoaks and included participation from investors such as Index, Hanabi, Bain Capital Ventures, A*, Factory, Definition, and CVS Health Ventures. The round valued Simile at US$2 billion; the value of Itaú's investment was not disclosed.

Itaú's Objectives with Artificial Intelligence

For Carlos Eduardo Mazzei, CTO of Itaú Unibanco, Simile's technology has great potential to complement the bank's AI agenda and accelerate the development of more relevant experiences, products, and services. The investment also aligns with the “AI First” strategy, which seeks to incorporate artificial intelligence into different business fronts, including areas such as credit, fraud prevention, and risk management.

Expected Impact on the Financial Sector

By supporting startups that operate in the training, evaluation, and improvement layer of AI models, Itaú follows a growing trend among large companies and financial institutions. This approach aims to make AI systems more reliable, specialized, and prepared for real-world applications, going beyond text generation and responding to the need for more precise decisions in corporate environments.

With information from Pipeline, Estadão.