A new category is emerging: AI-Native Services. AI is not just optimizing services. It is redefining how they are designed, delivered and scaled. And the prize sits in the labor, not the tools: for every dollar spent on software, six are spent on services.
The next generation of startups will not look like SaaS companies. They will be AI-native services, built around autonomous execution, continuous learning and end-to-end delivery of the outcome. For founders, this is not about selling better tools to brokers, carriers or property managers. It is about becoming the firm, rebuilt with software doing the work.
Adoption is no longer the bottleneck. 88% of companies already use AI in at least one business function, yet only about a third have started to scale it. The gap between using AI and being rebuilt around it is where AI-native firms are born.
“The next $1T company will be a software company masquerading as a services firm.”
Pick a desk. See how the work gets done today, then watch the same desk run AI-native.
These are just a few of the service-heavy verticals waiting to be reinvented.
In AI-native services, breakthrough execution depends on exceptional AI-native teams. The shift only becomes possible when deep domain operators meet a new generation of technical and AI talent.
Someone who knows where the work hides, and someone who can build the agents that do it. The program exists to put those two people at the same table, with the ambition to build a venture-scale company together.
Selected founders and technical talent don't need another AI or entrepreneurship class. This is a high-commitment, community-driven experience: put outliers together, and remarkable startups get built.
01
Meet complementary people ready to build together. Business × tech matching, founder jams and candid conversations to test skill complementarity and ambition alignment.
02
Learn what VCs look for from Canastra partners and investors. Test your thesis in live pitch simulations and meet founders who have built category leaders.
03
Choose a niche with recurring pain. Design a service-to-software transition, build agent-first and turn the idea into an investable thesis.
The program works because it connects people who complement each other. You don't need to have everything. You need to know what you bring and what you're looking for.
Target roleCEO, COO or CPO
BRL 960tuition
Target roleCTO or CTO/CEO
BRL 240tuition
Target roleCTO or CAIO
BRL 96tuition
Four weeks to find your co-founder, validate a thesis, build a prototype and decide whether to pursue venture capital together.
Mon, Nov 23
Who you build with
Match on complementary skills, align on ambition and commitment, and agree on equity from day one.
Thu, Nov 26
São Paulo · 7pm
Participants, Canastra partners, founders and investors in the same room. Venue to be announced.
Mon, Nov 30
What you build
Find the service market where AI unlocks software margins, choose your entry point and avoid the traps.
Mon, Dec 7
Why it can be venture-scale
Turn your opportunity into an investable thesis using the criteria VCs apply to AI-native companies.
Mon, Dec 14
Whether to go after capital
Understand what investors look for and decide whether this team should raise capital and build together.
01
A defined wedge, a mapped ICP and an identified unit of work.
02
Something real to put in front of a customer.
03
A VC-track story, structured and pitched.
04
Stay together, find another match, or part ways fast.
Co-Founder @ Unico
Co-founder of Unico, a Brazilian unicorn valued at $2.6 billion in its latest round.
Co-Founder @ Movile
Co-founder of Movile (iFood, PlayKids, Apontador), one of the largest technology groups in Latin America.
Managing Partner @ Canastra
Insper graduate with an MBA from LBS. Co-founder of Canastra Ventures and vice chair of the SBF Group (Centauro) board.
Managing Partner @ Canastra
Engineer with a master's from UFMG. Co-founder of Canastra Ventures, working in AI and VC for 10 years.
Ex-Data Scientist @ Google
AI/ML specialist with an MBA from Duke and over 25 years in technology at major tech companies.
Ex-Tech Director @ Google
Poli-USP engineer and former Technical Director at Google, with over 30 years in tech, much of it in Silicon Valley.
Co-Founder @ Aleevia
Serial entrepreneur with exits in fintech and digital security: InvestCampus, BoldCron, Concil, TrustSign and Tusta.
Founding Associate @ Canastra
Growth and GTM leader in AI in LatAm, with a track record at Globant and I.Systems. UFMG engineer.
Robson AmorimCo-Founder @ BeConfident
Guilherme BonifácioCo-Founder @ iFood
Rodrigo HelcerCo-Founder @ Stilingue
Reinaldo NormandPartner @ Niu Ventures
Jonatas GrosmanAI Research @ PUC-Rio
Brunno SantosCountry Manager @ ElevenLabs
Julia SallesPrincipal @ Kaszek
Ricardo GottschalkCo-Founder @ Conta Simples
Gabriel AlmeidaCo-Founder @ Langflow
Felipe LamounierCo-Founder @ Hyperplane“Content and support on par with the best programs in Silicon Valley!”
Fábio NaritaCo-Founder @DeepFire.AI
In my journey as an entrepreneur, it was one of the best ways I spent my time this year, and it has paid off handsomely so far.
Sérgio VerdeSelvaCo-Founder @Lagoa.Systems
Not only did I meet my business partner through the program, but I also gained access to a wealth of content and had the opportunity to network with incredible people who helped me make my decision and start my business.
Alexandre ScortecciCo-Founder @Allia
The program not only brings together people with similar ambitions and complementary profiles, but also educates, challenges, and prepares founders to build with greater maturity. For me, it was a turning point in the development of Perfecting.
Thiago FurtadoCo-Founder @Perfecting
A place where founders and technical talent come together to build AI-native services startups that redefine firms.
Trouble loading the form? Apply on Luma. By applying, you agree to the Terms of Participation.
Anything else? Write to contato@canastra.ventures.
No. The program is designed for individuals who want to explore problem spaces alongside a co-founder. Clarity about your profile and what you bring to a team is enough.
Mostly remote: sessions run online on Mondays at 7pm (GMT-3), from November 23 to December 14. The in-person moment is the gathering in São Paulo on Thursday, November 26.
No. There are no certificates, classes or tests. It is a high-commitment experience built on dynamics and discussions with other founders, Canastra partners and experts.
The program is designed for individuals looking to form a founding team around an AI-native services startup. If you already have a co-founder, each of you must apply and be admitted independently.
Founders: BRL 960. Tech Founders: BRL 240. Student Founder: BRL 96.
No. The program is equity-free: you keep full ownership of whatever you build.
Applications are open from October 20 to November 20, 2026. Capacity is limited to 60 seats.
Teams that show traction and fit Canastra's thesis are natural candidates for our pre-seed investment or may be invited to join the AI Residency. Matchmaking does not guarantee Residency admission or investment.
