Cacaofi
4 known investors
Ruvo is a fintech offering a global multi-currency account that lets users receive US dollars and convert and move money between BRL, USD, digital dollars (stablecoins), and crypto with no IOF, plus a dollar card usable anywhere Visa is accepted. It targets individuals and businesses handling cross-border payments between Brazil and the US, using non-custodial wallets and Pix, ACH, wire, and blockchain rails.
Also known as Cacao · Cacao Financial Holdings Limited · Cacaofi · Ruvo · Ruvo Financial Inc.
Investors · 4
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Ruvo, previously known as Cacao and operating the cacaofi.com domain, is a fintech that provides Brazilians with a global account for receiving, holding, converting and moving money between US dollars and Brazilian reais. The product connects Pix, crypto rails and Visa: users can receive USD from abroad via ACH, wire, RTP or crypto transfer, hold balances in USD, BRL and digital dollars (stablecoins such as USDT), convert between them, withdraw instantly to BRL through Pix, send funds to US accounts or crypto wallets, and save in digital dollars with yield. A dollar-denominated Visa card, provisionable to Apple Pay and Google Pay, lets users spend from their dollar balance worldwide.
The company positions its offering around the absence of IOF (Brazil's financial operations tax) on conversions, spending and outbound transfers, contrasting this with the 4.38% IOF on Brazilian card transactions, 1.1% on bank wires, and the 3.5% IOF plus FX markups it says Brazilian cards apply abroad. Ruvo states it uses market exchange rates without markup and charges a single transparent fee of 0.3%–1% depending on route and account type, with USD-to-digital-dollar conversion free and card purchases free in dollars and 1% in other currencies. At launch under the Cacao brand, pricing was described as 0.9% on USD deposits, 0.9% on Pix withdrawals, 1% on card usage and free crypto-to-crypto transfers.
Both personal (CPF) and business (CNPJ) accounts are supported. The company describes itself as a technology platform whose financial services are provided by regulated third parties, stating that it does not custody funds or perform regulated activities in Brazil; user funds are held in non-custodial wallets.
Founding story
The company was founded in 2025 by Alec Howard (CEO, ex-Uber and previously Head of Marketing at Gauntlet AI), Michael Mason (CTO, previously co-founder and head of product and engineering at Mercato) and Carlos Jimenez. The stated origin was Carlos's experience trying to pay Brazilian engineers from the US and finding cross-border transfers slow (1–3 business days), expensive due to hidden FX and SWIFT charges, and fragmented across multiple platforms — leading the team to build on stablecoin and Pix rails instead of SWIFT.
Business model
Ruvo operates a consumer and business mobile application layered on third-party regulated payment, card and wallet infrastructure. It does not itself custody funds or carry out regulated activity in Brazil, instead routing transactions through licensed partners while owning the user interface, account experience and pricing.
Transaction-based fees: a single fee of 0.3%–1% depending on route and account type, with USD-to-digital-dollar conversion free; card spending is free on dollar purchases and 1% on other currencies. Earlier Cacao-branded pricing was 0.9% on USD deposits, 0.9% on Pix withdrawals, 1% on card usage, and free crypto-to-crypto transfers. The company states it does not mark up exchange rates.
Traction
The Y Combinator profile lists a team size of 11 and Active status as of the S25 batch. The company site carries user testimonials citing ease of receiving US payments and instant Pix transfer to Brazilian bank accounts. Press coverage in Brazil Journal (Jan 2026) and additional Portuguese-language outlets accompanied a reported $4.6M raise.
Latest developments
Y Combinator's news list cites "Ruvo capta US$ 4,6 milhões para modernizar remessas entre Brasil e EUA" (Feb 2, 2026) and a Brazil Journal profile (Jan 20, 2026) reporting a $4.6 million round led by 1confirmation with participation from Coinbase Ventures. The company website's privacy policy carries an effective date of June 29, 2026 and references a yield product, business accounts and Rain-issued cards.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Ruvo competes with incumbent cross-border options for Brazil — SWIFT-based bank wires and remittance services — and explicitly benchmarks its pricing against Brazilian card IOF charges and Wise's 1.1% wire cost. It was included in coverage of "YC's Hottest Startups" (Oct 2025) and a Cuantico VP list of Brazil's top startups to watch in 2026, per links on its Y Combinator profile.
