Startup LuzIA raises US$10 million after seven months of operation – 10/18/2023 – Market

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WhatsApp chatbot raises US$ 10 million

The Spanish startup LuzIA, which has an AI (artificial intelligence) assistant via WhatsApp, announced this Monday that it had received funding from US$10 million (R$50.3 million) in a series A round.

• The platform was launched in March and arrived in Brazil in July;

• Since then, almost 6 million of users in the country sent a message to the chatbot, says the startup.

Who invested: Globo Ventures, Grupo Globo’s investment company, and funds such as Khosla Ventures, A* Capital, Abstract Ventures and FJ Labs.

The contribution was also accompanied by individual investors, such as former basketball player Pau Gasol, a Spaniard who was two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and who retired from the court in 2021.

The startup: seven months old, the platform has already reached the 16.1 million of users. This is the second investment received by LuzIA, which had already raised US$3 million in a seed round.

How it works: LuzIA is a free chatbot that can be found on WhatsApp and Telegram. In Brazil, the user needs to add the number (11) 97255-30361 to their contacts to start the conversation.

• Among its functions is responding to requests via text using the ChatGPT language model, GPT-3.5, and creating images using the Stable Diffusion generating AI.

• The tool also transcribes audio and recently gained a response feature based on weather forecasts.

According to the company, commands sent by users are processed anonymously by AI and used for training without the person’s name and phone number.

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The BC’s middle ground for banks and machines

Neither here nor there. The Central Bank offered a solution to the battle between banks and machine operators over revolving interest rates. The institution suggests that interest-free installment purchases be limited to 12 months, while interchange fees have a cap on the credit card.

• It was agreed that those involved in the discussion would make calculations on the impacts of the new limits on each sector and present them next month.

Why it’s a compromise:

↳ The limit on interest-free installments affects machine companies, which advance the value of installment purchases to retailers in exchange for a fee. Commerce also complains about the measure, fearing a drop in purchases.

↳ The creation of a cap on credit card interchange fees – currently only on debit and prepaid cards – affects banks. For each transaction, this fee is paid to the card issuer by whoever offers the machines to the merchant.

Understand the dispute: it began after Congress approved a limit on interest rates on revolving credit, a modality triggered when the card bill is not paid. With rate of 445.7% per year, the credit line is the most expensive on the market.

• Banks say that a revolving limit must be linked to a brake on interest-free installments. They claim that these purchases increase defaults and force the charging of high fees.

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Receipt for two sandwiches ends in dismissal

A former Citibank senior analyst has lost a lawsuit against the British bank that fired him for lying about meals he ate on a work trip. The decision became public last week, as shown by the Financial Times.

Understand the case: then-employee Szabolcs Fekete presented his boss with a receipt for two sandwiches, two coffees and another drink consumed in one day of work. He traveled with his partner, who was not a bank employee.

• The meals totaled less than 100 euros, the bank’s daily limit.

• The senior manager, however, refused the refund request, stating that the receipt indicated that the meals were for two people.

The emails added to the process show the discussion between the two:
“The receipt appears to have two sandwiches, two coffees and another drink… Are you claiming that all of this was consumed by you?” asked the manager.

“Yes, that’s correct… That day, I didn’t have breakfast and only drank a cup of coffee in the morning. For lunch, I ate a sandwich and a drink and had a coffee at the restaurant. I took another coffee with me to the office and had the second sandwich in the afternoon… Which also served as my dinner,” Fekete replied.

The manager forwarded the refund request to the bank’s ethics office, and an investigation was launched. The employee was even asked if he had shared a plate of “pasta with pesto and bolognese sauce” with his partner. He first denied it, but admitted it days later.

The bank then fired the analyst for gross misconduct, stating that he violated the company’s expense management policy and had lied during an internal investigation.

In the processthe judge stated that “there was an obligation on the part of the complainant [funcionário] to admit and correct the situation at the earliest opportunity.” “I accept that the respondent [banco] requires a commitment to honesty from its employees”, he added.

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Voa Brasil was not launched, but is the target of scams

Scammers are using the name Voa Brasil, an airline ticket program that the government hasn’t even launched yet, to steal data and money from victims.

How the scam happens: criminals deceive the user with fraudulent websites, which indicate that the program has already started and will sell plane tickets for R$200 for round-trip flights.

Upon entering the page, the victim is directed to a chat, where they provide personal data such as name and CPF and receive information that they meet the requirements to access the program.

In addition to stealing user data, criminals also ask citizens to pay an amount in advance, via Pix or credit card, to supposedly register and not lose their place in the program.

How to escape the scam: carefully research the initiative’s official website and check the veracity of the information in the press. Searching the internet for complaints about the page is also a good idea.

What is Voa Brasil: The program is still being designed by the government, but the idea is to offer cheaper air tickets in partnership with companies for specific sectors of society.

The new Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, said that the initiative could include Prouni students, including on international trips, where students from public schools could study abroad with scholarships.