[{"jcr:title":"Insper scholarship students’ startup raises R$ 1.2 million in its first investment round","cq:tags_0":"area-de-conhecimento:tecnologia","cq:tags_1":"area-de-conhecimento:ciência-da-computação","cq:tags_2":"centro-de-conhecimento:hub-de-inova--o-e-empreendedorismo-paulo-cunha","cq:tags_3":"tipos-de-conteudo:acontece-no-insper/programa-de-bolsas","cq:tags_4":"area-de-conhecimento:gestão-e-negócios/empreendedorismo-e-inovacao"},{"richText":"Passabot was founded by Alan Barbosa (right) and Fernando dos Santos (left), Computer Science students at Insper, and Leonardo Piana, with mentorship from faculty members, the Paulo Cunha Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub, and Insper Angels","authorDate":"26/01/2026 22h31","author":"Leandro Steiw","madeBy":"Por","tag":"area-de-conhecimento:gestão-e-negócios/empreendedorismo-e-inovacao","title":"Insper scholarship students’ startup raises R$ 1.2 million in its first investment round","variant":"imagecolor"},{"jcr:title":"transparente - turquesa - vermelho"},{"themeName":"transparente - turquesa - vermelho"},{"containerType":"containerTwo"},{"jcr:title":"Grid Container Section","layout":"responsiveGrid"},{"text":"The startup Passabot, founded by two Insper scholarship students and an alumnus of ITA (Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica), raised R$ 1.2 million on January 14 in its first investment round. The round was composed mainly of angel investors, including executives and entrepreneurs from the technology, aviation, and tourism sectors. The groups Insper Angels and ITA Angels, for example, contributed approximately R$ 300,000 of the total amount. Passabot’s app is an artificial intelligence agent that sends flight ticket options via WhatsApp messages. Alan Matheus Alves Barbosa, from the state of Pernambuco, and Fernando Vieira dos Santos, from the state of Pará — both set to graduate in Computer Science from Insper in April — joined forces with Leonardo Piana, from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and then a student at ITA, to create Passabot in early 2025. In June of the same year, the group was among the winners of the 13th edition of Campus Mobile, a national competition for ideas and solutions for mobile devices promoted by Instituto Claro. The technology combines artificial intelligence, automation, and human support within a single channel, which — according to the founders — makes the experience more efficient than airline ticket websites and more scalable than traditional travel agencies. Since its launch, Passabot has reached approximately 20,000 users, including 800 customers who have purchased tickets at least once. In addition to the three founders, the startup currently employs nine other team members across technology, sales, and support functions. As CEO of Passabot, Alan Barbosa says the goal is to generate R$ 40 million in transaction volume in 2026, twenty times more than last year. “We know there is still a lot of growth needed to reach this goal, but we understand that challenges are part of the business and we are going after it,” Alan says. “The tourism market started the year very strong. We stay in touch with professionals from other travel agencies, and everyone says Brazilians are traveling more. The trend is for tourism to grow significantly in 2026, and we intend to ride that wave.” The company was valued at R$ 15 million, based on average monthly growth of 35% in volume and revenue since September of last year, the company’s clear traction phase, and its proprietary technology developed in-house, which has proven complex and difficult to replicate. Market validation of the business model was also taken into account. According to Alan, the funds raised will help accelerate product and technology development, expand engineering and operations teams, and boost distribution and marketing efforts. Both Alan and Fernando are Insper scholarship students and are part of the first Computer Science cohort, launched in 2022. “Beyond everything we learned in the program, I believe there is no way to repay the debt we owe to Insper’s Scholarship Program, which supported us in completing our undergraduate studies and building the company,” Alan says. He also highlights the mentorship provided by the Paulo Cunha Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub, by several Insper professors (on topics such as startups, technology development, and cybersecurity), by Insper Angels, and by ITA Angels (through Leonardo’s connection with the institute in São José dos Campos, São Paulo). Looking back, Alan recalls that when he was a freshman at Insper, his personal goals were largely tied to financial outcomes. His university experience gradually broadened that perspective. “I managed to achieve those goals very early on, especially because I was able to combine work with my studies at Insper, but I never imagined I would be graduating with a startup valued at R$ 15 million,” he says. Luiz Antônio Amboni, who followed the group as an analyst at the Paulo Cunha Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub, believes that Passabot embodies everything Insper seeks to offer entrepreneurs — from turning an idea into reality to developing a business. “We hope that, through the Passabot case, more people will increasingly see entrepreneurship as an option to transform reality and generate market impact,” Luiz says. The Hub supported Passabot in structuring its business model, clarified questions at each new stage of the venture, and integrated the students into its events with specialists in entrepreneurship-related topics such as legal matters, sales, marketing, people management, investments, and purpose. “We have been following their development as entrepreneurs, and I believe this is the program’s main contribution through the Fellowship Early Stage Program, which they are part of,” Luiz says. “They have also participated in an Insper Angels bootcamp to train their investor pitch and in the Hub’s Demo Day.” Luiz notes that at the end of each semester, Insper holds a Demo Day featuring the startups that stood out and were most engaged in the Hub’s programs. The event consists of presentations to an external audience made up of entrepreneurs, investors, professors, the academic community, and innovation partners. Passabot was also part of the Hub delegation that took 12 startups to Web Summit Rio 2025, held in April of last year in Rio de Janeiro. In September, the founders experienced the Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem in the United States as a prize for winning Campus Mobile."}]