Itaú Unibanco agrees to buy AI startup NeoSpace for BRL 2.925B to build in-house models

What Itaú announced

Itaú Unibanco said in a material fact dated 26 October 2026 that it has entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire all shares of NeoSpace A.I. Technologies Ltda. The buyer is the holding company and/or its affiliates. NeoSpace is a Brazilian artificial intelligence startup that develops foundation models trained on large-scale datasets.

The purchase price is BRL 2,925,000,000. It comprises one installment payable at closing and further installments deferred over five years, subject to certain conditions. The filing does not give the split between the upfront and deferred amounts, and it does not state a US dollar value. Closing depends on prior approval by the Brazilian Antitrust Authority (CADE) and the Central Bank of Brazil, along with customary conditions. The material fact is signed in São Paulo by Gustavo Lopes Rodrigues, Investor Relations Officer, and was furnished to the US Securities and Exchange Commission the same day.

Why Itaú wants NeoSpace

NeoSpace has provided services to Itaú for nearly two years, building models trained on the bank's proprietary data. Itaú says those models let it apply generative AI at large scale to products for its businesses and clients, including more personalized financial and credit management. The bank says the relationship has already delivered significant results in credit, customer relationship management and fraud prevention.

Itaú calls the deal another step in its strategy to strengthen its own AI capabilities. It says the combination of NeoSpace's skills with Itaú's data and scale will allow more specialized models across its products. The acquisition is also tied to ia.i, Itaú's generative AI assistant for customers. NeoSpace's management and operations will stay autonomous from the bank, and its current team will be retained.

Why it matters

Rather than licensing models from an outside vendor, Itaú is buying the startup that already trains models on its data. That keeps the model-building team and its know-how inside the group while leaving NeoSpace to run on its own. The price, close to three billion reais, is a large sum for a company the filing describes only as a startup. It follows a run of software acquisitions in October, including Salesforce's agreement to buy Braze, but this one is a bank buying model-building capacity directly.

What to watch next

The next steps are the CADE and Central Bank reviews. The filing sets no deadline for either and gives no target closing date. It also does not say how much NeoSpace earns from Itaú today or how many people it employs. More AI deals are collected under AI Business & Funding.

Questions people ask

How much is Itaú paying for NeoSpace?

BRL 2,925,000,000, with one installment at closing and the rest deferred over five years, subject to conditions.

What does NeoSpace do?

It develops foundation models trained on large-scale datasets. For nearly two years it has built models on Itaú's proprietary data for credit, CRM and fraud prevention.

When will the Itaú NeoSpace deal close?

The filing gives no date. Closing requires approval from CADE and the Central Bank of Brazil, plus customary conditions.

Sources

1. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Material Fact: acquisition of NeoSpace A.I. Technologies Ltda. (Exhibit 99.1, Form 6-K) (Itaú Unibanco via US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 26 Oct 2026)