Google and Monashees announce Gama Fund to finance AI

Google and Monashees announce Gama Fund to finance AI-first startups in Brazil

This press release was published in English using an automatic translation system

Google announced this week on the stage of Google for Brasil the launch of the Gama Fund, a joint initiative with the venture capital firm Monashees to boost the next generation of elite Brazilian startups focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep tech. The initiative is part of the global AI Futures Fund program from Google Labs, which invests in and collaborates with ambitious startups that are building the future of AI. Inspired by a successful model already established in India between Google and Accel, Google selected Monashees as its strategic partner in Brazil, combining its expertise in startup investments with direct access to Google’s advanced technologies.

Through the Gama Fund, Google and Monashees will offer companies at various stages of growth early access to the latest AI models from Google DeepMind, as well as the resources, technical expertise, and capital funding needed to accelerate their progress.

“Our goal is to empower local founders to build and scale globally successful companies from Brazil,” says Fábio Coelho, President of Google Brazil. “We believe that AI-first startups – those that are born with artificial intelligence at their core – are in a unique position to tackle some of the world’s most urgent and complex challenges. This is a two-way partnership: startups will benefit from funding and early access to our latest AI models, while feedback from these companies will help Google’s AI teams refine and enhance our own models, improving our technology for users in Brazil and around the world.”

The choice of Monashees as a partner reflects its regional leadership and proven track record in the Latin American venture capital ecosystem. Since 2005, Monashees has already raised US$1.5 billion, invested in 150+ startups, and has 16 unicorns in its portfolio. The company has a history of supporting the development of major technology companies and unicorns such as 99, Rappi, Neon, Nomad, Clara, and Flash, as well as AI companies like Runway, Tractian, and Moises.

"This partnership is yet another expression of two pillars of our thesis: Global Latam and Artificial Intelligence. By combining Monashees’ strategic experience with Google’s cutting-edge technology, the most ambitious founders in the region will have everything they need at their disposal to build, from here, AI-first companies that positively impact the future of business and society", Eric Acher, CEO and Co-founder of Monashees.

Selection Process and Benefits for Startups

In the short and medium term, the program’s strategy calls for co-investments in around five startups. The selection process will be collaborative between Google and Monashees, governed by mutual consent. To identify ideal candidates, both companies will open an application process and conduct ongoing market analyses during strategic industry events.

Eligibility is reserved for elite, AI-first startups that have Brazilian entrepreneurs operating in Brazil or abroad, and that use or plan to integrate Google’s AI solutions into their core operations. In addition, it is essential that their business models be aligned with the program’s priority investment themes and that the teams demonstrate a strong ability to collaborate with Google’s engineers and researchers.

"The partnership with Monashees announced today reinforces Google’s commitment to the Brazilian innovation ecosystem and to the country’s long-term future. Brazil has the talent and infrastructure needed to become a true high-performance engine for AI innovation", concludes Fábio Coelho.

The selected startups will receive a comprehensive support package, which includes:

Gama House, powered by Monashees and Google for Startups

Still on the topic of spaces, in the coming months another joint initiative will be launched: Gama House. Located in the iconic Gabriel 1825 building in São Paulo, the house will be a physical and intellectual environment designed specifically for the agile cycles and high technical density required by AI-First businesses.

Gama House will operate as a dynamic activity center, offering everything from monthly hackathons, coding sessions, and global mentoring to networking events with major market leaders, as well as hosting Google Cloud’s AI acceleration cohorts and the Shiva company-generation platform — a company-generation platform that identifies and empowers exceptional technical talent to build AI-native companies. The hub will consolidate the union between Google Cloud’s cutting-edge technology and Monashees’ Global Latam network, becoming the convergence point for connecting founders, capital, and innovation in artificial intelligence.

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