With the country having the largest fintech ecosystem in Latin America, the Minas Gerais-based M3 Lending aims to occupy a strategic space and facilitate credit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with cutting-edge technology and uncomplicated processes. To achieve this, the fintech has just announced an investment of R$ 500 thousand in Valence, a startup also from Minas Gerais specialized in artificial intelligence (AI).
The move comes amid a rapidly expanding market. Brazil leads the fintech market in Latin America, with 1,706 fintechs operating in 2025, according to Distrito, representing about 32% of the region’s financial startups, driven by demand for credit, digital payment methods, and banking as a service solutions.
“Artificial intelligence allows us to evolve every day. With Valence, we expand our capacity for analysis and customer service, reduce deadlines, and enhance the customer experience. This is part of our purpose to make credit more accessible for those driving the country’s economy,” says Gabriel César, CEO of M3 Lending.
Founded in Belo Horizonte, M3 connects investors to SMEs, offering rates up to 22% lower than those practiced by traditional banks, in a 100% digital and paperwork-free process. Now, with the use of AI, the fintech aims to create a complete financial ecosystem, combining credit, data, and integrated services for companies.
In Brazil, micro and small enterprises account for approximately 27% of GDP and are the foundation for more than half of formal jobs, according to Sebrae/IBGE data, but they have historically faced difficulties in accessing credit on viable terms. Experts believe that the incorporation of artificial intelligence into credit analyses can reduce costs, improve accuracy in risk assessment, and speed up the allocation of resources, unlocking the growth of a strategic segment for the economy.
“We want to build an efficient bridge between investors seeking stable returns and companies in need of capital to grow. We are creating a secure, transparent, and straightforward channel that circulates money where it generates real value: in small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the country’s economic engine,” concludes M3’s CEO.
Gabriel states that the investment in Valence “is a move aligned with the scenario where fintechs are no longer just credit intermediaries and are starting to position themselves as integrated platforms of financial services, driven by data and technology.” For the market, it is a clear sign that, in the competitive environment of fintechs, efficiency and embedded intelligence will be increasingly decisive differentiators.
