Julio Vasconcellos is the Managing Partner at Atlantico, one of Latin America’s leading venture firms, and the driving force behind the Latin America Digital Transformation Report. Now in its 6th edition, the report has become the definitive data backbone for investors and founders seeking to understand the region’s tech landscape.
Previously, Julio was Facebook’s first country lead in Brazil and co-founder of Peixe Urbano, giving him a rare operator-to-investor perspective on LatAm’s digital transformation.
In this episode, Julio unpacks the 2025 report’s biggest findings—from venture returns to geopolitics, Pix’s disruption, AI adoption, and Mexico’s rise—and what they mean for global LPs, founders, and corporates betting on the region.
Here’s what we cover:
LatAm Venture Outperformance: Why local VC funds have quietly outperformed global peers, and what it will take to attract more LP capital.
Brazil vs. Mexico: Why Mexico features so prominently this year, how it compares to Brazil, and what it means for investors placing their first bets.
The Geopolitics of Tech: 39% of Brazilians say they’d align with China over the U.S.—what’s driving that sentiment?
Pix’s Relentless Rise: With 87% corporate penetration and $15B in fee savings, Pix is reshaping payments. What does this mean for Visa, Mastercard, and fintechs?
Brazil’s AI Moment: Over 60% of Brazilians have tried ChatGPT, and Microsoft just invested $2.7B in AI/cloud. What role will Brazil play in the global AI race?
Founder Archetypes: Atlantico’s research into the traits of successful Latin American founders—and how they compare to Silicon Valley counterparts.
Join The J Curve Community:
Newsletter: Weekly deep dives into LATAM's hottest deals, emerging trends, and market intelligence
LinkedIn: Daily market insights and exclusive founder updates
Instagram: Behind-the-scenes podcast moments and quick industry takes
Hit subscribe and share this episode with fellow entrepreneurs and investors
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com