Zero IOF on conversion, spending and outbound transfers; unmarked-up market exchange rates with a single transparent fee; settlement in minutes rather than the days required by SWIFT; non-custodial wallets giving users control of assets; and a single account spanning BRL, USD, digital dollars and crypto with both CPF and CNPJ support.
Technology
The platform combines stablecoin rails with Brazil's Pix instant payment system, replacing SWIFT for cross-border settlement. Users hold assets in non-custodial wallets (Crossmint referenced for wallet services), with USD receipt via ACH, wire and RTP, and card issuance through Rain Cards (Signify Holdings Inc. and issuing partners) provisionable to Apple Pay and Google Pay. Payments and on-chain/fiduciary execution involve BlindPay, identity verification uses Persona/Sumsub, and infrastructure/analytics run on AWS, Cloudflare, Mixpanel and similar tools. Stated security measures include end-to-end encryption, MFA, role-based access control, biometric verification, periodic third-party audits and incident response plans, with LGPD compliance.
Go-to-market
Direct-to-consumer mobile app distribution via the company website and app stores, with Portuguese-language local support, supplemented by a public Y Combinator launch post and partnership outreach to global payroll, freelance and creator platforms. The site markets separate personal, business and card products and publishes a transfer/rate calculator.
Brazilians who earn or receive money from abroad — freelancers (developers, designers, PMs, translators, consultants), content creators and streamers, remote workers at global companies, remittance recipients, online educators, and earners on platforms such as Upwork, Deel, Fiverr, Remote, Ontop and Workana — plus foreigners and expatriates in Brazil, and businesses receiving global payments (CNPJ accounts).
Geography
Headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, with a Cayman Islands holding entity (Cacao Financial Holdings Limited) as data controller and a US entity, Ruvo Financial Inc., named in site footers. The corridor served is Brazil–United States; data is processed in the United States, the European Union/United Kingdom and Brazil.
History
Founded in 2025 and participating in Y Combinator's Summer 2025 batch, the company launched publicly as Cacao with an app for Brazilians receiving USD or crypto and converting instantly to BRL via Pix. It subsequently rebranded to Ruvo, retaining the cacaofi.com domain while pointing to ruvo.com, and broadened the positioning from inbound remittance conversion to a full multi-currency global account with business accounts, a dollar Visa card and yield on digital dollars. In early 2026 Portuguese-language press reported a $4.6M raise to modernize Brazil–US remittances.
Risks & controversies
The company states that financial services are provided by regulated third parties and that it does not custody funds or perform regulated activities in Brazil, leaving it dependent on partners such as BlindPay, Rain Cards, Crossmint and Persona/Sumsub for regulated functions. Its model relies on stablecoin rails and on the current IOF treatment of its transaction routes. No controversies are described in the available sources.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsLaunch of the Cacao mobile app allowing Brazilians to receive USD or USDT via ACH, wire, RTP or crypto, hold in a stablecoin wallet, withdraw instantly to BRL via Pix, and spend globally with a Visa Platinum card.
Brazil Journal reported that the startup, backed by Y Combinator, raised $4.6 million in a round led by 1confirmation, with Coinbase Ventures among other participants. A Feb 2, 2026 item on Ruvo's YC profile also reports the US$4.6 million raise to modernize Brazil-US remittances.
$4.6M source ↗
The company, formerly known as Cacao, now operates as Ruvo; the Y Combinator profile lists it under the Ruvo name and the cacaofi.com site is branded Ruvo.
The company participated in Y Combinator's Summer 2025 batch, with Brad Flora as primary partner.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Cacaoficacaofi.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Cacaofi do?
- Ruvo (formerly Cacao) is a YC-backed Brazilian fintech offering a multi-currency account linking USD, BRL, stablecoins and Pix.
- Who are Cacaofi's investors?
- Cacaofi's investors include 1confirmation, Coinbase Ventures, Y Combinator, Neer Venture Partners.